Little Creek Amphibious Base
Little Creek Amphibious Base is an enormous naval complex, which 2,100 acre primary facility is located in the northernmost part of Virginia Beach. It is the largest operating naval facility of its kind in the world, sitting on Little Creek, a small inlet approximately halfway between Cape Henry and Naval Station Norfolk. The station's natural inlet harbor sits at an average project depth of 22'.
Commissioned following WWII in 1945, Little Creek Amphibious Base was designed as a consolidation effort of four different bases, the Amphibious Training Base, the Naval Frontier Base, Naval Camp Shelton, and Naval Camp Bradford. Camp Bradford, which bears the name of a prominent Confederate Army officer, accounts for about half of the territory currently occupied by Little Creek Amphibious Base. Training facilities at Camp Bradford were manned by returned Mediterranean sailors who instilled their experience into prospective candidates. One of the more distinguishable features of Camp Bradford was a unique training tool developed with the help of the veterans. On land the staff constructed the top deck and bridge of a battleship to the exact specifications of the ship's dimensions, appropriately named the USS Neversail.
Upon consolidation, what we know today as Little Creek Amphibious Base comprises four separate facilities, spanning three states, and cover nearly 9,000 acres. The 61 piers surrounding Little Creek are now home to more than 30 ships that call the base homeport. The Little Creek site is also comprised of several acres of wooded training area, which is used by all branches of the United States military. Approximately 4,200 reservists, from every branch of the military, drill at the base each year. In 2005 the base underwent a radical upgrade to lessen the environmental impact of Little Creek Amphibious Base in the Chesapeake region.
Little Creek Amphibious Base is staffed by hard workers of the United States military and the surrounding community. The shipyard employees of the base toil each day to make sure that our nation's naval defense system is modern and effective. It is important to remember the work of these workers and the dangers they face on a daily basis in a precarious field. They put themselves in harm's way inside the dangerous operations of ship-building and repair, including the toxic materials to which they may be exposed. Asbestos, which leads to mesothelioma, is one of those materials found extensively in older vessels. Realizing this can help those who may have been exposed or know someone who has been exposed find the appropriate legal, emotional, or physicians support systems.
