Fleet Combat Training Center Atlantic at Dam Neck c1964

Training Support Center Hampton Roads is the current name of the facility in Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA, which was long-known as "FTC Dam Neck". It is the home of the Fleet Combat Training Center Atlantic of the United States Navy.

History

Dam Neck Mills, U.S. Lifesaving Service

TSC Hampton Roads is located near the former town of Dam Neck Mills which was located in

Princess Anne County County of Princess Anne is a former county in the British Colony of Virginia and the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States, first incorporated in 1691. The county was merged into the city of Virginia Beach on January 1, 1963, ceasing t ...

(the former county is now part of the independent city of Virginia Beach). It was the site of the 19th century Dam Neck Mills Lifesaving Station of the United States Lifesaving Service, one of five spaced at intervals along the coast in Virginia from

Cape Henry Cape Henry is a cape on the Atlantic shore of Virginia located in the northeast corner of Virginia Beach. It is the southern boundary of the entrance to the long estuary of the Chesapeake Bay. Across the mouth of the bay to the north is Cape Cha ...

south to the border of North Carolina. The U.S. Lifesaving Service merged with other agencies to form the United States Coast Guard in 1915. The area's lifesaving history along the coast line of the Graveyard of the Atlantic is commemorated at the Old Coast Guard Station Museum located in the 1903 Seatack Lifesaving Service Station (the next one north of the Dam Neck Mills station) at 24th street adjacent to the boardwalk of Virginia Beach. The Old Coast Guard Station Museum has artifacts from the 1891 shipwreck of the ''Dictator'', displays of period lifesaving equipment, educational programs, and even an online
Tower Cam
, offering Internet users a similar view to those of members of the Lifesaving crews had over 100 years ago.

World War II, FTC Dam Neck

The United States Navy acquired the property during World War II to train

anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...

gunners. Since that, the mission was expanded to include training of Combat Systems operators and maintenance technicians. One notable former tenant command was Naval Guided Missile School (NAVGMSCOL), which provided training for the

Polaris Polaris is a star in the northern circumpolar constellation of Ursa Minor. It is designated α Ursae Minoris ( Latinized to ''Alpha Ursae Minoris'') and is commonly called the North Star or Pole Star. With an apparent magnitude that ...

, Poseidon, and Trident 1 Backfit submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) systems and various surface missile systems.

Current mission

In 2004, FTC Dam Neck was reorganized and renamed Training Support Center Hampton Roads, to align it with the U.S. Navy's "Revolution In Training". The actual training activity is the

Center for Surface Combat Systems Center for Surface Combat Systems (CSCS) is one of eleven learning centers of Naval Education and Training Command, headquartered on Naval Support Facility Dahlgren operated learning centers for the education and training of United States Navy p ...

, which is headquartered in Dahlgren, Virginia. TSC Hampton Roads supports the training mission, as its name suggests.

Tenant commands

Other tenant commands currently at Dam Neck include the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU/NSWDG), Tactical Training Group Atlantic (TACTRAGRULANT), and Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division Dam Neck Activity (NSWCDD DNA). TSC Hampton Roads is also home to the Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center (NMITC), which trains Marines and sailors in military intelligence. Nearby, Dam Neck Annex is part of Naval Air Station Oceana.

References

External links

FTC Dam NeckHistory of the Dam Neck facilityCombat Direction System Activity, Dam Neck
{{Authority control Training installations of the United States Navy Installations of the United States Navy in Virginia Military in Virginia Beach, Virginia