Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Naval Air Station located in

Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

. Nowadays, the station is located on 23.9 km2. It has total of 250 aircraft deployed and buildings valued at $800 million in plant replacement value. The total Navy community (which includes spouses) count for around 20.000 people. The base is under the jurisdiction of

Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Navy Region Mid-Atlantic is one of eleven current naval regions responsible to Commander, Navy Installations Command for the operation and management of Naval shore installations in Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, K ...

and is the headquarters of Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic and Carrier Air Wings 1, 3, 7 and 8. As home to all East Coast strike fighter jet squadrons, the Naval Air Station is classified as a

master jet base In the United States Navy, a master jet base is a naval air station with permanent basing and homeporting of carrier-based tactical jet squadrons (e.g., fighter, strike fighter, attack), carrier air wings, and the provision of one or more jet-cap ...

. The airfield is known as Apollo Soucek Field, named after Lieutenant (later Admiral)

Apollo Soucek Apollo Soucek (February 24, 1897 – July 22, 1955) was a vice admiral in the United States Navy, who was a record-breaking test pilot during 1929 and 1930, served in World War II, and was commander of Carrier Division Three during the Korean ...

, a Navy test pilot who set the global altitude record in 1930 by flying a

Curtiss Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in its first decade ...

''"Hawk"'' biplane to an altitude of 43,166 feet. Constructed in 1941, and officially commissioned in 1943, NAS Oceana has been home to carrier-based aircraft since its inception. The field serves as home for 14 deployable Strike Fighter squadrons operating the

F/A-18E/F Super Hornet The Boeing F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornet are twin-engine, carrier-capable, multirole fighter aircraft variants based on the McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet. The F/A-18E single-seat and F/A-18F tandem-seat variants are larger and more ad ...

, a Strike Fighter Fleet Replacement Squadron, an

adversary squadron An aggressor squadron or adversary squadron (in the US Navy and USMC) is a squadron that is trained to act as an opposing force in military wargames. Aggressor squadrons use enemy tactics, techniques, and procedures to give a realistic simulat ...

, and a logistics squadron. Additionally, NAS Oceana operates

Dam Neck Annex Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana or NAS Oceana is a United States Navy Naval Air Station located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Nowadays, the station is located on 23.9 km2. It has total of 250 aircraft deployed and buildings valued at $800 mil ...

, a separate military installation that is home to other non-flying commands, including various school houses, and

Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Fentress Naval Auxiliary Landing Field Fentress is a military use airport located in Chesapeake, Virginia. This military airport is owned by the U.S. Navy and is under the operational control of Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. The airfield primaril ...

, a practice carrier landing field, in nearby

Chesapeake, VA Chesapeake is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,422, it is the second-most populous independent city in Virginia, tenth-largest in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 90th ...

. The air station is not open to the public except one weekend each year, usually in September, when it hosts th
NAS Oceana Air Show

History

In November 1940, the U.S. Government acquired the land (around 1.1 km²) that would eventually become Naval Air Station Oceana. At that time, the surrounding area was mainly farmland susceptible to flooding, but it served as a useful outlying field for the rapidly expanding Naval Air Force centered at

NAS Norfolk Naval Station Norfolk is a United States Navy base in Norfolk, Virginia, that is the headquarters and home port of the U.S. Navy's Fleet Forces Command. The installation occupies about of waterfront space and of pier and wharf space of the Hampt ...

and allowed units to work up for deployments away from the crowded base there. At first the US Government constructed a small airfield with 32 officers and 172 enlisted man. In December 1940, began the construction of asphalt runways which were completed by November 1941. In 1943, the United States Congress approved a project for the expansion of the station to allow for the deployment of up to 160 officers and 800 enlisted men, plus the construction of longer runways. At the same time, the station was changed to ''Naval Auxiliary Air Station''. Airspace and airfield facility restrictions precluded NAS Norfolk from serving as the home station for tactical air units, and in the 1950s NAS Oceana was designated to the status of

Master Jet Base In the United States Navy, a master jet base is a naval air station with permanent basing and homeporting of carrier-based tactical jet squadrons (e.g., fighter, strike fighter, attack), carrier air wings, and the provision of one or more jet-cap ...

to serve that purpose, being nominated Naval Air Station. ''NAS Oceana'' has grown to become one of the largest and most advanced air stations in the world, comprising 6,820 acres (including Dam Neck Annex). Obstruction clearances and flight easements total an additional . Its four runways, three measuring in length and one measuring 12,000 feet, are designed for high-performance aircraft. NAS Oceana's primary mission is to train and deploy the Navy's Atlantic Fleet strike fighter squadrons of

F/A-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather, twinjet, twin-engine, supersonic aircraft, supersonic, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, Multirole combat aircraft, multirole combat aircraft, designed as both a Fighter aircraft, ...

s and Super Hornets.

Naval Aviator Naval aviation is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. Naval aviation is typically projected to a position nearer the target by way of an aircraft carrier. Carrier-based a ...

s and

Naval Flight Officer A naval flight officer (NFO) is a commissioned officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps who specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems. NFOs are not pilots (naval aviators), but they may perform many "co-pilot" or ...

s stationed at NAS Oceana fly approximately 219,000 training operations each year. Under the Navy's Master Jet Base concept, all Type/Model/Series (T/M/S) aircraft were home-based at one field with associated intermediate maintenance and training facilities. In the 1960s, NAS Oceana became the home to all East Coast based

F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...

squadrons. Fighter Squadron 101 (VF-101) established a detachment at NAS Oceana in its role as the Fleet Readiness Squadron (FRS), formerly known as the Replacement Air Group or "RAG", that trained aircrews and maintainers to operate the Phantom (at the time, VF-101 operated out of

NAS Key West Naval Air Station Key West , is a naval air station and military airport located on Boca Chica Key, four miles (6 km) east of the central business district of Key West, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 NAS Key West is an air- ...

, Florida). After the

F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experi ...

arrived on the scene in 1976, VF-101 transitioned to Tomcat operations and Phantom training operations shifted to newly established Fighter Squadron 171 (VF-171) to handle Atlantic Fleet training for the F-4 Phantom until it was retired from service in 1984. The last F-14 was retired on 22 September 2006. At one time, in addition to fighter aircraft, all of the Atlantic Fleet's

A-6 Intruder The Grumman A-6 Intruder is an American twinjet all-weather attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace and operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. It was designed in response to a 1957 ...

medium attack squadrons were also home-based at NAS Oceana, along with VA-42 as the associated Fleet Readiness Squadron charged with training all east coast A-6 pilots, bombardier/navigators and A-6 maintenance personnel. The A-6E was retired from the Fleet in 1997. Additionally, NAS Oceana became home to the

in 1999 following the Navy's closure of

NAS Cecil Field Naval Air Station Cecil Field or NAS Cecil Field was a United States Navy air base, located in Duval County, Florida. Prior to October 1999, NAS Cecil Field was the largest military base in terms of acreage in the Jacksonville, Florida area. NA ...

, Florida as part of the

Base Realignment and Closure Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) is a process by a United States federal government commission to increase United States Department of Defense efficiency by coordinating the realignment and closure of military installations following the end o ...

(BRAC) process. Aside from its military function, NAS Oceana was an alternative landing site for

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...

until the program ended in 2011. On April 6, 2012 an F/A-18D assigned to VFA-106 took off from NAS Oceana, encountered dual engine failure and crashed into an apartment complex in

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

, Virginia. Both pilots ejected safely, and there were no fatalities.

Current operations

Home to seventeen strike fighter squadrons of

s and F/A-18 Super Hornets, the base is the sole East Coast Master Jet Base and home to all the east coast strike-fighter (VFA) units (excluding VFA-86 and

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

VMFA squadrons). Training is conducted by

VFA-106 Strike Fighter Squadron 106 (VFA-106), also known as the "Gladiators", is a United States Navy F/A-18 Hornet and F/A-18E/F Super Hornet Fleet Replacement Squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. Mission As the East Coast Flee ...

Gladiators in their F/A-18E/F Super Hornets. Tomcat training was conducted by VF-101 Grim Reapers. NAS Oceana was host to the "Tomcat Sunset" reunion from 21–23 September 2006, where over 3000 former and current aircrew and maintainers came together to celebrate the retirement of the F-14 from active Fleet service. NAS Oceana also was the location where the F-14 took off for the last time for final flight of the type when F-14D, Bureau Number (BuNo) 164603, Modex 101, of Fighter Squadron 31 (VF-31) was ferried from NAS Oceana to

Republic Airport Republic Airport is a regional airport in East Farmingdale, New York, located one mile east of Farmingdale village limits. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a general aviation ''reliever airpo ...

East Farmingdale East Farmingdale is a hamlet and a census-designated place (CDP) in Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York. The population of the CDP was 6,484 at the 2010 census. Located in the Town of Babylon, the residents are served by the Farmingda ...

on Long Island, NY for permanent static display at the Northrop Grumman facilities where the Tomcat was originally built. During the 2005 round of BRAC base closures, it was decided that NAS Oceana could remain open only if certain conditions were met. The most contentious of these requirements was that the city of Virginia Beach buy and condemn approximately 3,400 residences and an unknown number of businesses in crash zones surrounding the base. The BRAC commission proposed moving the fighters to Cecil Field, a recently deactivated naval air station located near

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

if NAS Oceana was not able to meet that and several other conditions. The plan was initially met with optimism by Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton, even though Cecil Field had already been converted into a joint civil-military airport with helicopter operations by the

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

and the

Florida Army National Guard The Florida Army National Guard is Florida's component of the United States Army and the United States National Guard. In the United States, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the federal army's available combat forces ...

and an associated commerce park dominated by major aerospace firms such as

Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American multinational aerospace and defense technology company. With 90,000 employees and an annual revenue in excess of $30 billion, it is one of the world's largest weapons manufacturers and military techn ...

and

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and product ...

performing major maintenance and overhaul work on a variety of military jet aircraft. The senior Navy leadership ultimately expressed disinterest in moving the Master Jet Base back to the Jacksonville area, having only deactivated Cecil Field less than six years earlier and moving all its Atlantic Fleet F/A-18 squadrons from the former NAS Cecil Field to NAS Oceana. In October 2005, the city of Jacksonville removed itself from the process. On 20 December 2005 the Virginia Beach City Council passed numerous ordinances enacted to satisfy BRAC, but did not act to condemn any of the homes in the designated areas. In a November 2006

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

, citizens of Jacksonville voted to leave the Cecil Field Airport and Commerce Center in civilian hands under the Jacksonville Aviation Authority, effectively halting any future plans of relocation. In addition to the squadrons listed, there are numerous other commands present as "tenant" commands at Oceana: *

Fleet Readiness Center Mid-Atlantic Fleet Readiness Center Mid-Atlantic (FRCMA) is an American naval aviation maintenance and repair facility headquartered on board NAS Oceana. It is one of 6 main subsidiaries of the Fleet Readiness Centers. FRCMA currently has nearly 2,500 sailors, ...

, formerly known as Aviation Intermediate Maintenance Department (AIMD) Oceana. One of six centers for naval aviation maintenance, FRC provides Intermediate and Depot level maintenance support to the tenant squadrons and SeaOpDet technicians to

aircraft carriers An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

home-ported on the East Coast. * Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic, the command that serves as "Commodore" of all east coast Hornet and Super Hornet squadrons when not forward deployed with their respective carrier air wings. * Strike Fighter Weapons School Atlantic (SFWSL) a Type Weapons School staffed by Strike Fighter Weapons & Tactics (SFWTI) instructors where F/A-18 aircrews go for "graduate level" training in air-to-ground ordnance delivery and air-to-air tactics. *

Landing Signal Officer A landing signal officer or landing safety officer (LSO), also informally known as paddles (United States Navy) or batsman (Royal Navy), is a naval aviator specially trained to facilitate the "safe and expeditious recovery" of naval aircraft abo ...

School (LSO School), where pilots selected to be LSOs (also known as "paddles"...which is a very old term from the days when the LSO actually signaled to the approaching aircraft with brightly colored paddles) go to learn how to "wave" planes aboard the "boat" (aircrew speak for the aircraft carrier). * CVW commands, or Carrier Air Wing Commanders (also called CAG, which is an old term derived from the previous name for these commands, Carrier Air Groups), which are responsible for all squadrons in an air wing when actually on board a carrier or when preparing for overseas deployment. Carrier Air Wings One,

Three 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...

Seven 7 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 7 or seven may also refer to: * AD 7, the seventh year of the AD era * 7 BC, the seventh year before the AD era * The month of July Music Artists * Seven (Swiss singer) (born 1978), a Swiss recording artist ...

, and Eight maintain headquarters at NAS Oceana. * Strike Fighter Composite Squadron 12 (

VFC-12 Fighter Squadron Composite Twelve (VFC-12) ''Fighting Omars'' is a United States Navy Reserve fighter squadron based at NAS Oceana. It provides adversary training to East Coast Navy air wings. VFC-12 reports to Tactical Support Wing, a component ...

), a Navy Reserve F/A-18A+ Hornet squadron that provides adversary/aggressor training services to Atlantic Fleet strike fighter squadrons. * Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 56 (VR-56), a Navy Reserve C-40 squadron that provides worldwide operational support airlift for deployable U.S. Navy Fleet units and shore establishment commands. * Fleet Area Control and Surveillance Facility Virginia Capes (FACSFAC VACAPES, call sign

GIANT KILLER GIANT KILLER is a military Air Traffic Control (ATC) call sign used within certain regions of the contiguous United States (CONUS). The callsign is primarily administered by the United States Navy for military flight operations on the East Coast. ...

), which is responsible for surveillance, management and sea and air traffic control of the

Virginia Capes The Virginia Capes are the two capes, Cape Charles to the north and Cape Henry to the south, that define the entrance to Chesapeake Bay on the eastern coast of North America. In 1610, a supply ship learned of the famine at Jamestown when it ...

warning areas for training purposes, as well as surveillance duties in support of Homeland Defense. * Construction Battalion Unit 415 (CBU 415), a Navy

Seabee United States Naval Construction Battalions, better known as the Navy Seabees, form the U.S. Naval Construction Force (NCF). The Seabee nickname is a heterograph of the initial letters "CB" from the words "Construction Battalion". Depending upon ...

Battalion. * Center for Naval Aviation Technical Training Unit Oceana (CNATTU Oceana), which trains Navy and Marine Corps aircraft maintainers on the F/A-18 and operates both A and C schools. *

Marine Aviation Training Support Group 33 Marine Aviation and Training Support Group 33 (MATSG-33) is a United States Marine Corps aviation training group that was originally established during World War II as Marine Aircraft Group 33 (MAG-33). Fighter squadrons from MAG-33 fought most ...

, a

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

training administration command, primarily supporting USMC aviation student and instructor staff personnel assigned to the F/A-18 Fleet Readiness Squadron, VFA-106. * A branch Medical and Dental clinic under the command of Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, VA.

Outlying field controversy

Plans by the Navy to construct an

Naval outlying landing field An outlying landing field (OLF) is an auxiliary airfield, associated with a seaborne component of the United States military. When associated with the United States Navy (who operate the majority), they are known as naval outlying landing fields ...

supporting both NAS Oceana and

MCAS Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point or MCAS Cherry Point (*) is a United States Marine Corps airfield located in Havelock, North Carolina, United States, in the eastern part of the state. It was built in 1941, and was commissioned in 1942 and ...

in eastern

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

, initiated in 2006, met with fierce opposition by local residents and environmentalists. Concerns about the ecological impacts of the field, along with noise concerns voiced by residents,Transcript of Navy News video
explaining noise concerns to residents in 2004 led to the abandonment of the initially planned sites for the OLF, along with a delay in the project's environmental impact statement.Navy Announces Delay of Environmental Impact Statement for East Coast Landing Field Sites
, US Navy, 8/28/2009. In early 2011, the U.S. Navy announced it was suspending plans for the construction of the outlying landing field until at least 2014.

Tenant Commands

Carrier Wings

Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic *

Carrier Air Wing 1 Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, with most of its various squadrons also home based at NAS Oceana. Additional squadrons are based at Naval Station Norfo ...

(CVW-1), assigned to: USS ''Harry S. Truman'' (CVN-75) *

Carrier Air Wing 3 Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3), known as the "Battle Axe", is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. The wing was created on 1 July 1938 and has seen service in World War II, the Korean War, t ...

(CVW-3), assigned to: USS ''Dwight D. Eisenhower'' (CVN-69) *

Carrier Air Wing 7 Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW-7) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. At the moment, CVW-7 is assigned to the USS George H. W. Bush. The tail code of aircraft assigned to CVW-7 is AG. Mis ...

(CVW-7), assigned to: USS ''George H.W. Bush'' (CVN-77) *

Carrier Air Wing 8 Carrier Air Wing Eight (CVW-8), is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier Mission To conduct carrier air warfare operations and assist in the ...

(CVW-8), assigned to: USS ''Gerald R. Ford'' (CVN-78)

Squadrons

Notes:

Environment

In mid-May 2017, of jet fuel spilled from a storage tank, and also spread onto adjoining properties and waterways, notably Wolfsnare Creek. The installation worked closely with local communities to assist with emergency relocation and issuing water. Fishermen were warned to refrain from fishing, crabbing and other recreational activities in the area. Affected wildlife was identified and helped as part of the cleanup.NAS Oceana officials urge caution after 94,000 gallon jet fuel spill

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

, NavyTimes.com, 2017-05-14

References

External links

* * *
{{Authority control Military installations in Virginia Oceana, Naval Air Station Military airbases established in 1943 1943 establishments in Virginia History of Virginia Beach, Virginia Military in Virginia Beach, Virginia Space Shuttle Emergency Landing Sites