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United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge (USNTC Bainbridge) was the
U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...
Training Center at
Port Deposit, Maryland Port Deposit is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. It is located on the east bank of the Susquehanna River near its discharge into the Chesapeake Bay. The population was 653 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Geograph ...
, on the bluffs of the northeast bank of the
Susquehanna River The Susquehanna River ( ; Unami language, Lenape: ) is a major river located in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, crossing three lower Northeastern United States, Northeast states (New York, Pennsylvani ...
. It was active from 1942 to 1976 under the Commander of the Fifth Naval District, based in
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...
. Located on the appropriated campus of the
Tome School The Tome School is a private school in North East, Maryland, North East in Cecil County, Maryland, Cecil County in the U.S. state of Maryland. Founded in 1894 by Jacob Tome, it is one of the oldest schools in Maryland. It enrolls grades K–12. ...
for boys, the training center sat between various important naval centers of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
: about northeast of
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
, and from Washington, D.C., and
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
. It was reached via Maryland Route 222, about halfway between US 1 and US 40.


History


Origin

President
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
personally approved the site, which was seized from the
Tome School The Tome School is a private school in North East, Maryland, North East in Cecil County, Maryland, Cecil County in the U.S. state of Maryland. Founded in 1894 by Jacob Tome, it is one of the oldest schools in Maryland. It enrolls grades K–12. ...
by Congressional order. Roosevelt also chose the name to honor Commodore
William Bainbridge Commodore William Bainbridge (May 7, 1774July 27, 1833) was a United States Navy officer. During his long career in the young American navy he served under six presidents beginning with John Adams and is notable for his many victories at sea. ...
, who commanded the
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
''Constitution'' when it defeated the British frigate HMS ''Java'' during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...
. According to the Friday, September 17, 1954 football program, "The primary purpose of the Training Center is to aid young men and women entering the Navy in making the transition from civilian to sailor. The degree to which this purpose is being fulfilled is silently being proclaimed regularly as the thousands of Bainbridge trainees step into Navy roles around the globe." The campus was expanded by government purchase from to . More than five hundred new buildings were built, some designed by
Eggers & Higgins Eggers & Higgins was a New York architectural firm partnered by Otto Reinhold Eggers (August 4, 1882 – April 23, 1964) and Daniel Paul Higgins (September 12, 1886 – December 26, 1953). The architects were responsible for the construction phas ...
.


World War II


Recruit training

The center was activated on 1 October 1942, and the first batch of recruits arrived 10 days later to begin "boot camp" training. They came in busloads from transportation collection points at Havre de Grace and
Perryville, Maryland Perryville is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 4,361 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. The town is located near an exit for Interstate 95 in Maryland, Interstate 95, on the north side of the outlet ...
. The recruits were given a battery of tests to determine their educational and skill levels, then trained in ordnance and gunnery, seamanship, fire fighting, physical training, and military drill. Recruits were trained in shipboard duties aboard the R.T.S. ''Commodore'', a 200-foot "ship" built on dry land. The trainer was equipped with deck guns, a
pilot house A bridge (also known as a command deck), or wheelhouse (also known as a pilothouse), is a room or platform of a ship, submarine, airship, or spaceship from which the ship can be commanded. When a ship is under way, the bridge is manned by an off ...
,
davit Boat suspended from Welin Quadrant davits; the boat is mechanically 'swung out' Gravity multi-pivot on Scandinavia'' file:Bossoir a gravité.jpg, Gravity Roller Davit file:Davits-starbrd.png, Gravity multi-pivot davit holding rescue vessel on ...
s with
whaleboat A whaleboat is a type of open boat that was used for catching whales, or a boat of similar design that retained the name when used for a different purpose. Some whaleboats were used from whaling ships. Other whaleboats would operate from the s ...
s, and mooring lines fastened to earth-bound
bollard A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. The term originally referred to a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring boats. In modern usage, it also refers to posts installed to control road traffic and posts designed to pre ...
s, so that crew members could learn casting off
hawser Hawser () is a nautical term for a thick rope used in Mooring (watercraft), mooring or towing a ship. A hawser is not waterproof, as is a Nautical cable, cable. A hawser passes through a hawsehole, also known as a cat hole, located on the wikt: ...
s and other lines connecting the ship to its dock. Halfway through boot camp, recruits had a "service week", which generally included kitchen duty, peeling potatoes, mopping, picking up cigarette butts, etc. Recruits with desirable skills, such as typing, could end up on an office typewriter rather than in a kitchen. One winter, recruits were sent to shovel snow off roads to a largely rural area near Colora and Rising Sun. By the end of World War II, the center had trained 244,277 recruits who transferred to various ships and stations throughout the world.


Non-recruit training

USNTC Bainbridge also trained new boot camp graduates and other sailors in technical and other skills. During World War II, 24,484 sailors completed various programs under the direction of the Service School Command. These included: *Coast Guard School *Rockefeller Research Unit (Report to Naval Training Station). *Stewards Mates' School Roll *
Naval Academy Preparatory School The Naval Academy Preparatory School or NAPS is the preparatory school for the United States Naval Academy (USNA). NAPS is located on Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island. The mission of the Naval Academy Preparatory School is "To enhance Midshi ...
, founded in 1943. *Naval Hospital *Hospital Corps School *Naval Training School (Radio) *Naval Training School (Fire Controlmen) *Fire Fighters School *Naval Training School (Electrical) *Naval Training School (Physical Instructors) *Naval Training School (Instructors) *Naval Training School (Sound Motion Picture Technician) *Fire Fighters Training Unit *Naval Training School (Motion Picture Operators) *Naval Training School (Recruit Instructors – C)


First deactivation

After the war, the center continued limited operations until 30 June 1947, when it was first inactivated as a Navy training center. The sole remaining training activity on campus was the Naval Academy Prep School (NAPS). A maintenance staff remained active to protect the buildings from weather and other damage.


Reactivation

In mid-1950, with the advent of the
Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...
crisis, plans were made to reactivate the center, and it was officially reopened on 1 February 1951, with Captain Robert Hall Smith in command. Despite the care of the maintenance staff, the buildings were in severe disrepair. A contract was awarded to Consolidated Engineering Company of
Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
. The necessary renovations and road work were accomplished ahead of schedule, and the center reopened its gates for recruits on 5 April 1951. Initially, the center admitted 500 recruits per week, but the rate soon doubled. The first class of 500 seamen recruits graduated on 23 June 1951. In 1962, the
Naval Nuclear Power School The Nuclear Power School (NPS) is a technical training institution operated by the United States Navy in Goose Creek, South Carolina. It serves as a core component of the Navy’s program to prepare enlisted sailors, officers, and civilians emplo ...
was installed on the center. In 1976, the school was moved to Naval Training Center Orlando, Florida.


Second deactivation

The Navy deactivated the Center on 31 March 1976 and on the evening of 30 June 1976, Chief Petty Officer Stephen Kowalki locked the gates for the final time. Some of the facilities were used by the
Department of Labor A ministry of labour (''British English, UK''), or labor (''American English, US''), also known as a department of labour, or labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workfor ...
as a
Job Corps Job Corps is a program administered by the United States Department of Labor that offers free education and vocational training to young people ages 16 to 24.
Training Center until 1990.


Base closing

On 3 November 1986, the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
authorized the
Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) is a statutory officer () and the head (chief executive officer) of the Department of the Navy, a military department within the United States Department of Defense. On March 25, 2025, John Phelan was confirm ...
to dispose of Naval Training Center Bainbridge by sale to private parties or transfer to other government agencies. NTCB is the federal facilities equivalent of a
brownfield Brownfield is previously-developed land that has been abandoned or underused, and which may carry pollution, or a risk of pollution, from industrial use. The specific definition of brownfield land varies and is decided by policy makers and l ...
site; the Navy's primary goal was effective re-use of the former property by the State of Maryland and the people of
Cecil County Cecil County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland at the northeastern corner of the state, bordering both Pennsylvania and Delaware. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 103,725. The county seat is Elkton. The ...
. Congress specified that before any sale, the Secretary of the Navy was required to "restore such property to a condition that meets all applicable Federal and State of Maryland environmental protection regulations" (Public Law 99-956).


21st century

As of June 2006, the U.S. Navy had transferred this site to the Bainbridge Development Corporation (BDC) and declared the cleanup complete. Various buildings have since caught fire due to arson, including, but not limited, to: *On 21 September 2014, the main building at the Tome School on the Bainbridge Naval Base property was partially incinerated, leaving only a skeleton of the building. *On 10 February 2019, an abandoned home on the property was incinerated. *On 6 May 2020, a wooden/stone two-story home-style building, later identified as a former hotel or inn, was incinerated. *On 12 June 2020, a large stone building caught fire. Crews arrived to find the roof already collapsed. The department allowed the building to incinerate completely and later ruled it a total loss. To protect the remaining three historic Tome School buildings, a security company installed cameras in August 2020. The cameras are monitored but can also detect and communicate with intruders and automatically call police if an intruder continues to loiter. Suggestions that the BDC crowdsource efforts to restore the buildings have been quashed because the BDC is a quasi-government owned corporation. In 2022, construction began on a logistics and shipping hub at the Bainbridge site.


Organization

The center was divided into four activities, each with its own commanding officer:


Administrative Command

The Administrative Command was responsible for the various tasks and services necessary in running a center containing about 35,000 inhabitants. Tasks included base maintenance, physical security, fire protection, logistics, material procurement, medical care, religious services, transportation, and so on.


Recruit Training Command

The Recruit Training Command was the largest of the center's commands and was responsible for the basic training of recruits. It consisted of four independent commands – known as camps—each of which had its own regimental drill hall, mess hall, barracks, class rooms, and so on: *Camp Rodgers *Camp Perry *Camp James *Camp Barney Each camp contained 5,000 male recruits. A training school was established for
WAVE In physics, mathematics, engineering, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from List of types of equilibrium, equilibrium) of one or more quantities. ''Periodic waves'' oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium ...
recruits in October 1951. Circa 1959, male recruit training at Bainbridge was closed and male recruit training was only in Great Lakes, Illinois and San Diego, California. Bainbridge was the sole recruit training center for Waves until moving to Orlando, Florida in 1972.


Service School Command

The Service School Command was organized to train selected personnel who had completed "recruit" basic training and demonstrated an aptitude for a skill during initial recruit testing. The command had a capacity of providing specialty training to 4,000 sailors at a time. These personnel were assigned to training in gunnery, fire control, radio, telemetry, and other technical subjects. The training center was also the home to the Naval Hospital Corps school. The
Naval Academy Preparatory School The Naval Academy Preparatory School or NAPS is the preparatory school for the United States Naval Academy (USNA). NAPS is located on Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island. The mission of the Naval Academy Preparatory School is "To enhance Midshi ...
was a component of the Service School Command and was chartered to train enlisted personnel for acceptance into the
U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is the sec ...
at
Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland. It is the county seat of Anne Arundel County and its only incorporated city. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...
. The school also trained sailors and marines in necessary academic skills required for admission to colleges and universities under the
Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Origins A pilot Naval Reserve unit was established in September 1924 ...
.


Naval Hospital

The naval hospital was established as a 500-bed hospital to care for the center's operating staff, recruits, students, and dependents, with provision to increase capacity to 1,000 beds or more. Some care was provided by the roughly 1,200 students studying to become Hospital Corpsmen at the Hospital Corps School.


Bainbridge Commodores

For some years, the base fielded a football team. The 1943 team and the 1944 team played full seasons against other military service teams. Later teams played against college football teams. Notable players for Bainbridge included Al Vandeweghe and
Joe Davis Joseph Davis (15 April 190110 July 1978) was an English professional snooker and English billiards player. He was the dominant figure in snooker from the 1920s to the 1950s, and has been credited with inventing aspects of the way the game is ...
. The 1954 Commodores won the East Coast Navy Championship. Coaches included head coach Herb Agocs; assistant coach BMC William Bennett, USN; Line Coach Lt. John Dazio, USN; End Coach PN3 Jack Williamson USN; and Backfield Coach SN Bill Sullivan, USN. The schedule was: 16 Sept : Eglin A.F.B. (Home); 24 Sept: University of Delaware; 30 Sept: Amphibious Force; 7 Oct: Mitchel A.F.B (Home); 14 Oct: Fort Eustis; 21 Oct: Fort Meade (Home); 29 Oct: NTC Great Lakes; 4 Nov Cape May CG (Home); 12 Nov: NAS Pensacola; and 19 Nov: Norfolk Tars (Home).


Famous people who served at the USNTC

*
Al Cartwright Albert Thomas Cartwright (June 20, 1917 – May 10, 2015) was an American sportswriter. He spent 1947 to 1968, then 1971 to 1983, working with ''The News Journal'' and its predecessors, winning awards for his "A La Carte" columns. Sportswriting ...
, sportswriter * Charlie "Choo Choo" Justice, football player at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill *Admiral
Frank B. Kelso II Frank Benton Kelso II (July 11, 1933 – June 23, 2013) was an Admiral (United States), admiral of the United States Navy, who served as Chief of Naval Operations from 1990 to 1994. Early life Kelso was born in Fayetteville, Tennessee, on July 11, ...
(1933–2013), who later became
Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an Admiral (United States), admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the United States Secretary ...
, commanded the U.S. Naval Nuclear Power School at the U.S. Naval Training Center Bainbridge from 1969 to 1971. *
Paul Pierce Paul Anthony Pierce (born October 13, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics. As of September 2024, he is a contributo ...
, who later became head football coach at Sul Ross State University and Sam Houston State University *
Bill Cosby William Henry Cosby Jr. ( ; born July 12, 1937) is an American retired comedian, actor, and media personality. Often cited as a trailblazer for African Americans in the entertainment industry, Cosby was a film, television, and stand-up comedy ...
, actor and comedian.


See also

* Commodores football *
Naval Station Great Lakes Naval Station Great Lakes (NAVSTA Great Lakes) is the home of the United States Navy's only current recruit training, boot camp, located near North Chicago, Illinois, North Chicago, in Lake County, Illinois, along Lake Michigan. Important tenan ...


References

*


External links


USNTC Bainbridge Association



Bainbridge Residential Phase 1A Property (Voluntary Cleanup Program), Maryland Department of the Environment. December 2011
{{Coord, 39, 36, 45, N, 76, 05, 30, W, type:landmark_region:US-MD, display=title 1942 establishments in Maryland 1976 disestablishments in Maryland Buildings and structures in Cecil County, Maryland Closed installations of the United States Navy Military installations closed in 1976 Training installations of the United States Navy