Roosevelt Roads Naval Station

In 1919, future US President Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, toured Puerto Rico, visiting Ceiba. When he returned to the White House, he expressed a liking for the terrain where the base was to be located. This was during the World War I-era, and the US could benefit from an airfield in Ceiba. While Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth, its territorial rights belong to the US, which made it feasible for the US government to build an air base in Ceiba.^[4]

It took many years for the US to become convinced of the need for an air base in Ceiba. When Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany began to invade other European countries, the US, led by then President Roosevelt, considered the idea of a naval air station in Ceiba. With war in the European and Pacific theatres, they saw an airbase in the Caribbean as necessary. President Roosevelt ordered the creation of the base in 1940. In 1941, $50 million (equivalent to $799 million in 2024) was appropriated to develop a protected anchorage in the sea area between Puerto Rico and Vieques, an area later named Roosevelt Roads by Navy Secretary Frank Knox on 15 May 1941.^[5] On 22 August 1941, President Roosevelt signed a naval works among other things, authorized another $21.97 million (equivalent to $470 million in 2024) for a protected fleet anchorage at Roosevelt Roads.^[6]

In 1957, it was upgraded to Naval Station status. Fort Bundy was located there, but it crossed over to parts of Vieques, a fact that became important in the future. A US military mission, the M3, was located there. It was part of the "Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station, Puerto Rico Base Communication Department". M3 had a fleet center, a technical control facility and a Tactical support communications department among other things. The M3 was designated to help Puerto Rico, the US and other Caribbean and Latin American countries to deal with drug trafficking, illegal immigration and other problems. The main purpose of the base was tactical support for land/sea/air maneuvers at the Naval Training Range in Vieques.

In 1969, the US Navy established Camp Moscrip which held a rotating US Navy Construction Battalion (Seabee).^[7]

Within the industrial area the drydock, a bombproof power plant, a sewage pumping station, and a machine shop were completed. The drydock, 1100 by 155 feet, and built in the dry, was first used in July 1943. The power plant, a bombproof structure with 4-foot-thick concrete walls, was equipped with two 5,000-kw steam-driven generators. The drydock was dedicated on 15 February 1944, and the Bolles Drydock, in memory of Captain Harry A. Bolles, (CEC) USN, who was killed in Alaska in World War II.^[8]

In January 2003, Admiral Robert J. Natter said that, with the upcoming closure of the Naval Training Range in Vieques, Roosevelt Roads was no longer needed by the Navy.^[9] Later that year, a military appropriations bill required the Secretary of the Navy to close within six months of the enactment of the act.^[10] The base officially closed on 31 March 2004.^[11] At the time, there were nearly 1,200 active-duty officers and sailors at Roosevelt Roads.^[11] United States Special Operations Command South moved from Roosevelt Roads to Homestead Air Reserve Base.^[12] U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command moved from Roosevelt Roads to Mayport Naval Station.^[13] Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 74 (Seabee) moved from Roosevelt Roads to Little Creek, Virginia.^[7] When Roosevelt Roads closed, the only U.S. naval base in the Caribbean was the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.^[14] From the time that Congress voted to close the base until its closure, Roosevelt Roads closed faster than any other military installation on US soil in several decades.^[15] After its closure, 200 sailors and civilians remained to help in the transition from a naval base to a naval agency coordinating the closing process.^[16]

Of the former base's property, about 30% was transferred to the government of Puerto Rico and its municipalities, 40% became a wetlands preserve, and the remainder was offered for sale at public auction.^[17]

As of January 2009, approximately 2,900 acres (12 km²) of the former Naval Station was being marketed to the public by the Los Angeles group of Colliers International,^[18] on behalf of the Navy's Base Realignment and Closure Program Management Office,^[19] as a public auction to commence in the near future. The remaining portion is in the process of being conveyed to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and other Federal agencies in various stages. Since November 2008, Puerto Rico Ports Authority operates the José Aponte de la Torre Airport.^{[citation needed]}

In 2012, the former Roosevelt Roads Naval Station was under consideration as a possible location for the SpaceX private launch site, but was not selected.^[20]

As of October 2018, Ricardo Rosselló's administration made it the launching port to Vieques and Culebra^[21]

In mid-March 2020, José Aponte Hernández, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico said he would request from Jenniffer González Colón, (the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico) for funds to restore a former hospital to operational status. What was discussed was the possibility of using the former hospital located on the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station to treat persons affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico.^[22]

Roosevelt Roads Naval Station

History

The future

US Army Reserve, Army National Guard and remaining military activities

Potential vertical launch site

See also

References

External links

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