NS Mayport, FL Installation Guide

Mayport, Florida is located 15 miles east of Jacksonville at the mouth of the St. Johns River. Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach and Ponte Vedra Beach are communities just south of the base.

Distance in miles from Jacksonville to:

*Atlanta - 346 *Orlando - 140 *Chicago - 1062 *Tallahassee - 163 *Pensacola - 358 *Memphis - 713 *Norfolk - 608 *St. Louis - 901

See "Must Know Items" for specific directions on how to get to the installation from the airport and driving.

Mission: "The Finest Service to the Finest Fleet". To provide support for aviation, afloat, and shore-based commands.

Population assigned/served - Active Duty Enlisted - Tenant Commands 12,254 Family Members 17,638 Retirees 3,858 Civilian Employees 1,764

Telephone Access - Naval Station Mayport operator is available from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.; (904) 270-5011, DSN 960-5011. If calling after hours, contact the quarterdeck at (904) 270-5401, DSN 960-5401. See "Commonly Referenced Numbers" and "Major Unit Listing" for specific phone numbers.

History - Mayport was commissioned in December 1942, and was approximately one quarter the size of the station today. The basin, dredged to 29 feet, was used by patrol craft, rescue boats, and jeep carriers. Reclassified as a Naval Sea Frontier Base in 1943, Mayport added a landing field and a fueling facility for submarines. Decommissioned at the end of the war, Mayport reactivated in 1948, and by 1955 added a master jet runway. As a Naval Station, Mayport served as an advance staging area during the Cuban missile crisis. Station ships have been involved in operations off the coasts of Lebanon, and Granada, and in the Persian Gulf. Helicopter Squadrons at Naval Air Facility, established in 1982, joined the fleet at Mayport Naval Station in 1992. Today, Naval Station Mayport is home to 70 tenant commands and private organizations. Twenty-four ships are presently berthed in the Mayport basin, including four AEGIS guided-missile cruisers, six destroyers and nine guided-missile frigates and the aircraft carrier USS JOHN F. KENNEDY.