TENANT COMMANDS AT NAVAL WEAPONS STATION CHARLESTON
Naval Nuclear Power Training Command
Navy Officers and Sailors assigned to operate the world’s most powerful aircraft carriers and submarines begin their nuclear propulsion training at Naval Weapons Station Charleston.
Approximately 3,300 officer and enlisted students graduate each year from the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command after completing intensive training designed to prepare the next generation of Sailors, both academically and militarily, to become safe and trusted nuclear propulsion plant operators, ready for prototype training and ultimately service to the Fleet.
The first two training phases for enlisted members last from 38-48 weeks, depending on career field, while officers attend one 24-week phase at NNPTC. All graduates then advance to a 24 week hands-on program at one of the Nuclear Power Training Units where they will train using prototypes of nuclear vessels. From there, they can expect life-long careers supporting the Navy’s nuclear fleet.
Most students live, eat, and train in the Command’s modern training complex for most of the year. Built in 1998, the complex includes state-of-the-art school house, six modern “barracks,” award-winning dining facility, gym, liberty center, multi-purpose field, basketball courts, tennis courts, and various running trails. The site is also home to its own supply department, barber shop, post office, active Morale Welfare and Recreation (MWR) program, dental and medical facilities.
Nuclear Field "A" School classes begin weekly, coinciding with the completion of the Navy recruit training in Great Lakes, Illinois. After completing “boot camp,” Sailors who meet strict qualification requirements are provided plane tickets to the Charleston International Airport where they are escorted to the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command complex. There, they are given various briefs and information to indoctrinate them into the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program.
The enlisted students begin one of three courses offered in the Nuclear Field “A” School: a 14-week Machinist’s Mate course; a 24-week Electrician’s Mate course; or the 24-week Electronics Technician course. Established in 1986, Nuclear Field “A” School establishes the foundation of in-rate knowledge for the nuclear training pipeline. The curriculum is intense, fast paced, and very detailed. All courses included extensive laboratory time in support of classroom instruction.
During Nuclear Field “A” School, unmarried enlisted students are prohibited from having a car on base for the first four weeks of training and live in the barracks. Upon successful completion of this school, eligible students are promoted to E-4, and move into barracks with more space. Each fully furnished room contains cable, phone, and internet connections and a personal refrigerator and microwave. The barracks buildings include multiple washers and dryers, a phone room, and a common lounge area with a big screen TV and DVD player.
After Nuclear Field “A” School, enlisted students move into the Transition Control Division while they await Nuclear Power School class-up and final security clearance approval. Here they participate in community volunteer events, learn about watch standing, and are given a Nuclear Power School indoctrination.
Once enough students have graduated from A-school to form a full class, they advance to the 24-week Nuclear Power School (NPS). Officers who have recently graduated from the Naval Academy, NROTC, or Officer Candidate School are directly enrolled. This program is designed to train students in the
science and engineering fundamental of the design, operation, and maintenance propulsion plants. Beginning every 8 weeks, each NPS class includes approximately 100 officer and 400 enlisted students.
New students, reporting directly from boot camp, are met at the Charleston International Airport and taken directly to Naval Nuclear Power Training Command for in-processing. New staff members are required to check-in at Rickover Center (Building 2400). Working hours are 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Uniform of the Day is service khakis for E-7 and above and seasonal uniform for E-6 and below. The winter period begins in early November and the summer period begins in early April. Every Friday, the uniform of the day is summer whites or service dress blues and for E-6 and below and for E-7 and above summer whites or Navy service uniform or service dress blues.
Upon arrival, enlisted staff members begin their qualification process which includes the following: Duty Master at Arms, Junior Officer of the Day, Site Officer of the Day, and Military Division Officer of the Day. Officer staff will qualify Command Duty Officer and Officer of the Day.
New staff members are encouraged to contact their sponsors as soon as possible regarding travel arrangements, estimated check-in-date, and contact information. If unable to reach your sponsor, please contact the NNPTC Staff Administration Office at (843) 574-8186 or DSN 794-8186. A welcome program has been established for spouses of students and staff after their arrival. Additional information can be found on the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command website at https://www.netc.navy.mil/nnptc/home.htm
Nuclear Power Training Unit
Upon completion of academic courses at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, officer and enlisted students are assigned to one of two Nuclear Power Training Units (NPTU’s) where they will begin their final 6-month nuclear propulsion training before sea duty. During this phase of training, the Nuclear Field “A” School and Nuclear Power School theory will be directly supplemented by “hands-on” training on operating nuclear propulsion plants.
Located at Naval Weapons Station Charleston and in Ballston Spa, New York, the NPTU’s are equipped with prototype nuclear reactors which provide students hands-on training in operating nuclear propulsion plants. In Charleston, two former fleet submarines (USS SAM RAYBURN and USS DANIEL WEBSTER)
are used.
Established in 1989, the Charleston Nuclear Power Training Unit has a staff of 600 Navy and 170 civilians who are responsible for insuring quality hands-on training and direct supervision of nearly 1,500 officers and enlisted Sailors who graduate from the nuclear propulsion program each year. A new class begins every two months, with three classes in training at any given time.
In order to provide the highest degree of competence and safety in nuclear propulsion operations, it is essential that all operators have a thorough understanding of the plant as a whole. By the time a trainee reports to the fleet, he or she will already have considerable experience in the safe operation, maintenance and supervision of naval nuclear propulsion plants.
The Navy’s unsurpassed nuclear safety record is a tribute to
the quality of training provided by both Naval Nuclear Power Training Command and the Nuclear Power Training Units and
has resulted in more than 141 million miles safely steamed on nuclear power in over 50 years. Due to this record of safety and professionalism, U.S. nuclear powered vessels are welcomed at more than 150 ports in over 50 countries and dependencies throughout the world.
Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic (SSC Atlantic)
Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Atlantic (SSC Atlantic) was formed Oct. 1, 2008 when the competencies and process capabilities of existing SPAWAR Systems Centers in Charleston, New Orleans and Norfolk were combined. Collective sights were set on the critical mission of delivering secure, integrated, and innovative solutions that are ready-for-tasking by Naval, Joint and National Warfighters.
The SSC Atlantic team designs, acquires, engineers and sustains the sensor connections, cyber network infrastructures and knowledge management services that ensure timely and trusted information is available where it is needed, when it is needed and only to those who need it. More formally, SSC Atlantic’s mission statement reads: “In the interest of national defense, we provide quality full-service systems engineering and acquisition to rapidly deploy capabilities to the Naval, Joint and National Warfighter through the development, test, evaluation, production, and fielding of sustainable, survivable, and interoperable Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (C4ISR), Enterprise Information Services (EIS) and Space capabilities that enable knowledge superiority.”
SSC Atlantic reports directly to the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command located in San Diego, CA. We utilize our major stateside offices in South Carolina, Virginia, Louisiana, Florida, Washington D.C., as well as overseas posts in Europe, the Mideast and Antarctica to effectively meet the needs of our customers.
As a Navy Working Capital Fund (NWCF) organization, SSC Atlantic receives no mission funding or direct appropriations. Orders for new technology in 2008 alone amounted to $3.5 billion, 82% of which we executed through private industry teams. In addition to our own staff, SSC Atlantic employs nearly 9,000 contractors from industry partners.
SSC Atlantic’s speed in developing technology from concept to deployment offers an invaluable return on investment to its customers. We are the Navy’s Atlantic regional C4I engineering acquisition and integration center and principal C4ISR In-Service Engineering Agent. We provide global cradle-to-grave software and engineering support for fleet standard automated information systems, afloat and ashore.
Beyond providing solutions to communicate and share critical information for the Navy, SSC Atlantic acts as part of the critical path for many Joint and National agencies. We are honored to serve Naval, Joint and National Warfighters’ unified efforts to best cope with the dangers of the 21st Century and beyond by enabling them to respond to any situation, anywhere, at anytime.
Navy Munitions Command CONUS
East Division Detachment Charleston
From the first appointed Powder Receiver in Charleston in 1690, to the powder Magazine on Cumberland Street built in 1713 (the oldest public building still standing in the Carolinas), to the magazines at Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie, Charleston’s long and rich history has been intertwined with the receipt and storage of military ordnance.
When first commissioned in 1941, Naval Weapons Station Charleston had two distinct missions: as home for two strategic submarine squadrons, and as an ordnance station with capacity for more than 60 million pounds of convention ordnance. The submarine squadrons are now gone, but the ordnance mission continues today under the direction of Navy Munitions Command CONUS East Division (NMC CED) Detachment Charleston.
NMC CED Detachment Charleston is responsible for the receipt, storage and issue of ordnance, as well as conducting explosive ordnance operations in its facilities at the Naval Weapons Station Charleston, in support of its world-wide mission or provide
quality and responsive logistics, technical and material support
to the Fleet and other customers in the areas of combat ammunition management.
NMC CED Detachment Charleston maintains 55 magazines and seven above ground storage sites which have a capacity of more than 60 million pounds of explosives. It provides ordnance support to the Marine Corps and Army Pre-positioned Afloat Programs, provides ordnance to military units in theater and throughout the world, supports the ordnance needs of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, and arranges world-wide ordnance transportation requirements for Naval Weapons Station and tenant activities including The Citadel.
Mobile Mine Assembly Unit ELEVEN
Mobile Mine Assembly Unit (MOMAU) ELEVEN is the largest Intermediate Maintenance Activity for mines in the world with an area of responsibility covering over half the globe, pole to pole from the Indian Ocean and Arabian Gulf westward to the Pacific Coast of North and South America. MOMAU-11 is also the only unit that conducts operations in all mission areas of mining.
Its first mission is to store, maintain, and assemble, as needed, Pre-positioned War Reserve Stock (PWRS) service mines in support of SECOND, FIFTH, and SIXTH fleets’, Joint, and Allied, offensive, defensive and protective mining operations. Secondly, MOMAU-11 provides exercise and training mines, including Versatile Exercise Mines (VEM)s, to support Allied and Air Force, as well as Navy mine countermeasures (MCM) and explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) exercises and training. It also supports research and development projects for mining and MCM. If homeland security measures warrant, the unit is also the primary provider for defensive/protective mining for all U.S. seaboards.
All active duty and reserve officers and enlisted Sailors within the unit are organized and trained to deploy as mobile detachments to support mining operations. These Mine Assembly Teams (MAT) deploy overseas and within the continental United States to aircraft carriers, submarine bases, and Air Force bomber bases. The MATs participate in approximately 30 exercises annually. Pre-positioned war reserve stocks of underwater mines are distributed from this unit to all aircraft carriers.
Strategically located between northern and southern east coast naval operating areas, MOMAU-11 absorbed three similar units that were closed as a result of consolidations brought about by the 1997 BRAC and the 2005 European Command decision to reduce the US footprint overseas. Similar missions were moved to Naval Weapons Station Charleston from Yorktown, Virginia; Colts Neck, New Jersey; and Sigonella, Sicily.
Currently, the unit is manned by three active duty officers, three reserve officers, and more than 90 active duty and reserve enlisted Sailors.
841st Transportation Battalion
The 841st Transportation Battalion is responsible for command and control of transportation and distribution of military cargo and equipment via ship, train, convoy, and truck through all of Military Surface Distribution Deployment Command’s (SDDC’s) Atlantic ports to destinations around the world. It is also prepared to deploy military personnel from Southeastern United States, via surface transportation, to other SDDC locations outside of the Continental United States.
Recognized as the busiest military terminal battalion in the U.S. Army, the 841st Transportation Battalion is strategically located to serve major combat units such as the 3rd Infantry Division at Ft. Stewart, Ga; the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky; the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, N.C., and two Marine Expeditionary Forces at Camp Lejeune, N.C.
The 841st Transportation Battalion is designated as the Department of Defense’s single port manager for arranging military cargo shipments in Charleston; Savannah, Ga.; Wilmington, N.C.; Morehead City, N.C.; Norfolk, Va; Baltimore, Md.; Philadelphia, Pa.; and New York and New Jersey. With a staff of just 50 people, it is responsible for coordinating with Military Sealift Command, Coast Guard, local port authorities and local labor and transportation firms to expedite the movement of military cargo. The battalion’s mission pays out over $39 million annually in wages and contracted services.
In fiscal year 2008, over 29,600 pieces of military cargo were loaded to/from 284 ships by the 841st Transportation Battalion. Included in that figure was cargo loaded to/from 61 vessels, 6,631 trucks, and 1,059 rail cars in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).
The 841st Transportation Battalion shipped over 15,000 up-armored humvees into the U.S. Military Central Command ports in the Middle East during Fiscal Year 2006. In 2007, the unit began shipping the newest up-armored vehicles called MRAP (mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles) to Iraq. These MRAPs protect soldiers against deadly IED attacks. To date, the 841st has moved more than 10,000 MRAPs to Southwest Asia.
Approximately 35 percent of all Army combat equipment used in the OIF/OEF theater is loaded through 841st facilities located on Naval Weapons Station Charleston. With 2.3 million square feet of staging area, two military berths, a secure federal enclave on which to conduct operations, lower costs and great community support, NWS Charleston is the “Terminal of Choice” for power projection on the East Coast.
Army Strategic Logistics Activity Charleston
The Army implemented a “power projection logistics” strategy in 1993 to pre-position ships at sea with Army equipment and supplies. These pre-positioned ships allow Army units and soldiers to rapidly deploy worldwide in support of any contingency or humanitarian effort.
As part of the strategic vision, a provisional organization was established at Naval Weapons Station Charleston in May 1994. The concept, approved in September 1994, established a government owned, contractor operated facility, where Army equipment and supplies are loaded aboard Navy ships, and the ships are pre-positioned at strategic locations around the world.
The Army Strategic Logistics Activity Charleston was then activated at Naval Weapons Station Charleston in October, 1995, to perform this mission. The Army invested $37 million in modifications and new construction to the former Polaris Missile Maintenance Facility. Another $16 million went into modifications of the staging area pad and the 25-acre Wharf Alpha site so it could accommodate the Army’s $1.8 billion upload and download equipment inventory.
The Army’s goal of power projection became a reality in February 1997 when the first of a series of converted Large Medium-Speed Roll-on/Roll-off ships (LMSR) was loaded with Army equipment and supplies at the Naval Weapons Station Charleston.
Since 1997, a combination of 50 download and/or upload operations have been executed by the Army Strategic Logistics Activity Charleston.
The Army’s 2015 pre-positioning strategy calls for 10 ships in the Army fleet to carry equipment and sustainment stocks for two infantry brigades and two sustainment support brigade sets
of equipment.
The Army Activity’s workforce of 59 civilians and nine military oversee a contractor workforce of as many as 550 employees. Combined, they contribute approximately $40 million annually to Charleston’s economy.
Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston
Rehabilitation is the primary goal of the Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston, a level II medium-security prison with 400 cells, but currently rated to house up to 228 military prisoners from all branches of the armed forces. Sentences range up to seven years, and on a case-by-case basis, up to 10 years.
The Brig’s mission is to ensure the safety, security good order and discipline of prisoners and detained personnel while retraining and restoring the maximum number to honorable military service or productive civilian life. In addition, when directed, the Brig also detains declared enemy combatants under laws of war.
In order to rehabilitate its prisoners to become productive citizens upon release, prisoners receive both educational and vocational training and continual counseling. Industrial training programs include wood craft, auto, sign, upholstery and welding shops that, in addition to providing useful training, save government agencies more than $750,000 annually. They also participate in work/training programs involving plumbing, electrical, and grounds maintenance. In order to contribute to the positive environment toward these constructive goals, prisoners are afforded the dignity of wearing and maintaining their military uniforms while in confinement.
The Brig also provides clinical treatment programs for violent offenders, chemical abusers, sex offenders, and combat stress. When studied over a five-year period, fewer than 20% of released military prisoners ever returned to prison, compared
to more than 65% of prisoners incarcerated in a state
prison system.
The Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston was commissioned in 1989 with 400 cells, and opened in 1990 when it received its first prisoners. It houses prisoners from all military services. Originally staffed only by the Navy, it was joined by the Air Force and
Army in 1993, and the Marine Corps in 2000. Today, the Brig
staff includes members of all military services as well as Navy civilian employees.
The Naval Consolidated Brig Charleston earned its 6th consecutive 100% compliance rating during its 2007 triennial re-accreditation audit by the American Correctional Association (ACA), a record unprecedented in ACA’s over 138 year history.
Navy Operational Support Center Charleston
The Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) Charleston provides administrative support for more than 500 Navy reservists, assigned to 20 units on Naval Weapons Station Charleston. The NOSC’s mission is to insure these reservists are ready and fully integrated into the active force, so they can rapidly deploy in support of the Fleet in the event of a partial or full mobilization.
The center provides personnel, medical, pay, and travel support for the reservists who serve in a wide variety of career fields including such areas as civil engineering, cargo handling, legal technicians, and medical support. Ten of the reserve units train monthly at the Navy Operational Support Center, located in Building 3370 on the south side of the base, while the remainder train with their active duty counterparts on base in units such as the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center and Mobile Mine Assembly Unit 11. Persons interested in finding out more about careers in the Navy reserve should call 743-2620 Ext 38 for
more information.
U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Training Center
The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Training Center moved on to the Naval Weapons Station on December 12, 2008, where it is now responsible for training approximately 125 reservists who would be assigned to Company C if mobilized.
The mission of Company C (Reinforced) is to provide command and control for operations in support of the Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF). To accomplish this, Company C is reinforced with detachments from Headquarters and Landing Support Equipment Company, which allows it to provide the nucleus of a Landing Force Short Party (LFSP) for amphibious operations, or an Arrival and Assembly Operations Group (AAOG) for Maritime Prepositioning Force (MPF) operations. With these tasks organized units, Company C (Reinforced) provides personnel and equipment for the loading, unloading, and movement of supplies and personnel at sea, airport, railhead, beachhead or multiple helicopter landing zones.
Persons interested in becoming Marine Reservists assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Training Center can call 743-2220.
U.S. Army Reserve Center
Since its inception in the 1917, the Army Reserve has had the mission to provide ready soldiers and units to support the Regular Army in time of war. Since then, Army Reserve soldiers proudly served their nation through two world wars, as well as the conflicts in Korea and Vietnam, Operation DESERT STORM and other contingencies. Today, with the nation engaged in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, that mission is as important and as relevant as ever.
The U.S. Army Reserve has had a presence on the Naval Weapons Station Charleston since the early 1970’s when the first Army Reserve Center was constructed on what is today the South Annex. Today, the Army Reserve Center proudly houses more than 600 Army Reserve soldiers, and is home to nine Army Reserve units: the 1189th Transportation Group; the 1182nd Deployment Distribution Support Battalion; the 7224th Medical support Unit; the 350th Medical Company; the 941st Transportation Company; the 590th Transportation Detachment; the 595th Transportation Detachment; the 596th Transportation Detachment and the 630th Terminal Supervision Team.
Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC), a bureau of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, operates a residential training facility in Charleston, S.C. The main campus in North Charleston is complemented by a satellite training site aboard Naval Weapons Station Charleston.
The mission of the FLETC is to provide basic and advanced law enforcement training to federal, state and local law enforcement officers and agents. Included in the FLETC satellite training site are classrooms, firearms and driver training ranges situated
on 1,500 acres with approximately 25,000 square feet in
nine buildings.
Coast Guard Sector Charleston
Although not located on the Naval Weapons Station, all 600-plus military members assigned to the Coast Guard in the Charleston area are eligible to use support services available at the Naval Weapons Station including base housing and Morale, Welfare and Recreation activities.
The Lowcountry is home to more than 1,200 Coast Guard Active Duty, Reserve, and Auxiliary personnel. Coast Guard Sector Charleston is located at 196 Tradd Street in the southern most part of the Charleston’s historic district. Covering approximately 8.2 acres, the base is surrounded by historical waterfront. Since Charleston is a seagoing port with access to both the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, the Coast Guard Base is in an ideal position for many seagoing missions as well as a variety of shore based activities that fall under Sector Charleston.
The Coast Guard Charleston Base was first commissioned at its present site in 1914. The land was dedicated to the U.S. Lighthouse Service and originally was used as a buoy depot. The U.S. Coast Guard absorbed the U.S. Lighthouse Service in 1939, including Base Charleston. Two patrol boats are currently assigned to Sector Charleston to provide off shore law enforcement and search and rescue resources. The patrol boats are TARPON and YELLLOW FIN which are the new 87-foot cutter class, homeported in Tybee Island, Ga., and Charleston, S.C.
Sector Charleston’s Command Center coordinates and responds to search and rescue, Homeland Security, pollution, law enforcement and fisheries issues involving the local maritime community. The Enforcement Division coordinates enforcement of laws and treaties to include drug interdiction operations and alien migrant interdiction operations. The Incident Management Division is responsible for safe and effective prosecution of multi-mission operations across Sector Charleston’s area of responsibility to include management and oversight of small boat stations located in Brunswick and Tybee Island, Ga.
Other Coast Guard units in the area include: Coast Guard Cutters GALLATIN, DALLAS, and OAK, the Maritime Law Enforcement Academy, a Naval Engineering Support Unit, and the Southeast Regional Fisheries Training Center.
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