Your Life - Special Packages - Guide To Gulf Coast Living

Saturday, Jun. 20, 2009

Military has long history in South Mississippi

SUN HERALD

Military personnel, including active-duty, civilian employees, retirees and their dependents, help to keep the economy intact in Harrison, Hancock and Jackson counties.

In support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, hundreds have been deployed from coastal bases, and more than 50 from Mississippi, or with ties to the state, have been killed in action.

Biloxi’s Keesler Air Force Base is home to thousands in the military who are crafting their skills in the 81st Training Wing in fields such as avionics, electronics, communications, computer programming and air traffic control. Also on the base is Keesler Medical Center, which serves more than 79,000 local beneficiaries.

In Gulfport, the Naval Construction Battalion Center is home to the Atlantic Fleet Seabees, the men and women who often provide the muscles and brains to build runways, bridges and buildings.

In addition, the National Guard in Gulfport has more than 1,000 personnel and more than 100 other civilian employees serving its four branches.

The U.S. Coast Guard is headquartered in Gulfport to handle search and rescue missions.

North of Bay St. Louis in Hancock County is Stennis Space Center, home of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanographic Office and the Naval Research Laboratory, which performs ocean surveys, produces maps and provides research for the U.S. Department of Defense.

In the eastern part of Jackson County in Pascagoula, the U.S. Navy Supervisor of Shipbuilding oversees vessel construction at Northrop Grumman.

Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi

nEstablished 1941.

n An estimated 7,300 military personnel and 3,400 civilians are stationed at the base. The total number includes Air Force Reserve and students in training.

n Selected in 1993 as the site for the 2nd Air Force, the command headquarters for all Air Force technical training.

n Home of the Hurricane Hunters and the Flying Jennies of the 403rd Wing of the Air Force Reserves. Home of the Department of Defense Weather School and the world’s largest electronic training center.

Details: 228-377-2783 or www.keesler.af.mil.

Naval Construction Battalion Center, Gulfport

nEstablished 1942.

nLocated on more than 1,000 acres.

nEmployment estimated at 5,000, with about 1,500 military personnel living on the base.

nHome of the Atlantic Fleet Seabees

Details: 871-2699.

Navy at John C. Stennis Space Center

nHome to Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, Naval Oceanographic Office, Fleet Survey Team, Naval Oceanography Operations Command, Naval Oceanography Anti-Submarine Warfare Center, Naval Oceanography Mine Warfare Center, the Navy DoD Supercomputing Resource Center, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Professional Development Detachment South, the Naval Research Laboratory, Naval Special Boat Team 22, Naval Small Craft Instruction and Technical Training School and the Navy Human Resources Services Center Southeast.