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http://www.usntcbainbridge.org/
USNTC Bainbridge
Lifespan: May 19, 1942 – March 31, 1976 AGE: 34
In early 1942 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt approved the site and purchase
of the land and buildings from the Jacob Tome Institute Board of Director’s
holding of Tome School For Boys and adjacent land on the northeast bank of the
Susquehanna River for a naval training center. The base was to be named
“Bainbridge” in memory of Commodore William Bainbridge, commander of the famous
frigate Constitution and founder of the first naval training school.
88 Days / 506 Buildings
Between construction groundbreaking on May 19 and August 14 1942, 506 buildings
were constructed. On October 1, 1942 U.S. Naval Training Center NTC, was
activated and 10 days later was in operation training recruits. The Recruit
Training Command, NTC’s largest subordinate activity, consisted of four large
camps each named after naval heroes. Rogers, Perry, James and Barney. Each camp
was an entity in itself with it’s own drill hall, swimming pool, mess hall,
drill field, classrooms, barracks and recreational facilities – and the capacity
to berth, mess and train a regiment for 5,000 sailors! By the conclusion of
World War II in 1945 the Recruit Training Center had trained 244,000 recruits
55,000 Population
Between 1945 and 1947, NTC Bainbridge training activities decreased and on June
30, 1947, it was deactivated as a training center. In the summer of 1950,
because of the Korean crisis, plans were formulated to re-activate NTC
Bainbridge to provide sailors for rapidly expanding fleet and shore base and by
1951 had new life. It was during the Korean War that NTC Bainbridge reached its
peak population of 55,000 people.
WAVES
In October 1951 the Women Activated for Voluntary Emergency Service (WAVE)
Recruit Training School moved t NTC Bainbridge providing basic training for
women, which, as of 1948 could become part of the regular Navy. The WAVES could
remain a vital part of NTC Bainbridge until their relocation to Orland, Florida
in 1971.
PAMI CONUS
Following another downsizing after the Korean War, activity picked up in the
1960’s with commands such as Personnel Accounting Machine Installation for the
Continental United States (PAMI CONUS) Nuclear Power School and Naval Reserve
Manpower Center, NRMC.
During its existence NTC Bainbridge also served as the home for several service
schools providing further technical training for recruits and fleet sailors.
Radiomen, Hospital Corpsmen, Dental Technicians, Electricians, Storekeepers,
Personnel men and Yeomen were among the trades taught at Bainbridge.
Naval Academy Preparatory School
Schools NAPS (Naval Academy Preparatory School) was located at NTC in the former
Tome School for Boys area. NAPS prepared enlisted men from all branches of the
armed forces for entrance into the U.S. Naval Academy.
500,000 Sailors
In 1973, it was announced that NTC Bainbridge was among the installations to be
closed to reduce shore infrastructure. By the time the doors closed at NTC
\Bainbridge on March 31 1976, over 500,000 sailors had received recruit training
and thousands more had received specialty training.
*THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE
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