While some states focus on the service industry, a North Carolina focus is on the services industry.
North Carolina has strong military roots. The impact of the military is so widespread that the state is home to approximately 700,000 veterans – nearly 4 percent of the U.S. veteran population.
Nine percent of North Carolina’s adults are veterans of the U.S. military, having served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan.
The military is serious business here in the Tar Heel State… and it offers serious business opportunities.
For those considering economic development opportunities with the military, here is a glimpse at each of the military bases in North Carolina:
| BRANCH |
| Marine Corps |
| LOCATION |
| Jacksonville, North Carolina (Onslow County) |
| CONTACT |
| (910) 451-5655 |
| WEBSITE |
| https://www.lejeune.marines.mil/ |
| BUILT |
| 1941 |
| MISSION |
| Maintain combat-ready units for expeditionary deployment by providing training venues, facilities, services and support in order to be responsive to the needs of Marines, sailors and their families. |
| HISTORY |
| Named in honor of John A. Lejeune, the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps. One of the satellite facilities served for a while as a boot camp for the Marines. The military prison has been in operation since 1968 and has a maximum capacity of 280 inmates. Camp Lejeune can help to prepare warfighters for combat and humanitarian missions abroad. |
| BASE AREA |
| 246 square miles |
| POPULATION |
| More than 137,000 Marines, sailors, retirees, their families and civilian employees, including 37,000 active duty personnel |
| DID YOU KNOW? |
| Camp Lejeune makes up roughly one-third of Onslow County. |
| BRANCH |
| Army |
| LOCATION |
| Beaverdam, North Carolina (Hoke, Richmond and Scotland Counties) |
| BUILT |
| 1943 |
| MISSION |
| Primary training grounds for future U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers (Green Berets). The facility is a sub-installation of Fort Bragg. |
| HISTORY |
| Named in honor of Private John Thomas (Tommy) Mackall, who served in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was mortally wounded during the Allied invasion of North Africa in 1942. Historian Stephen A. Ambrose described the camp as a “marvel of wartime construction,” converted from a large area of wilderness. |
| BASE AREA |
| 12 square miles |
| DID YOU KNOW? |
| Troops go to Camp Mackall for SERE training. SERE stands for survival, evasion, resistance and escape. |
MCAS Cherry Point
| BRANCH |
| Marine Corps |
| LOCATION |
| Havelock, North Carolina (Craven County) |
| CONTACT |
| (252) 466-2811 |
| WEBSITE |
| https://www.cherrypoint.marines.mil/ |
| BUILT |
| 1941 |
| MISSION |
| To provide the highest quality operating environment for all using activities; operate and maintain facilities and assigned aircraft; furnish a full range of vital support services; nurture the quality of life; protect the natural environment; conduct proactive community relations; and to provide America with the best trained, best led, best supported armed forces capable of operating anytime, anywhere – to fight, win and survive. |
| HISTORY |
| The air station was named after a local post office situated among cherry trees. In World War II, Cherry Point trained units and individual Marines for service to the Pacific theater. In the Korean War, the air station provided trained aviators and air crewmen. During the Vietnam War, Cherry Point deployed squadrons to the Far East. During Operation Enduring Freedom, Marines and Sailors participated in strike missions in Afghanistan. |
| BASE AREA |
| 45 square miles |
| POPULATION |
| More than 53,000, including nearly 14,000 Marines, sailors and civilian employees. |
| DID YOU KNOW? |
| The air station’s runway system is large enough that it served as an alternative landing site for the Space Shuttle launches out of Cape Canaveral, Florida. |
| BRANCH |
|
Coast Guard |
| LOCATION |
| Elizabeth City, North Carolina (Pasquotank County) |
| CONTACT |
| (252) 335-6000 |
| WEBSITE |
| https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/Director-of-Operational-Logistics-DOL/Bases/Base-Elizabeth-City/https://www.facebook.com/BaseElizabethCity/ |
| BUILT |
| 1940 |
| MISSION |
| Support services to tenant commands via search and rescue missions, as well as international ice patrol. |
| HISTORY |
| The United States Navy had access over the facility during World War II. In 1966, it absorbed Coast Guard facilities in Bermuda and Newfoundland. |
| BASE AREA |
| 1 square mile |
| DID YOU KNOW? |
| The air station was featured in the Kevin Costner movie “The Guardian” in 2006. |
| BRANCH |
| Army |
| LOCATION |
| Fort Bragg, North Carolina (Cumberland, Hoke, Harnett and Moore counties) |
| CONTACT |
| (910) 396-8682 |
| WEBSITE |
| https://home.army.mil/bragg/ |
| BUILT |
| 1918 |
| MISSION |
| Equip, train, rapidly deploy and sustain full spectrum forces supporting combatant commanders from a community of excellence where soldiers, families and civilians thrive. |
| HISTORY |
| Named for Confederate General Braxton Bragg, a native North Carolinian who also served in the United States Army in the Mexican-American War. |
| BASE AREA |
| 251 square miles |
| POPULATION |
| More than 270,000, including 52,000 active duty soldiers |
| DID YOU KNOW? |
| Actress Martha Raye is buried on Fort Bragg to commemorate her work with the USO during World War II and Vietnam. |
| BRANCH |
| Army |
| LOCATION |
| Southport, North Carolina (Brunswick County) |
| CONTACT |
| (910) 457-7475 |
| BUILT |
| 1951 |
| MISSION |
| Serve as the key ammunition port on the Atlantic Coast for United States forces worldwide. |
| HISTORY |
| The port has transferred munitions to every major armed conflict since it was established. During the Vietnam War, up to six ships were simultaneously loaded. |
| BASE AREA |
| 16 square miles |
| DID YOU KNOW? |
| The nation's largest ocean terminal for military munitions, MOTSU transferred 460,000 tons of cargo during the Persian Gulf War. |
National Strike Force| BRANCH |
| Coast Guard |
| LOCATION |
| Elizabeth City, North Carolina (Pasquotank County) |
| CONTACT |
| (252) 331-6000 |
| WEBSITE |
| https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Our-Organization/National-Strike-Force/ |
| BUILT |
| 1973 |
| MISSION |
| Provides highly trained, experienced personnel and specialized equipment to the Coast Guard and other federal agencies to facilitate preparedness for and response to oil and hazardous substance pollution incidents in order to protect public health and the environment. |
| HISTORY |
| National Strike Force originally was established with three teams located North Carolina, California and Alabama. |
| POPULATION |
| More than 200 active duty, civilian, reserve and auxiliary personnel. |
| DID YOU KNOW? |
| National Strike Force responded during the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks. |
| BRANCH |
| Marine Corps |
| LOCATION |
| Jacksonville, North Carolina (Onslow County) |
| CONTACT |
| (910) 451-5655 |
| WEBSITE |
| https://www.newriver.marines.mil/ |
| BUILT |
| 1943 |
| MISSION |
| Support and enhance the combat readiness of the Marine Corps aviation combat element and Department of Defense units while improving the quality of life for military personnel, their families and work force assigned to the air station. |
| HISTORY |
| The base was originally a tobacco farm purchased for $64,502 in 1941. It was recommissioned as Marine Corps Air Station (Helicopter) New River in 1968. |
| BASE AREA |
| 4 square miles |
| POPULATION |
| More than 15,000, including more than 6,000 active duty members |
| DID YOU KNOW? |
| The Air Station was the first Marine Corps base with the new MV-22 Osprey. It has the ability to fly like a plane, and take off and land like a helicopter. |
Pope Army Airfield| BRANCH |
| Army |
| LOCATION |
| Pope Field, North Carolina (Cumberland County) |
| CONTACT |
| (910) 394-2506 |
| WEBSITE |
| https://www.pope.af.mil/ |
| BUILT |
| 1919 |
| MISSION |
| 24/7 operational mission execution, persistent joint airborne/air transportability training, Pope airmen support and global response force readiness. |
| HISTORY |
| Named after First Lieutenant Harley Halbert Pope, who was killed in 1919 when the biplane he was flying crashed into the Cape Fear River. Formerly known as Pope Air Force Base and continues to be used by the Air Force but is now operated by the Army as part of Fort Bragg. |
| BASE AREA |
| 3 square miles |
| POPULATION |
| More than 5,000, including more than 2,000 active duty members |
| DID YOU KNOW? |
| The Pope Air Force Base Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. |
Seymour Johnson Air Force Base| BRANCH |
| Air Force |
| LOCATION |
| Goldsboro, North Carolina (Wayne County) |
| CONTACT |
| (919) 722-1110 |
| WEBSITE |
| https://www.seymourjohnson.af.mil/ |
| BUILT |
| 1942 |
| MISSION |
| The 4th Fighter Wing is the host unit at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and accomplishes its training and operational missions with F-15E Strike Eagles. Two of the wing’s four fighter squadrons are operational units, capable of deploying worldwide on short notice and immediately generating combat power. The other two squadrons are responsible for training all F-15E aircrews for the Air Force. The 916th Air Refueling Wing, a tenant unit at Seymour, is an Air Force Reserve Command Wing under the Air Mobility Command. It is assigned 10 KC-135R Stratotankers. |
| HISTORY |
| The base was named in honor of U.S. Navy Lt. Seymour A. Johnson, a native of Goldsboro. Johnson, a test pilot, was killed in an aircraft crash March 4, 1941, near Norbeck, Maryland. The base was established five months after the United States entered World War II when the War Department approved the establishment of a technical school. Seymour Johnson Field was activated as Headquarters, Technical School, Army Air Forces Technical Training Command. |
| BASE AREA |
| 1.5 square miles |
| POPULATION |
| More than 3,800 enlisted service members and their families, 530 active-duty officers and more than 1,000 civilian employees. |
| DID YOU KNOW? |
| In the Korean War, the 4th Fighter Interceptor Wing destroyed more enemy MiG aircraft than the entire rest of the U.S. Air Force combined. |
Simmons Army Airfield ACP| BRANCH |
| Army |
| LOCATION |
| Fayetteville, North Carolina (Cumberland County) |
| BUILT |
| 1952 |
| MISSION |
| The airfield supports combat training and rapid contingency deployments of Fort Bragg’s airborne and special operations communities. |
| HISTORY |
| The airfield was named in honor of Warrant Officer Herbert W. Simmons, Jr., a pilot killed November 3, 1953, when two H-29B helicopters collided near the field. |
| DID YOU KNOW? |
| There are 23 permanent buildings from 1965 still in use today. |
Military bases are economic development magnets. The military offers an abundance of high-skilled employees. Another major source of workers: the spouses of those in the military.
In addition, the federal government’s Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) program offers a way to fund construction or renovations on military property by allowing private developers to lease underutilized property.
According to areadevelopment.com, many military bases have become hotbeds for developments.
The military also has a huge impact on state economies. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, in 2015, military installations in North Carolina supported 578,000 jobs, $34 billion in personal income and $66 billion in gross state product. This amounts to roughly 10 percent of the state’s overall economy.
RELATED READING: 5 Reasons Hiring NC Veterans Makes Good Business Sense (INFOGRAPHIC)
Department of Defense (DoD) small business professionals can help you understand their organization’s mission, challenges and requirements.
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