Naval Station Newport

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

USS Forrestal (Left) and USS Saratoga (Right) moored at the station, awaiting their respective fates.

The Naval Station Newport (NAVSTA Newport) is a United States Navy base located in the towns of Newport and Middletown, Rhode Island. NS Newport is home to the Naval War College. It once was the homeport for Cruiser Destroyer Force Atlantic, and now maintains inactive ships at its pier facilities, along with the United States Coast Guard. In BRAC 2005 (Base Realignment and Closure), NAVSTA Newport gained over five hundred billets, in addition to receiving, again, Officer Candidate School (OCS), and the Naval Supply Corps School, and several other activities.

Currently, the station is also the home of the USS Forrestal and the USS Saratoga, both of which are decommissioned. The Forrestal is set to be sunk as an artificial reef at a later date; the fate of the Saratoga has not yet been decided, although there is a movement which wishes to make the boat into a museum ship in nearby North Kingstown. Both are clearly visible from nearby Coddington Highway, just off-base along the Middletown-Newport border.