United States naval districts

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United States Naval Districts is a system created by the United States Navy to organize military facilities, numbered sequentially by geographic region, for the operational and administrative control of naval bases and shore commands in the United States and around the world. Established in 1903, naval districts became the foundational system for organizing U.S. naval forces ashore during the 20th century. The term "Naval" forces includes United States Marine Corps and current United States Coast Guard units.

About half of nearly 20 numbered naval districts, after decades of service as successful naval operational support commands, were merged or disestablished by the U.S. Navy between 1970 and 1998. By 1999 the remaining U.S. naval districts were reorganized and renamed as Navy Regions, except for Naval District Washington DC.^[1] The revised U.S. Navy organization of 11 geographic regions is now administered under Commander, Naval Installations Command (CNIC) in Washington DC.

United States Marine Corps naval infantry forces operating with the USN are supported by the naval district system. Since 1903, USMC strength has grown immensely with combined-arms artillery, armor, and aviation capability, especially for expeditionary and amphibious warfare during World War I in Europe and World War II in the Pacific. Although part of the Navy Department, the Marine Corps is a separate branch of the U.S. armed forces that now maintains its own organization of USMC support base locations.^[2]

United States Coast Guard forces, responsible for U.S. maritime security, continue to operate today in nine USCG naval Districts,^[3] using a revised version of the original numbered United States Naval District map, consolidated under two USCG Area commands, CG Atlantic Area and CG Pacific Area.

In 1903 the Department of the Navy first created 13 numbered U.S. Naval Districts as a system to improve the naval defense of the U.S. coast and extended territories from foreign attack. The Secretary of the Navy ordered creation of a system of districts for "the purpose of decentralizing administrative functions with respect to the control of coastwise sea communications and shore activities in states and territories outside department headquarters in Washington DC".

The United States Naval District system established a geographic naval forces map, numbered in a clockwise sequence, that centralized under one regional command:

(a) Military coordination of all U.S. naval defense, security operations, and

(b) Administrative coordination of all naval activities, with specific exceptions, within the district and extended seaward waters thereof.

Navy Regulations article 1480 first laid down the boundary limits of naval districts, which were based on existing coastal lighthouse districts dating to 1838. "Those limits extend to seaward so far as to include the coastwise sea lanes" (art. 1486 (1), Navy Regulations). The Navy specified that "each naval district shall be commanded by a designated commandant (an appointed admiral or captain), who is the direct representative of the Navy Department, including its bureaus and offices, in all matters affecting district activity" (Art. 1481, Navy Regulations.).

During World War I and World War II, the system map enlarged from thirteen to seventeen Naval Districts by 1944.

The USN and USCG district system evolved continuously over the 20th century, with naval district shore activities, base facilities, and many ships, cutters, patrol boats, air stations, and jurisdictional map boundaries changing over the decades. Today, U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard forces operate using an updated edition of the original 1903 map of naval districts. Each of the current 11 U.S. Navy named Regions and 9 U.S. Coast Guard numbered Districts is commanded by a two star or one star rear admiral.^[4]