View source for Naval Support Activity Bahrain

{{Short description|American naval base in Bahrain}}
{{Infobox military installation
| name = Naval Support Activity Bahrain
| ensign = 
| location = [[Bahrain]]
| coordinates = {{coord|26|12|35|N|50|36|35|E}}
| image = US Navy 050816-N-9563N-006 New chief petty officer (CPO) selectees perform morning colors on board Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| caption = United States Navy personnel performing morning colors at Naval Support Activity Bahrain in 2005
| type = [[United States Navy]] [[Main Operating Base]]
| ownership = {{flag|United States}} [[Government of the United States|Government]]
| controlledby = [[File:United States Department of the Navy Seal.svg|25px]]&nbsp; [[United States Navy]]
| built = Refurbished in 1997; major renovations in 2003, 2006, and 2010–2015
| used = 1971–present
| materials = 
| current_commander = [[Captain (United States O-6)|Captain]] Zachariah D. Aperauch<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hamilton |first1=Shayla D. |title=UMGC, NSA Bahrain Hold Commencement Recognizing College Graduates |url=https://cnreurafcent.cnic.navy.mil/News/News-Detail/Article/3772644/umgc-nsa-bahrain-hold-commencement-recognizing-college-graduates/ |website=Naval Support Activity Bahrain |access-date=18 June 2024 |date=12 May 2024}}</ref>
| past_commanders = 
| garrison = [[U.S. Fifth Fleet]], [[Patrol Forces Southwest Asia]]
| battles = 
}}
'''Naval Support Activity Bahrain''' (or '''NSA Bahrain''') is a [[United States Navy]] base situated in the [[Kingdom of Bahrain]] and is home to [[U.S. Naval Forces Central Command]] and [[United States Fifth Fleet]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cnreurafcent.cnic.navy.mil/News/News-Detail/Article/3169741/bahrain-us-sharpen-maritime-skills-at-sea/https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/3169741/bahrain-us-sharpen-maritime-skills-at-sea/|title=Bahrain, U.S. Sharpen Maritime Skills at Sea|website=Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cnreurafcent.cnic.navy.mil/News/News-Detail/Article/2567863/comsubron-21-welcomes-new-commodore/https://www.csp.navy.mil/Media/News-Admin/Article/2567863/comsubron-21-welcomes-new-commodore/|title=COMSUBRON 21 welcomes new commodore|website=Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Occupying the original territory of the British [[Royal Navy]] base known as [[United Kingdom Naval Support Facility|HMS Jufair]], U.S. Navy presence was established on-site during [[World War II]]. Transferred to the U.S. government in 1971, NSA Bahrain today provides support through logistical, supply, and protection as well as a [[Navy Exchange]] facility and [[Morale, Welfare and Recreation]] programs to both United States Armed Forces and coalition assets. It is the primary base in the region for the naval and marine activities in support of [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Operation Enduring Freedom]] and formerly [[Operation Iraqi Freedom]], to include when the latter was changed to [[Iraq War#2010: US drawdown and Operation New Dawn|Operation New Dawn]] until the end of the [[Iraq War]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cnreurafcent.cnic.navy.mil/Installations/NSA-Bahrain/|title=Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central > Installations > NSA Bahrain|website=cnreurafcent.cnic.navy.mil}}</ref>

The commander of [[Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia]] is responsible for NSA Bahrain and [[Camp Lemonnier]] in [[Djibouti]]. Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia is responsible to [[Navy Installations Command]], though it has close coordination with [[Naval Forces Central Command]].

==History==
The first presence of the British [[Royal Navy]] in the [[Persian Gulf]] came about from the need to control pirates raiding British shipping east of [[Suez]], especially the [[East India Company]] routes to India, when it appointed the first [[Senior Naval Officer, Persian Gulf]]. In the early 1820s the rulers of Bahrain, Salman and Abdullah Al Khalifa, signed an agreement to try to limit piracy in the area. This was strengthened in 1835 through an agreement signed specifically with the Royal Navy, which addressed the need to stop pirates operating in the area and limit the slave trade. In 1902 oil was discovered in the area. Commercial extraction began in 1925 when [[Frank Holmes (geologist)|Frank Holmes]] was given a license, with oil exports occurring by 1932.<ref name=BEBah>{{Cite web|url=http://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/bahrain.htm|title = Bahrain Protectorate}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://cnreurafcent.cnic.navy.mil/Installations/NSA-Bahrain/About/History/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221102203220/https://cnreurafcent.cnic.navy.mil/Installations/NSA-Bahrain/About/History/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 2, 2022|title=History|website=cnreurafcent.cnic.navy.mil}}</ref>

===HMS ''Juffair''===
{{main|HMS Juffair|l1=''HMS'' Juffair}}
After the death of Sheikh Isa in 1932, having handed control of the state in 1921 under British diplomatic pressure to his son Hamad, his advisor [[Charles Belgrave]] with whom he had modernized the state systems and key infrastructure, suggested that they should come to an agreement with the British to open a permanent Royal Navy base within the state. {{HMS|Juffair}} opened on 13 April 1935, as part of the port at [[Mina Salman]]. It was bombed by the [[Italian Air Force]] during [[World War II]], as part of an [[Axis powers|Axis Forces]] effort to cut off one of the three [[Allies of World War II|Allied Forces]] sources of oil in the Persian Gulf.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-34690954|title=New UK naval base opens in Bahrain|via=www.bbc.com}}</ref>

===US Navy establishment===
As a result of the raid, and the United States' entry into World War II beginning December 1941, the Royal Navy extended an invitation to the US Navy, allowing the USN to deploy a small detachment. Post-WW2, the posting was recognized as the U.S. Middle East Force from 1948, a small shore facility that provided logistical and communications support to [[Marine expeditionary unit|Marine expeditionary]] vessels.<ref name="auto"/>

In 1971, with Bahrain gaining independence from the British Empire, the permanent Royal Navy presence in Bahrain officially ended. With the agreement of the Emir, the USN immediately took on the entire {{convert|10|acre|m2}} site, and eight years later the location was named Administrative Support Unit (ASU) Bahrain. In an effort to more accurately reflect the increasing role of United States Navy activities in the region, the organization was renamed ASU Southwest Asia in 1992.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cnreurafcent.cnic.navy.mil/News/News-Detail/Article/2901950/record-seizures-in-2021-after-navcent-and-cmf-increase-patrols/https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/2901950/record-seizures-in-2021-after-navcent-and-cmf-increase-patrols/|title=Record Seizures in 2021 after NAVCENT and CMF Increase Patrols|website=Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name="auto"/>

==Present==
In 1997, under the aegis of the Military Construction Program, facilities located in Juffair saw an increased buildup, resulting in what is known today as Naval Support Activity Bahrain. In 2003, facilities at NSA Bahrain began expanding after Operation Iraqi Freedom began. In 2006, a large food court, known as the "Freedom Souq" and an expanded [[Navy Exchange]] opened, expanding morale and welfare support to service members and tenant commands.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cnreurafcent.cnic.navy.mil/News/News-Detail/Article/2785963/us-navy-bahrain-commit-to-advance-new-unmanned-systems-efforts/https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/2785963/us-navy-bahrain-commit-to-advance-new-unmanned-systems-efforts/|title=U.S. Navy, Bahrain Commit to Advance New Unmanned Systems Efforts|website=Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In 2010, the Navy embarked on a five-year, $580-million project to expand the base, proposing to essentially double the size of the current 62-acre facility. The first phase of construction included a new perimeter wall and security gate along with several new utility buildings. The second phase expanded the port operations with a new harbor patrol facility and included a small-craft basin. New barracks, a dining facility, a renovated recreation center and administrative buildings were also constructed. The final phase included a flyover bridge connecting NSA Bahrain to the port facility at Mina Salman.<ref>Tilghman, Andrew, "[http://www.navytimes.com/news/2010/06/navy_bahrain_060110w/ 5-year NSA Bahrain expansion project begins]", ''[[Navy Times]]'', June 1, 2010.</ref>

In 2021 NSA Bahrain earned the DOD Installation Excellence Award as one of five recipients of the 2021 Commander in Chief’s Annual Award for Installation Excellence, which recognizes the people who operate and maintain U.S. military installations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sibert |first=Destiny |date=22 July 2021 |title=Naval Support Activity Bahrain Earns DOD Installation Excellence Award |url=https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/2704192/naval-support-activity-bahrain-earns-dod-installation-excellence-award/ |website=navy.mil}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://cnreurafcent.cnic.navy.mil/News/News-Detail/Article/2704192/naval-support-activity-bahrain-earns-dod-installation-excellence-award/https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/2704192/naval-support-activity-bahrain-earns-dod-installation-excellence-award/|title=Naval Support Activity Bahrain Earns DOD Installation Excellence Award|website=Commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Central}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[United States Navy submarine bases]]
*[[United States Navy dog handler hazing scandal]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Commons category|Naval Support Activity Bahrain}}
* [http://www.cusnc.navy.mil Official Page for U.S. Naval Forces Central Command]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140219010613/http://www.cnic.navy.mil/regions/cnreurafswa/installations/nsa_bahrain.html Official Page for Naval Support Activity Bahrain]
* [http://www.benefits.military.com/misc/installations/Base_Content.jsp?id=5230 Overview]
* {{cite web|url=http://www.worldtribune.com/worldtribune/WTARC/2007/me_gulf_08_01.asp|date=2007-08-02|title=Bahrain navy gung-ho on coalition security effort for Gulf}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.cusnc.navy.mil/articles/2006/109.html|date=2006-06-15|title=NSA Bahrain Opens New NEX/MWR Complex|author=U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080914165832/http://www.cusnc.navy.mil/articles/2006/109.html|archivedate=2008-09-14}}

{{Bahrain–United States relations}}
{{US Navy navbox|state=collapsed}}
{{MARCOMships}}
{{Warship types of the 19th & 20th centuries}}

[[Category:Naval Support Activities of the United States Navy]]
[[Category:Military installations established in the 1970s]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Manama]]
[[Category:Military installations of the United States in Bahrain]]