
Mississippi
is home to five major military installations - Keesler Air Force Base,
Columbus Air Force Base, Naval Air Station Meridian, Naval Station Pascagoula
and the Naval Construction Battalion Center. These bases offer a wide
range of services to active and retired military personnel. Medical
facilities, fitness centers, golf courses, theaters, officers and enlisted
clubs, base exchanges and commissaries are some of the amenities retired
military personnel can utilize.
Keesler Air Force Base is located in Biloxi on the Mississippi Gulf
Coast. The 81st Medical Group is stationed at Keesler and is the second-largest
medical center in the Air Force. Over 26,500 military personnel, dependents
and civilians live and work on the base.
RetirementColumbus Air Force Base was originally an Army Air Force flying
school and then home of the Strategic Air Command's B-52s. Now the base
trains over 25% of Air Force pilots and provides a home and workplace
for over 6,200 military personnel, dependents and civilians.
Naval Air Station Meridian provides operational support for Training
Air Wings ONE, with homes and jobs for more than 4,000 military personnel
and civilians. This is the first such unit to use the "single base"
concept to train jet aviators.
Naval Station Pascagoula is the homeport for six Navy ships and employs
and houses over 1,800 military personnel, dependents and civilians.
The Naval Construction Battalion Center in Gulfport, "Home of the Atlantic
Fleet Seabees," is one of two Seabee bases in the U.S. The base has
4,000 military assigned and nearly 800 civilian employees.