Fort Hase and NAS Kaneohe Bay The
United States Army acquired of the peninsula when President
Woodrow Wilson signed executive order 2900 establishing the Kuwaaohe Military Reservation. Little is known about the operations of the fort, however, at the end of
World War I, the military property was leased for ranching. In 1939, Kuwaaohe was reactivated, subjected to many name changes to include Camp Ulupa’u, and eventually named
Fort Hase. Prior to and during
World War II, Fort Hase grew from a humble beginning as a defense battalion to a major unit of the Windward Coastal Artillery Command.
U.S. Navy planners began to eye the
peninsula in 1939 as the home of a strategic
seaplane base. They liked the isolated location, the flat plains for an airfield and the probability of flights into prevailing trade winds. In 1939, the
Navy acquired of the peninsula for use of the
PBY Catalina patrol seaplanes for long-range reconnaissance flights. One year later, the Navy owned all of the Mokapu Peninsula except for Fort Hase. In 1939 the Navy awarded a base construction contract to the Pacific Naval Air Base Contractors consortituim (PNABC). Most of the original contract work at Kaneohe had been completed when the Navy transferred what was undone to the
Seabees of the 56th Naval Construction Battalion on 1 April 1943.
Marine operations shaking hands with Senator
Hiram Fong prior to departing for Guam from Kaneohe Marine Corps Air Base on February 20, 1972 In 1949, the Navy decommissioned the air station. On 15 January 1952, the U.S. Marine Corps recommissioned the idle airfield
Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, making it an ideal training site for a
combined air/ground team. Station Operations and Headquarters Squadron supported flight operations until 30 June 1972, when Station Operations and Maintenance Squadron (SOMS) was commissioned in its place. SOMS served until it was disbanded on 30 July 1994. Marine Corps Air Facility Kaneohe Bay was formed on that date and continues today to serve the operational needs of the aviation community. On 28 May 1987, the station was listed as a
historic district on the
National Register of Historic Places and a
National Historic Landmark, in recognition of its role in World War II. Following the 1993
Base Realignment and Closure Commission decision to close
Naval Air Station Barbers Point, the base acquired four Navy
P-3 Orion patrol squadrons and one
SH-60 Seahawk anti-submarine squadron in 1999. By 2020 the Navy had transitioned to the P-8 and the P-3C squadrons were retired at Kaneohe. Today there are almost 10,000 active duty Navy and Marine Corps personnel there, directed by
Marine Aircraft Group 24. The installation was re-designated as an Air Station (vice an Air Facility) in May 2009. At the same time, the airfield was named for
Major general Marion Eugene Carl, and the USMC announced that new squadrons would be stationed there. == Based units ==