In 1919, future US president
Franklin D. Roosevelt, then
assistant secretary of the Navy, toured
Puerto Rico, visiting Ceiba. When he returned to the White House, he expressed a liking for the terrain where the base was to be located. This was during the World War I-era, and the US could benefit from an airfield in Ceiba. While Puerto Rico is a
Commonwealth, its territorial rights belong to the US, which made it feasible for the US government to build an air base in Ceiba. When
Nazi Germany began to invade other European countries, President Roosevelt considered the idea of a naval air station in Ceiba. With war in the
European and
Pacific theatres, they saw an airbase in the Caribbean as necessary. President Roosevelt ordered the creation of the base in 1940. In 1941,
US$50million, equivalent to $ million in , was appropriated to develop a protected anchorage in the sea area between Puerto Rico and
Vieques, an area named Roosevelt Roads by
Navy secretary Frank Knox on 15 May 1941. In 1957, it was upgraded to
Naval Station status. Fort Bundy was located there, but it crossed over to parts of
Vieques, a fact that became important in the future. A US military mission, the M3, was located there. It was part of the "Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station, Puerto Rico Base Communication Department". M3 had a fleet center, a technical control facility and a Tactical support communications department. The M3 was designated to help Puerto Rico, the US and other Caribbean and Latin American countries to deal with drug trafficking, illegal immigration and other problems. The main purpose of the base was tactical support for land/sea/air maneuvers at the
Naval Training Range in Vieques. In 1969, the US Navy established Camp Moscrip which held a rotating US Navy Construction Battalion (
Seabee). Having a permanently stationed Seabee unit's personnel and heavy equipment already on the island meant they could begin clearing debris and restoring infrastructure within hours of a storm, as evidenced by their efforts clearing roads and restoring power immediately after
Hurricane Georges in September 1998. Within the industrial area, the drydock, a bombproof power plant, a sewage pumping station, and a machine shop were completed. The drydock, , and built in the dry, was first used in July 1943. The power plant, a bombproof structure with -thick concrete walls, was equipped with two 5,000-kw steam-driven generators. The Bolles Drydock was dedicated in February 1944, in memory of Captain Harry A. Bolles, (CEC) USN, who was killed in Alaska in World War II. In January 2003,
Admiral Robert J. Natter said that, with the upcoming closure of the
Naval Training Range in Vieques, Roosevelt Roads was no longer needed by the Navy. Later that year, a military appropriations bill required the Secretary of the Navy to close the facility within six months of the enactment of the act. The base closed on 31 March 2004. At the time, there were nearly 1,200 active-duty officers and sailors at Roosevelt Roads.
U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command moved from Roosevelt Roads to
Mayport Naval Station near Jacksonville, Florida. Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 74 (
Seabee) moved from Roosevelt Roads to
Little Creek, Virginia. From the time that Congress voted to close the base until its closure, Roosevelt Roads closed faster than any other military installation on US soil in several decades. After its closure, 200 sailors and civilians remained to help in the transition from a naval base to a naval agency coordinating the closing process. The closure of the base heavily impacted the local economy, and lead to the loss of employment for over 1,000 local contractors and $300 million in annual direct disbursements. Of the former base's property, about 30% was transferred to the government of Puerto Rico and its municipalities. 40% became a wetlands preserve, and the remainder was offered for sale at public auction. In October 2025, photos show that Naval Station Roosevelt Roads has been reactivated. Satellite images and on-site photos reveal aircraft and personnel operating from the base, including at least one
USAF AC-130J "Ghostrider" gunship equipped with Hellfire missiles parked at José Aponte de la Torre Airport, which serves the installation. ==Further Developments==