Guantanamo Bay Naval Station Fast Facts
Granite Bay Naval Air Station is a United States Naval Station located just six miles south of San Antonio, Texas. The base, along with most other United States Naval Stations, is a United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) facility.
It is located on the shore of the Rio Grande; however, it is not a part of the Rio Grande Naval Base. Granite Bay Naval Air Station is also a Navy Flight Information Center (NFI) facility. The information center was established in April of 1956.
The Granite Bay Station is about four miles north of the Texas State Capitol. It lies within the city limits of San Antonio.
Today, Granite Bay has two runways: one of them is an all-weather runway, which is a 2,000 foot (610 m) wide paved runway. The other runway, has 4,000 vertical feet (122 m) of all-weather runways. The 2,000 foot runway is classified as a Military/Commercial Use Airport, while the 4,000 foot runway is classified as a Military/Commercial/Aeronautical Use Airport. The all-weather portion of the Airport is considered a Military/Aeronautical Use Airport; as of January 1, 2015, it is not part of the U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) Coast Guard Auxiliary.
In the spring of 1998, the Granite Bay Naval Station was the scene of one of the most infamous maritime kidnappings in U.S. history. On April 21, 1998, the body of a U.S. Naval Lieutenant was recovered from the waters of the Rio Grande near the South Pass in Guadalupe County. Lieutenant Richard Thomas was assigned to the Navy’s Corpus Christi-class guided missile destroyers. His remains were discovered April 14, 1998, near the South Pass Bridge near Guadalupa, Texas. In February 2002, Lieutenant Thomas’ remains were identified and had a service funeral.
In 2012, the Granite Bay Naval Air Station participated in various joint training exercises with the Royal Navy. In 2014, they were also involved in military training exercises with the U.S. Army, including U.S. Army Soldier Training Event-5, which took place in March 2014.
The Granite Bay Naval Air Station is located two miles south of the Texas State Capitol. The City of San Antonio is