Fort Pierce Naval Amphibious Training Base

Picayune Strand Pump Station

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is conducting a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study on portions of the former Fort Pierce Naval Amphibious Training Base to determine if anything remains in the area from the military's training, and if so, in what amounts and locations. Teams are in the field for the second phase of work which includes digging up metallic objects located in the first phase of work (digital metal detection) to identify what they are.

The Fort Pierce Naval Amphibious Training Base was a 19,280.48-acre site that extended approximately 25 miles from near Vero Beach to near Jensen Beach and included North and South Hutchinson Islands.The military acquired the site during World War II for the Navy to create a training facility. The Navy constructed more than 450 buildings and other improvements, such as roads and water and sewer systems. By January 1943, detachments of Scouts and Raiders began arriving.

The base fulfilled two primary missions during World War II. Its original mission was amphibious training, including training for Naval Underwater Demolition Teams. Amphibious training missions included use of high explosive rockets, bombs, antiaircraft guns and small arms. During 1943, the Joint Army-Navy Experimental and Testing Board was established to develop and test procedures for breaching and removing beach fortifications expected to be encountered in Europe and Japan. Beaches were fortified along the northern portion of the base, and a variety of ordnance was tested against these fortifications. By 1946, the site was no longer needed, and the land was returned to the original owners. Much of the area comprising the former base has been developed and includes residential, commercial, governmental and educational facilities.

Please see the fact sheet for more information.

RECOGNIZE - The object you found could be dangerous.
RETREAT - Leave the area without touching or moving the object.
REPORT - Call 911 immediately.