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UPDATING ALWAYS IN PROGRESS: Thursday, 16 November 2023
The History of Naval Training Center - Recruit Training Command
Orlando, Florida
On 6 December 1966, the Honorable Robert H.B. Baldwin, then under Secretary of the Navy, announced that the City of Orlando had been chosen as the location for the THIRD Naval Training Center. The reason was to increase manpower training capabilities. The U.S. Air Force will sign over Orlando Air Base to the Navy on Sunday, 30 June 1968. Orlando Air Base ends 28 years of Air Force occupation of the World War II era. The official papers will be signed by Navy Captain Enders P. Huey, Commanding Officer of Naval Training Center and Air Force Colonel Willard W. Wilson. Three other participants present were CWO Norman Glass, Air Force civil engineering officer; Robert Boyette, Air Force property accountable officer; and LCDR Joseph Laufersweiler, Navy public works officer. On Monday, 1 July 1968, there was a ceremony to commission Naval Training Center, Recruit Training Command, Naval Hospital, and Navy Finance Center. The Naval Training Device Center was shifted from the offices of the Chief of Naval Research to the Chief of Naval Material. Captain Bernard W. Brender will be the Commanding Officer of Recruit Training Command. Under Secretary of the Navy Charles F. Baird was the principal speaker at the commissioning.
Fiscal Year 1968 Military Construction Program
ITEM ADVERTISING DATE BID OPENING SCHEDULED AWARD DATE CONTRACTOR CONTRACT AMOUNT EXPECTED COMPLETION DATE
Advanced Undersea Weapons School (AUWS) - 1st Increment   18 May 1967 9 June 1967 Sol-Dale Brothers $169,887 23 February 1968
Advanced Undersea Weapons School (AUWS) 28 February 1968 11 April 1968 17 April 1968 Akwa-Downey $2,222,000 14 October 1969
The U.S. Navy's modern Advanced Undersea Weapons School at Orlando culminates efforts that began over 20 years prior when the Navy established a Special Weapons Training Program at the Mine Warfare Test Station in Solomons, Maryland. This school at Orlando is a detachment of the school at the U.S. Naval Base, Key West, Florida. It is planned that this will become the main school in 1970 when the facilities in Key West close their doors. The ground was broken the week of 13 May 1968 for the $2.2 million two-story building to house the Advanced Undersea Weapons School. This school will house classrooms, laboratories, and an auditorium to be used for indoctrination and classroom lectures. Since 4 December 1967, after the building of the 1st increment, this school has been functioning at Orlando under the direction of LT William J. Cranford, officer in charge and over-all supervision of CDR Joseph Williams Jr. They have a staff of 17 instructors of the Torpedoman rating, holding classes for 38 personnel and a short famliarization course for three officer personnel. The school is classified by the Navy as a class "C" school. Two courses are provided. A 53-week course and a 16-week course dealing with strictly with underwater weaponary. The Advanced Undersea Weapons School had its first graduation in April 1968 of 9 men.
Cold Storage Warehouse 5 April 1968 9 May 1968 22 May 1968 Whitmire & Allen $203,000 23 November 1968
 
Regiment One (later to be known as Military Training Division MTD) North Camp (aka: North Grinder). The first increment of the Recruit Training Command will be completed in September 1968. The first Recruits will arrive in early October 1968. They will complete 11 weeks of training. Consists of mock ship, pool, and 5 barracks (battalions - later to be known as divisions): 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. Only four 800-man barracks will be completed by October 1968. The fifth Recruit barracks will be completed in October 1969.
Recruit Barracks (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th)   1 June 1967 23 June 1967 Akwa-Downey Construction Co $5,327,047 20 October 1968
Recruit Barracks (5th) 12 April 1968 22 May 1968 3 June 1968 Akwa-Downey Construction Co $1,469,740 1 October 1969
The barracks are composed of four three-story wings around a central core. Each floor of each wing contains a dorm which is open bay designed to house a company of 67 men. Each barracks will house 1,600 personnel. The wings contain a MAA office, Rec Room, and small machinery room to handle the air conditioning and heating. The central core provides rest room and equipment facilities. It is sub-divided in order that each company of recruits will have its own toilets, showers, lavatory, and scrub rooms. Recruits wash their clothing in the scrub rooms by hand. It consists of three large pre-cast terrazzo tables. Clothes drying are located on the barracks roof. The lines are five miles of stainless steel wire. These lines are attached to heavy steel crossarms bolted to the six-foot high concrete stanchions. The 96 cross-members needed is 24 feet 6 inches long and weighs more than 1,000 pounds. The crossbars were made of 3/8 inch ASTM A-36 rectangular tubing, 6 inches x 10 inches. A 3/4 inch mounting plate is welded to the center of each bar and reinforced with gussets. Padeyes of 3/8 inch intervals to provide attachment points for the 1/8 inch neoprene-coated stainless steel wire. The bars were made in Belko Steel's fabrication shop. The exterior of the barracks are of light buff-color brick and pre-cast architectural concrete. Each barracks contains 106,00 square feet of floor space. Each barracks also contains administrative offices which are located on the first deck of the core.
Regiment Two (later to be known as Military Training Division MTD) South Camp (aka: South Grinder). Same layout as North Camp, minus the ship and pool. The second Recruit Training camp will be completed mid-1972. Consists of 5 barracks (battalions - later to be known as divisions): 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10. In 1972, battalion 7 was the first barracks for females. Battalion 9 was added for female barracks in 1973.
Grassing & Sidewalks 9 May 1968 29 May 1968 9 June 1968     September 1968
 
Warehouse (Planning not yet completed)
           
Community Center 10 May 1968 11 June 1968 21 June 1968     July 1969
           
Training Pool, Gym, Field House / Theatre 30 June 1968 21 June 1968 31 June 1968     November 1969
           
Ship Mockup Facility (Bluejacket) 22 May 1968 20 July 1968 30 June 1968     April 1969
 
Naval Hosptial            
The Army Hospital was located on Lakeview Drive along the northeastern shore of Lake Baldwin, adjacent to the Naval Training was a 175-bed facility. After the base commissioning, the Commanding Officer of the U.S. Naval Hosptial was Captain WIlliam G. Lawson, MC, USN, who came to Orlando from the U.S. Naval Base, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Five wards were set aside for recruit dispensary services and dental clinic. These services were operated by the hospital until completion of a new recruit dispensary. A modern high rise replacement for the hospital was planned for the future.
Interim Recruit Dispensary     1 July 1968     October 1968
 
Chapel / Reception Center 1 June 1968 13 July 1968 24 July 1968     August 1969
 
Utilities and Drill Field   4 April 1967 19 April 1967 Hubbard Construction Co $1,206,800 3 June 1968
The Drill Field is an area of 67,000 squard yards. One-half of the drill area is paved and the other half is grass. The existing trees have been preserved throughout the 100-acre site to insure the base will not have the barren effect many military camps have with visitors and residents.
Utilities 10 June 1968 10 July 1968 28 July 1968     July 1969
 
Administrative Building 10 August 1968 14 September 1968 25 September 1968     August 1969
 
4600 Man Mess Hall (Chow Hall)   22 May 1967 14 June 1967 Smith & Sapp Construction Co $1,579,443 23 July 1968
Air conditioned and able to feed 4600 recruits at each meal. It has five dining rooms with a total of seating capacity of 888 persons at one sitting. It has two dishwashing rooms, four main serving lines, complete meat and vegetable storage and preparation areas, storage rooms for dry provisions, bread and dairy products, and a bakery. The bakery is equipped with both a continous dough machine and doughnut machine. The dough machine is capable of producing 300 pounds of white bread dough or 200 pounds of sweet dough per hour. The $11,000 doughnut machine is capable of proudcing 200 dozen doughnuts per hour.
Training Building   18 May 1967 31 May 1967 Frank J Rooney, Inc $1,297,669 11 July 1968
The Training building is air conditioned and contains 26 classrooms, one staff training classroom, and a test makeup classroom. Each room is approximately 1,300 square feet of floor space. The building also includes a library and recreation room, and a television studio where training programs are orginated and then viewed on remote TV monitors in each classroom. The staircases are wide enough for four-abreast to march to the classroom. The end of the administration wing is at the end. This wing becomes the center of the training building. When the second increment begins, it will double in capacity.
Service School Command            
Construction of the Service School Command is scheduled to begin in 1971. Scheduled completion in mid-1974.
Water Tank (NAVY WORLD)            
Has a 400,000 gallon capacity. This was the first change from Orlando Air Base to Recruit Training Command. It was painted blue to match the sky but located near the middle of the first building group to break the monotony of three-story buildings.
Naval Training Device Center            
The first 200-man contingent moved to Orlando in 1965 from the former Guggenheim Estate at Port Washington, New York while the second arrived in 1966. In June 1967, the facility was officially closed in Port Washington, New York and the final movement arrived in Orlando.
WAVES            
 
... MORE DATA TO COME ...

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