The Kitsap Peninsula is home to thousands of U.S. military members, their families and support personnel. For those serving in the Armed Forces, relocation can be a regular part of life. Many military families make the move to Puget Sound to work and gain one-of-a-kind experiences at one of several Naval bases. Read on to learn more about the military’s presence on the Kitsap Peninsula. 

Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Keyport is located near Poulsbo and adjacent to Keyport. NUWC Keyport provides advanced technical capabilities for test and evaluation, in-service engineering, maintenance and industrial base support, fleet material readiness and obsolesce management for undersea warfare and related areas for national defense. This facility employs about 30-40 military personnel and 1,400 civilian staff members. 

Keyport Naval Undersea Museum specializes in undersea technology, naval history and marine science, with a secondary emphasis on torpedo technology. The museum boasts the largest collection of undersea objects in the U.S. including diving equipment, underwater exploration, an oil rig and submarine models. There is even a WWII Japanese one-man torpedo. You can also visit Alvin, the deep-sea diving sub that was used to recover the hydrogen bomb lost off the coast of Spain and also searched for the Titanic. 

Submarine Base Bangor, known locally as “Trident Base,” covers 4.5 miles of shoreline and more than 7,000 acres. The base population is about 5,000, which includes active duty personnel and their families. The base employs about 11,000 military members and civilians. The mission of the base is to support Trident nuclear submarines and their ballistic missile systems, and to operate facilities for administration and personnel support. This is a restricted area and is heavily guarded. Bangor is a city unto itself, with stores, health clubs, gas stations, schools, plus modern housing. Bangor is 155 nautical miles from the Pacific Ocean. 

The Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, located in Bremerton, is focused on providing quality, timely and cost-efficient maintenance modernization and technical logistics support. This site is the Pacific Northwest's largest Naval shore facility and one of Washington's largest industrial installations. PSNS Mission is one team ensuring freedom by fixing ships and supporting the war fighter. PSNS employs about 900 military members and 10,000 civilians.

The Naval Hospital in Bremerton provides extensive medical services and quality healthcare to military personnel and their families. The mission of the facility and its staff is to “improve the health of the people we serve through patient-centered care, provide Graduate Medical Education for Family Physicians, and execute our Readiness Mission.” For more information on medical facilities in the Puget Sound area, visit http://nhoh.med.navy.mil/.