Quantico Marine Corps Housing – Off-Base-Housing

Quantico Marine Corps – MCB Quantico – Crossroads of the Marine Corps – Since its establishment in 1917, Quantico has been home to many of the nation’s most innovative, intelligent, and patriotic men and women. It is here, at the Crossroads of the Marine Corps, that vital concepts, training, and equipment of the future are developed. Some of the most important techniques in warfighting were born here, including expeditionary warfare, for which the Marine Corps is renowned. History has proven the importance of Quantico to America’s defense. The sharp vision and intense dedication of the service members, civilians, and family members who serve here continue to ensure the Marine Corps remains the world’s premier fighting force.

 

ABOUT
Since its establishment in 1917, Quantico has been home to many of the nation’s most innovative, intelligent and patriotic men and women. It is here, at the Crossroads of the Marine Corps, that vital concepts, training and equipment of the future are developed. Some of the most important techniques in warfighting were born here, including expeditionary warfare, for which the Marine Corps is renown. History has proven the importance of Quantico to America’s defense. The sharp vision and intense dedication of the service members, civilians and family members who serve here continue to ensure the Marine Corps remains the world’s premier fighting force.

MISSION
MCINCR-MCB Quantico commands and controls assigned organizations and provides facilities and services to tenant commands, military and civilian personnel, and family members in order to promote and sustain training, readiness and facilitate Inter-Agency, Joint, and Service-level missions.

VISION
As the “Crossroads of the Marine Corps” MCINCR-MCBQ builds on a long tradition of excellence in providing world-class installation support and quality of life services that are responsive to its tenants; regional USMC commands and activities; and our military members, families, and civilians.

MCINCR-MCBQ will formalize its role as the premier provider of installation support to USMC commands and activities in the National Capital Region and provide the battlespace and essential support that enables the nucleus of the Marine Corps Title X mission as well as the many DoD, Agency, and National-level missions.

MCINCR-MCBQ remains flexible, adaptable, innovative, and proactive in identifying and exploiting opportunities, mitigating threats, and meeting challenges to preserve and cultivate current capabilities, modernize facilities, and prepare for the future.

MCINCR-MCBQ will expand its long tradition of partnership with the local communities and provide quality of life services. Through modernizing energy efficient facilities and housing, enhancing community safety and security, providing model family support programs, and a wide array of recreational opportunities, MCINCR-MCBQ continues to directly contribute to enhanced force readiness, morale, and retention.

HISTORY
Even before the Jamestown Settlement and Captain John Smith explored the banks of the Potomac River in 1608, the Spaniards had visited Quantico over 40 years earlier. Early Scottish colonists later settled in the Quantico area, growing tobacco for export.

The Quantico region was also home to many Revolutionary War heroes. During said war, American, British, and French armies used nearby roads to quickly move from one battlefield to another. During the Civil War, Confederate cannons blockaded Union traffic on the Potomac from the banks of the Quantico area. By the 1880s, the land Quantico resides on had been acquired by speculators, who would sell it to the Corps in 1917.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps established Marine Barracks Quantico on May 14, 1917. Thousands would be trained in Quantico during World War I, including units of the much- lauded 4th Marine Brigade. In 1920, Marine Corps Schools was founded, and in the words of then-Chief of Staff for Quantico, Col. Smedley D. Butler, their purpose was to “make this post and the whole Marine Corps a great university.”

Prospects of a Pacific war in the 1920s showed a need for revolutionary new tactics and hardware. The techniques of amphibious warfare were conceived, and perfected, in Quantico. Marines of the predecessor to today’s Marine Corps Systems Command designed the equipment, which ensured successful future amphibious operations. Quantico aviators also developed close-air support tactics to aid Marines on the ground.

The Caribbean “Banana Wars” would test these new tactics and the equipment developed in Quantico. The tactical units which would carry out the new amphibious operations became the Fleet Marine Force (FMF) in 1935. The FMF, headquartered in Quantico, perfected equipment and techniques in anticipation of its future Pacific role. When the headquarters of the FMF left in 1941, Quantico’s main task became the education of individual Marines, rather than the large unit training it had conducted in the past.

The amphibious warfare techniques developed in Quantico in the years before World War II made victory possible in the conflict’s Pacific theater. Quantico also trained 15,000 lieutenants, and numerous officers from other services, who helped lead the United States to victory.

In 1947, Quantico Marines conceived of carrying troops from ship-to-shore by helicopter and formed a special squadron to test the idea: Marine Helicopter Squadron-1, commonly referred to now as HMX-1. The helicopter techniques they used there later proved invaluable during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. More recently, Quantico played a large part in the development of vertical and/or short take-off and landing (or V/STOL) aircraft and amphibious assault ships. Quantico’s small, but vital, air facility and HMX-1 continue to aid in development, training, and education, as well as their most visible duty, support of the U.S. president.

On Jan. 1, 1968, the base was re-designated the Marine Corps Development and Education Command (MCDEC) in the spirit of the command motto, “Semper Progredi” — Always Forward.

During the summer of 1987, Quantico planners studied more efficient and streamlined ways in which MCDEC could ensure the Marine Corps of the future would be the best trained, led, disciplined, and equipped fighting force on the planet. On Nov. 10, 1987, the Marine Corps transitioned the Development and Education Command into the Marine Corps Combat Development Command (MCCDC), cementing Quantico’s central role in developing concepts, plans, doctrine, training and equipment for the 21st-century Marine Corps. From the combat development process other organizations emerged which either stood alone or operated under the MCCDC umbrella.

Marine Corps University was also established in 1989 to provide the structure and policy for professional military education Corps-wide. Professional Military Education (PME) schools, which work alongside the university, include the Marine Corps War College, the School of Advanced Warfighting, the Command and Staff College, Expeditionary Warfare School, the Enlisted PME branch, and the College of Distance Education and Training. In recent years the Marine Corps University has been adding new buildings and renovating old in order to create a world-class library, research center, and campus to further the mission of the university in the 21st Century to educate the leaders of the Marine Corps.

The 1990s were a time of great growth for Quantico. The Marine Corps Research, Development and Acquisition Command, the precursor to today’s Marine Corps Systems Command, began moving to Quantico in 1990. A decade later, MCSC moved to its current location on historic Hospital Point.

In 1995, the base became home to one of the Corps’ most forward-thinking organizations, the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory. The lab’s mission is to conduct experimentation in 21st-century warfare. War games and experiments produce new tactics and technologies to make the Marine war-fighter ever more capable.

Additionally, the U.S. military, particularly the Marine Corps, began to play a greater role in peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance operations. The Department of Defense established the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate in 1997 to provide the military with greater flexibility in dealing with the challenges of Military Operations Other Than War.

Quantico is also home to the lifeline and pipeline of the Corps. In 1998, Headquarters Marine Corps moved Manpower and Reserve Affairs (M&RA) and Marine Corps Recruiting Command to Quantico from the Navy Annex in Arlington, Va. M&RA has administrative responsibility for all issues related to Marines, their families, and quality of life. Recruiting Command ensures young men and women are enlisted to secure the health of the Marine Corps of the future.

With so many diverse yet intricately-woven units, it is appropriate that Quantico is called the Crossroads of the Marine Corps. This is perhaps the only command whose mission touches the furthest reaches of the Corps. Decisions made here impact Marines aboard ship, fighting in the Global War on Terrorism, on guard duty at embassies across the globe, and on reserve duty throughout the U.S. Quantico’s Marines continue to answer the call to threats against the U.S. and provide security and logistical assistance to the National Capital Region.

Commands aboard Quantico put their training and technologies, developed during war and peace, to work to provide the best support for the Marine warfighter.

On Oct. 1, 2015, Marine Corps Base (MCB) Quantico was designated Marine Corps Installations Command-National Capital Region – Marine Corps Base Quantico (MCINCR-MCB Quantico).

As of 2016, Quantico is home to over 28,000 military, civilian, and contractor personnel. MCB Quantico also has a large economic impact on the area, adding $4.9 billion to the local economy. The base offers support to more than 30 federal agencies as well for training exercises year round. New construction is ongoing too. New buildings are being added and old ones renovated, at The Basic School, Marine Corps University, Weapons Training Battalion, and elsewhere on the base.

The base will celebrate its centennial in 2017. Come May, Quantico will have been occupied by Marines for 100 years. The base has changed much since the days John A. Lejeune or Smedley Butler led it, but it still strives to succeed and continues to grow in order to serve the needs of the 21st Century Marine Corps.

 

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DIRECTIONS

Marine Corps Base Quantico is conveniently located between Washington D.C. and Richmond, Virginia off of Interstate I-95 at exits 148 and 150.

Airports within the local commuting area include Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport in Washington, D.C., Dulles International in Chantilly, Va., and Richmond International Airport in Sandston, Va.

Amtrak and the Virginia Railway Express stop at Quantico Station in the Town of Quantico.

History

Even before the Jamestown Settlement and Captain John Smith explored the banks of the Potomac River in 1608, the Spaniards had visited Quantico over 40 years earlier. Early Scottish colonists later settled in the Quantico area, growing tobacco for export.

The Quantico region was also home to many Revolutionary War heroes. During said war, American, British, and French armies used nearby roads to quickly move from one battlefield to another. During the Civil War, Confederate cannons blockaded Union traffic on the Potomac from the banks of the Quantico area. By the 1880s, the land Quantico resides on had been acquired by speculators, who would sell it to the Corps in 1917.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps established Marine Barracks Quantico on May 14, 1917. Thousands would be trained in Quantico during World War I, including units of the much- lauded 4th Marine Brigade. In 1920, Marine Corps Schools was founded, and in the words of then-Chief of Staff for Quantico, Col. Smedley D. Butler, their purpose was to “make this post and the whole Marine Corps a great university.”

Prospects of a Pacific war in the 1920s showed a need for revolutionary new tactics and hardware. The techniques of amphibious warfare were conceived, and perfected, in Quantico. Marines of the predecessor to today’s Marine Corps Systems Command designed the equipment, which ensured successful future amphibious operations. Quantico aviators also developed close-air support tactics to aid Marines on the ground.

The Caribbean “Banana Wars” would test these new tactics and the equipment developed in Quantico. The tactical units which would carry out the new amphibious operations became the Fleet Marine Force (FMF) in 1935. The FMF, headquartered in Quantico, perfected equipment and techniques in anticipation of its future Pacific role. When the headquarters of the FMF left in 1941, Quantico’s main task became the education of individual Marines, rather than the large unit training it had conducted in the past.

The amphibious warfare techniques developed in Quantico in the years before World War II made victory possible in the conflict’s Pacific theater. Quantico also trained 15,000 lieutenants, and numerous officers from other services, who helped lead the United States to victory.

In 1947, Quantico Marines conceived of carrying troops from ship-to-shore by helicopter and formed a special squadron to test the idea: Marine Helicopter Squadron-1, commonly referred to now as HMX-1. The helicopter techniques they used there later proved invaluable during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. More recently, Quantico played a large part in the development of vertical and/or short take-off and landing (or V/STOL) aircraft and amphibious assault ships. Quantico’s small, but vital, air facility and HMX-1 continue to aid in development, training, and education, as well as their most visible duty, support of the U.S. president.

On Jan. 1, 1968, the base was re-designated the Marine Corps Development and Education Command (MCDEC) in the spirit of the command motto, “Semper Progredi” — Always Forward.

During the summer of 1987, Quantico planners studied more efficient and streamlined ways in which MCDEC could ensure the Marine Corps of the future would be the best trained, led, disciplined, and equipped fighting force on the planet. On Nov. 10, 1987, the Marine Corps transitioned the Development and Education Command into the Marine Corps Combat Development Command (MCCDC), cementing Quantico’s central role in developing concepts, plans, doctrine, training and equipment for the 21st-century Marine Corps. From the combat development process other organizations emerged which either stood alone or operated under the MCCDC umbrella.

Marine Corps University was also established in 1989 to provide the structure and policy for professional military education Corps-wide. Professional Military Education (PME) schools, which work alongside the university, include the Marine Corps War College, the School of Advanced Warfighting, the Command and Staff College, Expeditionary Warfare School, the Enlisted PME branch, and the College of Distance Education and Training. In recent years the Marine Corps University has been adding new buildings and renovating old in order to create a world-class library, research center, and campus to further the mission of the university in the 21st Century to educate the leaders of the Marine Corps.

The 1990s were a time of great growth for Quantico. The Marine Corps Research, Development and Acquisition Command, the precursor to today’s Marine Corps Systems Command, began moving to Quantico in 1990. A decade later, MCSC moved to its current location on historic Hospital Point.

In 1995, the base became home to one of the Corps’ most forward-thinking organizations, the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory. The lab’s mission is to conduct experimentation in 21st-century warfare. War games and experiments produce new tactics and technologies to make the Marine war-fighter ever more capable.

Additionally, the U.S. military, particularly the Marine Corps, began to play a greater role in peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance operations. The Department of Defense established the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate in 1997 to provide the military with greater flexibility in dealing with the challenges of Military Operations Other Than War.

Quantico is also home to the lifeline and pipeline of the Corps. In 1998, Headquarters Marine Corps moved Manpower and Reserve Affairs (M&RA) and Marine Corps Recruiting Command to Quantico from the Navy Annex in Arlington, Va. M&RA has administrative responsibility for all issues related to Marines, their families, and quality of life. Recruiting Command ensures young men and women are enlisted to secure the health of the Marine Corps of the future.

With so many diverse yet intricately-woven units, it is appropriate that Quantico is called the Crossroads of the Marine Corps. This is perhaps the only command whose mission touches the furthest reaches of the Corps. Decisions made here impact Marines aboard ship, fighting in the Global War on Terrorism, on guard duty at embassies across the globe, and on reserve duty throughout the U.S. Quantico’s Marines continue to answer the call to threats against the U.S. and provide security and logistical assistance to the National Capital Region.

Commands aboard Quantico put their training and technologies, developed during war and peace, to work to provide the best support for the Marine warfighter.

On Oct. 1, 2015, Marine Corps Base (MCB) Quantico was designated Marine Corps Installations Command-National Capital Region – Marine Corps Base Quantico (MCINCR-MCB Quantico).

As of 2016, Quantico is home to over 28,000 military, civilian, and contractor personnel. MCB Quantico also has a large economic impact on the area, adding $4.9 billion to the local economy. The base offers support to more than 30 federal agencies as well for training exercises year round. New construction is ongoing too. New buildings are being added and old ones renovated, at The Basic School, Marine Corps University, Weapons Training Battalion, and elsewhere on the base.

The base will celebrate its centennial in 2017. Come May, Quantico will have been occupied by Marines for 100 years. The base has changed much since the days John A. Lejeune or Smedley Butler led it, but it still strives to succeed and continues to grow in order to serve the needs of the 21st Century Marine Corps.

 

---

MISSION
MCINCR-MCB Quantico commands and controls assigned organizations and provides facilities and services to tenant commands, military and civilian personnel, and family members in order to promote and sustain training, readiness and facilitate Inter-Agency, Joint, and Service-level missions.

VISION
As the “Crossroads of the Marine Corps” MCINCR-MCBQ builds on a long tradition of excellence in providing world-class installation support and quality of life services that are responsive to its tenants; regional USMC commands and activities; and our military members, families, and civilians.

MCINCR-MCBQ will formalize its role as the premier provider of installation support to USMC commands and activities in the National Capital Region and provide the battlespace and essential support that enables the nucleus of the Marine Corps Title X mission as well as the many DoD, Agency, and National-level missions.

MCINCR-MCBQ remains flexible, adaptable, innovative, and proactive in identifying and exploiting opportunities, mitigating threats, and meeting challenges to preserve and cultivate current capabilities, modernize facilities, and prepare for the future.

MCINCR-MCBQ will expand its long tradition of partnership with the local communities and provide quality of life services. Through modernizing energy efficient facilities and housing, enhancing community safety and security, providing model family support programs, and a wide array of recreational opportunities, MCINCR-MCBQ continues to directly contribute to enhanced force readiness, morale, and retention.

 

Marine Corps Base Quantico

This article is about the United States Marine Corps installation. For the town of the same name, see Quantico, Virginia.
“Quantico Station” redirects here. For the train station, see Quantico station.
Marine Corps Base Quantico
Quantico, Prince William County, Virginia, U.S.
Seal of Marine Corps Base Quantico.png
Seal of Marine Corps Base Quantico
Type Military training installation
Site information
Controlled by United States Marine Corps
Site history
Built 1917
In use United States Marine Corps Officer Candidates School
United States Marine Corps The Basic School
United States Marine Corps U.S. Marine Corps University
FBI Academy
DEA training academy
CID seal.gif United States Army Criminal Investigation Command
Garrison information
Current
commander Colonel William Bentley III, USMC
Past
commanders John A. Lejeune
Quantico Marine Corps Base Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Virginia Landmarks Register
Located in northeastern VirginiaLocated in northeastern Virginia
Show map of Northern Virginia
Show map of Virginia
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Show all
Coordinates 38°33′4″N 77°25′50″WCoordinates: 38°33′4″N 77°25′50″W
Area 55,148 acres (86.169 sq mi)[2]
NRHP reference No. 01000260[1]
VLR No. 287-0010
Significant dates
Added to NRHP 26 March 2001
Designated VLR 16 June 1999[3]
Quantico Base, Virginia
CDP
Nickname(s): “Crossroads of the Marine Corps”
Motto(s): Semper Progredi (Always Forward)
Location in Prince William County and the state of Virginia.
Location in Prince William County and the state of Virginia.
Coordinates: 38°30′7″N 77°18′21″W
Country United States
State Virginia
Counties Prince William, Stafford
Area
• Total 8.2 sq mi (21.1 km2)
• Land 7.2 sq mi (18.5 km2)
• Water 1.0 sq mi (2.6 km2)
Population (2010, km2 density from 2000)
• Total 4,452
• Density 548.12/sq mi (354.8/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
FIPS code 51-65136[4]
Marine Corps Base Quantico (commonly abbreviated MCB Quantico) is a United States Marine Corps installation located near Triangle, Virginia, covering nearly 55,148 acres (86.169 sq mi) of southern Prince William County, Virginia, northern Stafford County, and southeastern Fauquier County. Used primarily for training purposes, MCB Quantico is known as the “Crossroads of the Marine Corps”.[2][5]

Quantico Station is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince William and Stafford counties in the U.S. state of Virginia, used by the Census Bureau to describe base housing. The population was 4,452 at the 2010 census.

The U.S. Marine Corps’ Combat Development Command, which develops strategies for U.S. Marine combat and makes up most of the community of over 12,000 military and civilian personnel (including families), is based here. It has a budget of around $300 million and is the home of the Marine Corps Officer Candidates School. The Marine Corps Research Center at Quantico pursues equipment research and development, especially telecommunications, for the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Brig, a military prison, was also located at Quantico, until its closure on 31 December 2011 and its subsequent demolition.

The FBI Academy, the principal research and training facility of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the principal training facility for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) are also located on the base.

In 2001, the base was designated as part of the Quantico Marine Corps Base Historic District by the National Register of Historic Places.[1][6][7] This district includes 122 buildings, two landscapes, a sculpture, and a water tower located within the Mainside area of the base.[8] The contributing properties with separate entries include Tennessee Camp, Camp French, Commanding General’s Quarters, and Rising Hill Camp.

Geography
Quantico Station is located at 38°30′07″N 77°18′21″W (38.501951, −77.305962).[9] According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 8.1 square miles (21.1 km2), of which, 7.2 square miles (18.5 km2) of it is land and 1.0 square miles (2.6 km2) of it (12.27%) is water.

The name “Quantico Station” is most often used to designate the train station in Quantico, Virginia where commuters use the Virginia Railway Express.[10]

Source: Weatherbase[11]
Demographics
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 6,571 people, 1,389 households, and 1,351 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 918.9 people per square mile (354.8/km2). There were 1,645 housing units at an average density of 230.0/sq mi (88.8/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 73.25% White, 16.01% African American, 0.46% Native American, 2.15% Asian, 0.15% Pacific Islander, 3.91% from other races, and 4.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.37% of the population.

There were 1,389 households, out of which 77.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 91.3% were married couples living together, 4.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 2.7% were non-families. 2.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and none had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.57 and the average family size was 3.57.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 32.3% under the age of 18, 29.9% from 18 to 24, 35.5% from 25 to 44, 2.2% from 45 to 64, and 0.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females there were 158.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 196.1 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $41,429, and the median income for a family was $41,288. Males had a median income of $24,478 versus $20,676 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $14,563. About 5.5% of families and 5.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.1% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

History
Before the establishment of the Marine base
The Quantico base is close to the Potomac River. The area was originally inhabited by the Patowomacks (Algonquian) in the 16th century. The name “Quantico” is presumed to come from a Native American term, and has been translated to mean “by the large stream”. Accounts show that the area was first visited by European explorers in the summer of 1608 with settlement beginning later that year.[citation needed]

After the start of the 18th century, the area became popular because of tobacco trade in Aquia Harbor. Because traveling on muddy roads in those days was slow, many villages sprang up along the river and its inlets. Additionally, the area was a bustling stopping point on the north-south routes between New York and Florida.[citation needed]

Early settlements and plantations rooted along the flatlands bordering the Potomac. The hills west of the river remained essentially uninhabited until the early 18th century. Prince William County was organized in 1731, when the “Quantico Road” was also opened. This road gave vital access from the western part of the county to this area. By 1759, the road stretched across the Blue Ridge Mountains into the Shenandoah Valley.[citation needed]

The first military presence at Quantico came during the American Revolutionary War, when the Quantico Creek village became a main naval base for the Commonwealth of Virginia’s 72-vessel fleet on which many state militia served.[citation needed]

The land was first visited by the Marine Corps in 1816, when a group of Marines traveling by ship to Washington were stopped when their vessel was halted by ice in the Potomac, forcing them to debark and march to the town of Dumfries, Virginia. Here they met a young Captain Archibald Henderson who lived close by. A generous-natured man, Henderson hired a wagon for them and sent them on their way.[citation needed]

During the American Civil War, control of the Potomac River became very important to the armies of both sides. The Confederates picked the Quantico Creek area on the Potomac to set up gun batteries. This enabled them to make full use of several points where their artillery could reach anything on the water, thus deterring Union use of the water highway. One of these sites included Shipping Point, the present day site of the Marine Corps Systems Command.[citation needed] Another site is Tennessee Camp, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.[1]

While battles took place in Manassas, Virginia and Fredericksburg, Virginia, the gun positions around Quantico were used until the end of the war. After a 12-day battle at the Spotsylvania Courthouse where the Union lost about 25,000 soldiers, the war moved out of the Quantico area.[citation needed]

Following the war, railroads became an integral part of transportation in Virginia. In 1872, the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad was formed when several railroads north and south met at Quantico Creek. This railroad still runs through the base and is used daily.[citation needed]

The village came to be called “Quantico” and was built by the Quantico Company. This was the start of a thriving tourist and fishing town that would later be encompassed by Marine Corps Base Quantico.[citation needed]

Establishing the base

The former logo of MCB Quantico
Prior to the base’s establishment, the land was owned by the Town of Quantico. Around the start of the 20th century, the Quantico Company was formed on Quantico Creek. By the beginning of the twentieth century, Quantico was being advertised as a recreational day trip. The Quantico Company promoted the town as a tourist and excursion center, and brought in tourists from Washington and Richmond by the steamer St. Johns and trains using the RF&P railroad lines and depot developed at Quantico in 1872. A beach was developed with dressing rooms and refreshment stands. In one week in 1916, Quantico was visited by 2,600 visitors who came by steamer or train.[12]

By 1916, the Quantico Company began advertising Quantico as “The New Industrial City,” and pushed for industry to come to the area. At the same time, the Quantico Shipyards were established on Hospital Point (the land that formerly held the Naval Medical Clinic but is now home to Marine Corps Systems Command) to build ocean freighters and oil tankers. With growing tensions of war in Europe, the construction of U.S. Navy ships was a major money-maker for the Quantico Shipyards. While the Town of Quantico was rapidly growing as a fishing village, excursion center and a shipbuilding center in early 1917, the town was not large or significant, and was suffering many financial difficulties.[12]

Around the same time, Major General George Barnett, then Commandant of the Marine Corps, sent a board to find possible sites for a new Marine Corps base in the Washington, D.C., vicinity.[13]

In 1917, Marine Barracks, Quantico was established on the land currently occupied by today’s base. Marine Barracks personnel consisted of 91 enlisted men and four officers. Thousands of Marines were trained here during World War I. The Commanding General’s Quarters was built in 1920 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.[1] By 1920, the Marine Corps schools were founded, as Colonel Smedley Butler put it, “to make this post and the whole Marine Corps a great university”.[14] These schools eventually developed into today’s Marine Corps University. Virtually all Marine officers receive their basic training here, as well as enlisted technicians from many different disciplines.[15] Around the same time, as a part of these schools, a football team was established at the base, playing as a college football team.[16] Until its disbanding in 1972, the team played against various NCAA Division I college teams, as well as teams from other military installations.[17]

The first Marine Aircraft Wing was developed at Quantico, as well as the Corps’ first helicopter squadron, Marine Helicopter Squadron One (HMX-1), the first helicopter squadron to provide rapid transportation for Presidents of the United States (“Marine One”).[14] It continues that mission today.

In 1934, Amphibious Warfare Doctrine, along with special amphibious landing crafts for World War II were developed here.[13] These Amphibious Warfare techniques, developed in the years before World War II, made victory possible in the Pacific theater. Quantico trained over 15,000 USMC and other service officers in these techniques.[14]

In 1942, over 50,000 acres (20,000 ha) were purchased by the federal government and added to Quantico, making up what is now the base west of Interstate 95. The expansion was needed for additional range and maneuver training areas during World War II.[13]

In 1987, the Marine Corps Development and Education Command here was changed to the Marine Corps Combat Development Command.[14]

On the night of 21 March 2013, a Marine opened fire killing two other Marines before killing himself.[18]

In 2015, the base held first Department of Defense organized Warrior Games.[19][20]

Units and commands
The Corps’ Combat Development Command, which develops strategies for Marine combat and makes up most of the community of over 12,000 military and civilian personnel (including families) is based here. It has a budget of around $300 million and is the home of the Marine Corps Officer Candidates School. The Marine Corps Research Center at Quantico pursues equipment research and development, especially telecommunications, for the Marine Corps. The Marine Corps Brig, a military prison, was formerly located at Quantico.

The base was designated as part of the Quantico Marine Corps Base Historic District by the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.[1][6][7] This district includes 122 buildings, two landscapes, a sculpture, and a water tower located within the Mainside area of the base.[8] The contributing properties with separate entries include Tennessee Camp, Camp French, Commanding General’s Quarters, and Rising Hill Camp.

It is the site of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command and Marine Helicopter 1 HMX-1. HMX-1 was the first helicopter squadron to provide rapid transportation of U.S. Presidents, a mission they have continued to carry out to the present day.

Marine Corps Embassy Security Group
Marine Corps Marathon
Marine Corps Combat Development Command
Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory
Marine Corps Recruiting Command
Manpower and Reserve Affairs Division, Headquarters Marine Corps
Marine Corps Systems Command
Marine Corps Training and Education Command
The Basic School
Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Staff Training Program
Marine Corps University
Officer Candidates School
Marine Corps Cyber Operations Group
Marine Corps Wounded Warrior Regiment
Tenant activities

Marine Corps Memorial at the front gate of MCB Quantico
The base is the home of major training institutions for both the Marine Corps and federal law enforcement agencies, including:

Defense Intelligence Agency
Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (Headquarters)
Drug Enforcement Administration training academy
FBI Academy, the principal research and training facility of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
FBI Hostage Rescue Team (HRT)
FBI Laboratory
Marine Raider Museum
Naval Criminal Investigative Service Headquarters, Army Criminal Investigation Division Headquarters, Air Force Office of Special Investigations Headquarters
A replica of the United States Marine Corps War Memorial, depicting the 2nd U.S. flag-raising on Iwo Jima, stands at the entrance to the base. (The original memorial stands at the north end of Arlington National Cemetery.)

Marine Corps Base Quantico and the Potomac River surround the town of Quantico. Access to the town is possible only through the base, the Amtrak train station, or from the river.

See also
List of United States Marine Corps installations
Chopawamsic Island
Breckenridge Reservoir
References
This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.
“National Register Information System”. National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 9 July 2010.
“Quantico MCB JLUS”. Office of Economic Adjustment. Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
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