NNS5508. NTC Orlando ends 30 years of naval service. by JO2 Paul Gleason, NTC Orlando Public Affairs ORLANDO, Fla.
(NNS) -- Naval Training Center (NTC) Orlando, Fla., ended 30 years of service to the Navy Dec. 18 when the base disestablished during ceremonies at the command. The base became the Naval Training Center and Recruit Training Command (RTC) July 1, 1968, after 28 years as an Army Air Corps and Air Force facility. Just one year after the establishment of the Naval Training Center, Service School Command (SSC) Orlando was established.
The command initially provided training for two ratings: Personnelman (PN) and Yeoman (YN). These two schools relocated, however, and SSC later provided training for four other ratings: Torpedoman's Mate (TM), Quartermaster (QM), Signalman (SM) and Electronics Technician (ET).
In 1973, Orlando became the sole site of recruit training for enlisted women. Prior to this, women had been trained at Bainbridge, Md. The move to Orlando created the first co-located training site for enlisted men and women.
In the mid-seventies, the Nuclear Power School relocated to Orlando from locations in California and Maryland. The school trained officers and enlisted Sailors in nuclear propulsion after formal training elsewhere. The Nuclear Field "A" School formed in 1985 provided fundamental nuclear training and formal rate training for Machinist's Mate (MM), Electronics Technician (ET), and Electrician's Mate (EM).
In 1981, a modern high-rise hospital replaced the former Navy hospital to provide complete medical care to the growing active-duty and retired military population in central Florida. Navy Hospital Orlando closed June 2, 1995, and has since been converted into a Veterans Administration Outpatient Clinic.
February 1992 marked another historic undertaking as RTC Orlando organized its first co-ed or mixed-gender recruit companies. The pilot program included nearly 900 recruits. A year later, NTC Orlando and many other military installations across the country were ordered to close by the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)Commission. Recruit Training Command graduated its last company of 459 recruits in the 1321st Pass-In-Review Ceremony Dec. 2, 1994. The command closed officially March 31, 1995.
More than 652,000 recruits graduated from RTC before the command disestablished. Service School Command Orlando officially disestablished in November 1996. The various schools relocated to other bases, primarily Naval Training Center Great Lakes, Ill. Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, the last major command to remain aboard the training center, is scheduled to graduate its final class Dec. 17, 1998. The command began relocating to Naval Weapons Station Charleston, S.C. in June 1998. The ceremony will feature three guest speakers: Rear Adm. Frank M. "Skip" Dirren Jr., Vice Chief of Naval Education and Training; City of Orlando Mayor Glenda E. Hood; and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy James L. Herdt. -USN-
