𝗨.𝗦. 𝗡𝗮𝘃𝘆 𝗘𝘃𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝟱𝘁𝗵 𝗡𝗮𝘃𝘆 𝗛𝗤 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗮𝗵𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻
The Pentagon has confirmed 1,500 sailors, families, and pets have been relocated from Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain to Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia.
NSA Bahrain is (was) the headquarters of the U.S. 5th Fleet. It was struck multiple times on 28 February, the opening day of Operation Epic Fury, and several times afterwards. Satellite imagery confirmed at least seven structures destroyed in the first week alone, including communications infrastructure and warehouses.
Sailors are arriving in Norfolk with what fit in a backpack. Community groups were called in to provide basic toiletries.
https://www.npr.org/2026/04/03/nx-s1...norfolk-troops
Evacuation of U.S. troops from Mideast base sends community groups scrambling to help
NPR has learned that hundreds of sailors were evacuated back to the United States from their base in Bahrain after the base was attacked by Iranian missiles and drones. In addition to the base in Bahrain, NPR has learned that there have been evacuations at other U.S. military bases in the region, though the exact details are unknown at this point.
Bahrain is the home of the Navy's 5th Fleet, making it a central hub for providing maritime security in the Middle East region, including protecting commercial shipping. The country is an island in the Persian Gulf that sits roughly 124 nautical miles away from the coast of Iran, which makes Bahrain well within range of Iranian drone and missile strikes.....
In response to an NPR request, a Navy spokesman acknowledged that 1,500 sailors, their families and several hundred pets were relocated back to the U.S. from NSA Bahrain.
Sailors have been arriving in Norfolk, Va., home to the world's biggest naval base, since at least the middle of March. Several groups that provide aid to military personnel say that the sailors arrived with very little. A call went out to community groups, asking for basic supplies like hygiene products.
"The base was asking for donations of toiletries and different things for the sailors coming back, because they were coming back with nothing,"said Derrick Johnson, commander of American Legion Post 327 in Norfolk.
The post hosted a spaghetti dinner for some of the sailors, said Keith Shanesy, one of the post's vice commanders.
"They literally told them, 'Get what you can get in the backpack. You've got to go,'" he said. "They came with no uniforms, nothing. The three we met first, they came with the clothes on their back, what they could fit in that backpack."