page_title: United States Navy in Vieques, Puerto Rico
section_title: Searching for a location
hierarchical_section_title: United States Navy in Vieques, Puerto Rico / Searching for a location
caption_attribution_description: English: USS Graham County (LST-1176) beached at Vieques, Puerto Rico, in 1964. Note her bow door configuration, 3"/50 twin gun mounts, and radar-equipped gun directors. US Naval Historical Center. Official US Navy photo taken from http://www.navsource.org/archives/10/16/1016117603.jpg
context_page_description: The Vieques, Puerto Rico, Naval Training Range was a United States naval facility located on the island of Vieques, about 5 miles east of mainland Puerto Rico. It was the centre of the Puerto Rican Operating Area. Starting in November 1941, the navy used the range for military exercises. Military operations ended in 2001, with the Navy completely leaving the area in 2003.
context_section_description: The Department of the Navy started searching for a location to situate a naval base during the 1940s. Land was sold by the native inhabitants between 1941 and 1950, consisting of two parcels making up 22,000 acres or about two-thirds of the island. Of that, 8,000 acres on the western end of the island was primarily used as a naval ammunition depot until the property was returned to the Municipality of Vieques on May 1, 2001.
  The eastern end of the island was used for live training exercises, ship-to-shore gunfire, air-to-ground bombing and US Marine amphibious landings starting from the 1940s onward. Within that area was a 900-acre Live Impact Area (LIA) used for targeting live ordnance. The LIA was located at the eastern tip of the island and away from the civilian population.
caption: USS Graham County (LST-1176) beached at Vieques, Puerto Rico, 1964
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