Camp Pendleton ( Virginia ) Camp Pendleton is a state military reservation in Virginia Beach , Virginia , named after Brigadier General William N . Pendleton , who served as Robert E . Lee ' s chief of artillery during the Civil War . It lies on the Atlantic coast slightly east of Naval Air Station Oceana . History . The facility was laid out in 1911 , with construction beginning in 1912 , as the State Rifle Range for the use of the state militia . Between 1922 and 1942 , it was named after the then serving Governor of Virginia . During both World Wars , the base was federalized . In World War I it was used by the U . S . Navy for coastal artillery training and during World War II it was controlled by U . S . Army , who first applied the name Camp Pendleton . National Register of Historic Places . The Camp Pendleton - State Military Reservation Historic District was designated a historic district and listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 26 , 2005 . The camp initially was about in size . The original 1912 construction mostly related to the rifle range , but most of those buildings were demolished prior to World War II . A second major construction phase began in 1919 , during which the U . S . Navy focused on improvements to the rifle range . Those buildings have also been demolished , but the layout of both the first and second phase remains . The third and final phase of construction was the responsibility of the U . S . Army during World War II ; most of the camp ' s remaining buildings date from that phase . At the time it was listed on the National Register , Camp Pendleton had 108 buildings in a condition good enough to qualify them as contributing properties . Current use . The operation and maintenance of Camp Pendleton is funded primarily by the federal government through the National Guard Bureau , and its primary purpose is the training of personnel and organizations of the Virginia National Guard , as well as other states ' National Guard units and components of the U . S . Armed Forces . When the facilities are not used by military organizations , state and local civilian agencies also conduct training at the site . Its facilities include a small arms range , helicopter landing strip , classrooms , barracks , dining halls , maintenance garages , training fields , and a chapel . Other tenants include the Military Sealift Command , whose facilities are leased to the federal government by the State of Virginia , and the 203rd RED HORSE Air National Guard . On March 3 , 2001 the 18 members of the 203rd RED HORSE and 2 Florida Air Guardsmen died in a plane crash over Georgia . It is considered the worst peacetime Air Guard crash ever and the worst National Guard loss of life in Virginia since World War II . In 1991 the United States Department of Defense began the Youth Challenge Program . The Virginia implementation of that program is the Commonwealth Challenge ( or Commonwealth ChalleNGe ) , a program with a military structure operated by the Virginia National Guard on Camp Pendleton for at risk 16 - 18 year olds . It focuses on developing " values , skills , education and self - discipline " . Youths come from all parts of Virginia . The Camp Pendleton program opened in September 1994 ( some cite July 1994 ) , is 5 1 / 2 months long , and offers a GED program . There are three phases : 2 weeks of indoctrination , 20 weeks of the core program , and a 12 - month post - graduation program . Community service is part of the program . Classes start each January and June . The only cost to the participant is personal items ; tuition , room , and board are provided . So far 30 classes and over 3000 cadets have graduated . In 2010 Virginia almost removed funding for the program but it was restored by the governor . Since shortly after World War II a home on the camp has served as a vacation spot for the presiding governor of Virginia . The architecture of this home is in the same style as the rest of the camp . It has vinyl siding . The " cottage " was originally built in 1915 and initially served as the commanding officer ' s residence . Since the summer of 2004 , the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps has conducted summer and winter boot camps at Camp Pendleton . Future . When the facility was created it was in a relatively remote , sparsely populated area , but since then , the City of Virginia Beach has grown and developed around it , leading to concerns over safety issues . Over time hundreds of acres of land belonging to the camp have been sold to the city of Virginia Beach . The role of Camp Pendleton is also changing , as more National Guard training takes place at the much larger Fort Pickett , lessening the importance of Camp Pendleton . This has led to repeated requests by the City authorities to convert it to other uses , including complete or partial conversion to a state park . The findings of a report completed at the behest of the Virginia General Assembly on November 22 , 1998 were that it was not feasible at that time to convert Camp Pendleton to a state park because of the demands of long - term planning , coordination with the federal government , and environmental reclamation .