The NAS Oceana Dam Neck Annex is along the Atlantic coast, 5 miles south of the Virginia Beach resort area. Dam Neck rests on more than 1,700 acres of highlands, marshes, coastal beaches and sand dunes with 3.2 miles of some of the most beautiful beachfront in Virginia.

Dam Neck was established in 1941 as an anti-aircraft gunnery range to train fleet personnel in the operation of 20 mm and 40 mm anti-aircraft guns. Today, Dam Neck Annex houses 20 tenant commands primarily focused on Navy fleet training and support activities.

Dam Neck’s unique location has many benefits for the Navy. Strategically located within 30 minutes of 50 percent of the U.S. fleet, joint forces, NATO commands, as well as in close proximity to NAS Oceana and major Army and Air Force commands, Dam Neck has a distinct advantage in providing training and testing services to the fleet. Electronic links with the Norfolk Naval Base, Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Patuxent River and Surface Combat Systems Center Wallops Island provide a broad range of electronic signals for joint testing and training in the adjoining VACAPES Operating Area, which offers the only test and training space in the world covered by land-based SPS 48, SPS 49 and SPY-1 radars.

Further connectivity exists between Dam Neck, Newport News Shipbuilding and Virginia academia facilities to allow joint cooperative testing, training and research. As a Navy center of training excellence, Dam Neck Annex trains approximately 16,000 students annually in more than 210 courses of instruction. The current mission of the staff of Dam Neck Annex is to maintain the highest quality facilities in support of the tenant commands that deliver highly trained personnel and state-of-the-art combat systems to the fleet.