Point Loma's 7 military facilities include Naval Base Point Loma, NIWC Pacific, and Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery—a combined federal footprint that covers the southern peninsula and employs thousands of military personnel and defense contractors in 92106. The base's submarine operations and NIWC's cybersecurity research make Point Loma one of the Navy's most critical West Coast installations.
1700 Cabrillo Memorial Dr, San Diego, CA 92106
+1 619-553-2084
Verified3663 Midway Dr, San Diego, CA 92110
+1 206-815-6315
Verified4301 Pacific Hwy, San Diego, CA 92110
+1 843-218-4000
Verified140 Sylvester Rd, San Diego, CA 92106
+1 619-553-1011
VerifiedSan Diego, CA 92106
+1 619-553-8400
Verified140 Sylvester Rd building 20, San Diego, CA 92106
+1 808-473-2246
Verified140 Sylvester Rd, San Diego, CA 92106
+1 619-553-7178
VerifiedPoint Loma hosts one of the densest concentrations of military infrastructure in San Diego. Naval Base Point Loma occupies the southern peninsula with submarine operations, weapons research, and fleet support commands. NIWC Pacific (Naval Information Warfare Center) runs cybersecurity and communications research from a sprawling campus on the base, and Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery covers 77 acres on the bluffs overlooking San Diego Bay.
The U.S. Coast Guard maintains a recruiting office in the area, and Naval Medical Center San Diego—while technically across the border in the Balboa Park area—serves as the primary military hospital for personnel stationed on the peninsula. The combined military footprint means a significant portion of Point Loma's land area is federal property with restricted civilian access.
NIWC Pacific, formerly known as SPAWAR (Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command), is the Navy's primary West Coast center for information warfare, cybersecurity, and communications systems development. The command was renamed NIWC Pacific in 2019 as part of a broader Navy reorganization that aligned its research mission under the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command umbrella.
The facility on Naval Base Point Loma employs thousands of military personnel, civilian engineers, and defense contractors working on command-and-control systems, undersea warfare technology, and satellite communications. NIWC Pacific is one of the largest employers on the peninsula and a major driver of the technical workforce that lives in Point Loma, Ocean Beach, and surrounding neighborhoods.
Naval Base Point Loma covers roughly 900 acres on the southern end of the peninsula, stretching from the submarine piers on the bay side to the Pacific coastline. The base houses submarine squadron operations, torpedo testing facilities, and the Navy's marine mammal program, which trains dolphins and sea lions for mine detection and harbor defense from pens in the bay.
Access to the base is restricted to military personnel, civilian employees with Department of Defense credentials, and authorized visitors with escort arrangements. The base's perimeter effectively closes off the southern tip of the peninsula to public vehicle traffic, though Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery and Cabrillo National Monument—both federal sites with separate public entrances—remain accessible via Cabrillo Memorial Drive.
The U.S. Coast Guard maintains a presence in Point Loma through its recruiting office and operational coordination with Navy and Harbor Police units stationed on the peninsula. Coast Guard assets in the broader San Diego area operate from Base San Diego on Harbor Drive and Sector San Diego, both in the Downtown waterfront zone.
For Point Loma residents, the Coast Guard's most visible role involves search-and-rescue operations off Sunset Cliffs and the Cabrillo coastline, marine safety enforcement in the harbor and bay, and boating inspections at the Shelter Island marina basin. Reports of boating emergencies or hazards to navigation on the water go to Coast Guard Sector San Diego on VHF Channel 16.
Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery is a 77-acre national cemetery on the bluffs of Point Loma's southern peninsula, managed by the National Cemetery Administration. Headstones date to the 1800s, and the site serves as the final resting place for veterans of conflicts from the Indian Wars through the Global War on Terror. Rows of white marble markers cascade down the hillside with unobstructed views of San Diego Bay, Coronado, and the Pacific.
The cemetery sits on land originally part of the U.S. Army's Fort Rosecrans, a coastal defense installation established in the 1890s to guard the harbor entrance. When the Army transferred the property, the cemetery remained as a permanent federal burial ground. Fort Rosecrans is open daily for visitation, and the nearby veterans services providers on the peninsula help families navigate eligibility and scheduling.
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