Coronado, California. (December 10, 2024): The Navy’s home of amphibious warfare looks every bit like an exotic oceanfront resort. Situated on 5,500 yards of Pacific Ocean beaches, you wouldn’t suspect this is the home of America’s premier Naval gladiators. In this photo by Corporal Kyle Chan, Marines drag a combat rubber raiding craft onshore during an infantry company small boat raid course. The Coronado facility is home to the Naval Special Warfare Command, Expeditionary Warfare Training Group, and the Navy's Sea-Air-Land (SEAL) Team.

This sprawling base is where the Marines practice their amphibious assault skills, particularly in deploying and maneuvering small boats. These smaller craft are used to insert Marines for various operations including executing raids or securing beachheads. To be successful, Marines must be able to manage these unruly crafts in heavy seas and under the most challenging conditions.

The beaches at Coronado are an ideal place to practice infiltrating and exfiltrating forces under realistic conditions. The Marines train in providing small-caliber gunfire support for fellow Marines going ashore and recovering the wounded. Other topics taught at Coronado include conducting coastal patrols, surveillance, interdiction, and search and rescue operations.

Established in 1943 with soil dredged from the San Diego Bay, Coronado hosted large Navy vessels during World War II. In June of 1943, the Secretary of the Navy created the Amphibious Training Base at San Diego and these crews were deployed to the South Pacific. Today, the five thousand plus personnel serving at Coronado are responsible for the training, maintenance, and needs of the approximately ninety ships of the Pacific Fleet and Special Warfare Command.

While it might look like a beachfront getaway, the work going on at Coronado is no vacation.