Naval Weapons Station Charleston was commissioned in 1941 to be a home for strategic submarine squadrons and an ordnance station with capacity for 60 million pounds of conventional ordnance. Ammunition from all over the country was shipped here to be loaded onto ships at the Charleston Naval Shipyard.

After the war, activity here had slowed down quite a bit until the mission expanded to include the handling of guided missiles in the 1950s. In 1960, the Polaris Missile Facility Atlantic was built on the base and soon more land was purchased for the housing of Hawk, Terrier, and Tartar missiles. By 1969 it had expanded even more to include the Standard and Red Eye missiles and continued to grow through the 1970s. In 1981, the Charleston Army Depot was acquired.

Today Charleston is 17,000 acres with 16 miles of coastline and 4 deep water piers. It includes over 40 tenant commands such as the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command, Nuclear Power Training Unit, Mobile Mine Assembly Unit, and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center. The station continues to provide ordnance and waterfront operations.