2026 State of the Bases of Beaufort County

The 2026 State of the Bases of Beaufort County, hosted by the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce and carried by BCTV on October 1, 2026, featured updates from leaders of Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, and Naval Hospital Beaufort. Procurement and infrastructure were prominent: MCAS Beaufort reported that its next F-35 hangar, a $350 million project, had been fully funded and approved, with contractors expected to begin work October 1. The air station also described planned fuel-pier modernization, a replacement military working dog facility, conversion of a former school into a police training facility, and a proposed joint redesign of the main gate and Highway 21 corridor. It noted a new intergovernmental support agreement with Beaufort County intended to keep some project spending local and reduce costs; no contractor was named.

Parris Island cited a $14.5 million partnership with Beaufort County and Beaufort-Jasper Water and Sewer Authority to replace aging water mains, as well as agreements for emergency-vehicle maintenance and vocational training with the county school district. Naval Hospital Beaufort reported a planned new ambulatory care facility targeted to open in 2033, an almost $1 million barracks renovation, and an approved real-estate agreement allowing Dominion Energy to build a substation to improve power reliability. The hospital commander also requested community partnership on a traffic signal near the installation, citing safety concerns and limited funding. No votes or formal spending motions were reported; the presentations described projects, agreements, and partnership requests.