While Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth, its territorial rights belong to the US, which made it feasible for the US government to build an air base in Ceiba.

When Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany began to invade other European countries, the US, led by then President Roosevelt, considered the idea of a naval air station in Ceiba.

The M3 was designated to help Puerto Rico, the US and other Caribbean and Latin American countries to deal with drug trafficking, illegal immigration and other problems.

In August 2002, a MC-130H airplane carrying seven airmen crashed in the town of Caguas, while en route from Roosevelt Roads to Rafael Hernández Airport in Aguadilla.

[8] In January 2003, Admiral Robert J. Natter said that, with the upcoming closure of the Naval Training Range in Vieques, Roosevelt Roads was no longer needed by the Navy.

[11] United States Special Operations Command South moved from Roosevelt Roads to Homestead Air Reserve Base.

[16] Of the former base's property, about 30% was transferred to the government of Puerto Rico and its municipalities, 40% became a wetlands preserve, and the remainder was offered for sale at public auction.

With a focus on Theater Security Cooperation, NAVSO works to strengthen and build effective alliance and friendships, develop partner nation capabilities, and maintain US operational access to defend the US.

Roosevelt Roads Naval Station, or Roosey (pronounced "Rosy") as it was frequently called, was home to hundreds of military personnel and dependents.

News and information broadcasts were provided by Navy and Marine Corps journalists from the studios of The American Forces Caribbean Network (AFCN).

Families could tune into the on-base AFRTS radio and TV station's family-oriented shows, or rig an antenna for signals from St. Thomas or San Juan.

At one time, the AFCN operated repeater transmitters broadcasting radio and TV to San Juan, and Ramey Air Force Base, located on the west coast of Puerto Rico.

At the El Coqui Theater, in the Bundy area of the base, movie goers watched films as swifts, a small batlike bird, flitted across the screen.

Birds hunt using superior eyesight and the projector provided welcome light for them in the darkened theater while bats who depend on echo-location do not need it and were seen only incidentally.

This was over after President George W. Bush granted Puerto Rico the rights to operate the former military possessions in Vieques, including Fort Bundy, a portion of which was aboard Roosevelt Roads Naval Station.

After the military left the station, Puerto Rican Governor Sila María Calderón announced that her party, the PPD, had political goals to turn the base into an international airport.

[citation needed] In 2012, the former Roosevelt Roads Naval Station was under consideration as a possible location for the SpaceX private launch site, but was not selected.

[21] Marine Environmental Remediation (MER) Group signed an agreement with the LRA to rent Pier 3 as a ship recycling facility in April 2016.

[citation needed] As of October 2018, Ricardo Rosselló's administration made it the launching port to Vieques and Culebra[22] In mid-March 2020, José Aponte Hernández, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives of Puerto Rico said he would request from Jenniffer González Colón, (the resident commissioner of Puerto Rico) for funds to restore a former hospital to operational status.

What was discussed was the possibility of using the former hospital located on the Roosevelt Roads Naval Station to treat persons affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Rico.

This AFRC includes a vehicle maintenance shop, storage building, weapons simulator, learning center, wash bay and parking.

In December 2024 the local redevelopment authority issued a request for proposal for a vertical space launch site at Roosevelt Roads Naval Station.