Originally established (in 1917), as a U.S. Army aviation facility, the Navy began using the field in the 1920's. The Navy acquired the field during World War II for fixed-wing and aircraft carrier operations. Following the war, the field was deactivated until the Korean and Vietnam conflicts, when it became a full Naval air station, serving all west coast helicopter squadrons and units, until 1975 when it was converted to a Navy Outlying Landing Field and a component of NAS North Island. Ream Field is the only training center for Navy helicopter aviation on the west coast. It has one active runway (5000 feet long) and five helicopter landing pads.