Military relocation on the Virginia Peninsula: Langley, Fort Eustis, Yorktown

Langley Air Force Base, Fort Eustis, Naval Weapons Station Yorktown (with Cheatham Annex) and Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown all sit on the Virginia Peninsula between the James and York rivers, within roughly 25 road miles of one another. Every one of them falls in the same 2026 Basic Allowance for Housing area, VA297 Hampton/Newport News, so a move here mostly comes down to drive time, housing type, school division and flood exposure. Adam Triplett, ranked the #1 individual agent by the Virginia Peninsula Association of REALTORS® (VPAR) every year since 2018, has closed 479 sales in Hampton, Newport News, Poquoson and homes with Yorktown addresses (Adam's closed-sales record, 2006 through July 2026).

Which military installations are on the Virginia Peninsula?

Joint Base Langley-Eustis: Langley AFB and Fort Eustis

Joint Base Langley-Eustis joins two installations that do not touch: Langley Air Force Base in Hampton and Fort Eustis in Newport News, with about 17 miles of interstate between them (Military OneSource). Units include Headquarters Air Combat Command, the 1st Fighter Wing and the Army's 7th Transportation Brigade (Expeditionary), and the joint base supports roughly 15,000 active-duty members. Neighborhoods, on-base housing and gates are in the Joint Base Langley-Eustis guide.

Naval Weapons Station Yorktown and Cheatham Annex

The Navy acquired the weapons station site by presidential proclamation on August 7, 1918. It covered about 20 square miles and was then the largest naval installation in the world (Military OneSource). It remains one of the Navy's major East Coast ordnance facilities. Navy Cargo Handling Battalion ONE is at Cheatham Annex, a separate parcel on the York River in upper York County near Williamsburg. Newcomers use Gate 3 on Longfellow Road, off Jefferson Avenue (Route 143) near I-64 exit 247. Details are in the Naval Weapons Station Yorktown guide.

Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown

Training Center Yorktown's stated mission is to "Forge Today's Force to Execute Tomorrow's Mission" through resident, non-resident and exportable training (USCG Force Readiness Command). Its A-School support office handles pay and personnel for approximately 1,500 "A" school students a year in the BM, DC, EM, IS, GM, MK, MST and PS ratings, alongside permanent-party staff. The center sits on the York River just east of Yorktown's historic village and is a separate installation from the weapons station. Housing, BAH and nearby areas are in the Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown guide.

Civilian and contractor moves: NASA Langley and Newport News Shipbuilding

NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, founded July 17, 1917, lists a workforce of more than 3,400. HII's Newport News Shipbuilding describes itself as the largest industrial employer in Virginia, with more than 26,000 shipbuilders building nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines at 4101 Washington Avenue. Both are in the table below for civilian and contractor moves.

How far is each installation from Yorktown, Newport News, Hampton and Williamsburg?

Approximate off-peak drive distances and times, estimated with OpenStreetMap routing (OSRM) from Yorktown's historic village, City Center at Oyster Point in Newport News, Hampton City Hall and Merchants Square in Williamsburg, rounded up to the next five minutes. Rush hour on I-64, Jefferson Avenue, Route 17 and Mercury Boulevard adds time.

Langley is a Hampton-side commute; from Williamsburg it is about 30 miles. Fort Eustis, NWS Yorktown and Cheatham Annex cluster at the north end of Newport News and in upper York County, about 4 to 12 miles apart: Lee Hall is within about 15 minutes of all three, and Denbigh, Grafton and Williamsburg are within about 25. If one person in a household reports to Langley and another to Fort Eustis, Kiln Creek, Tabb, Hidenwood and City Center each sit within about 20 minutes of both gates.

What is BAH on the Virginia Peninsula in 2026?

BAH is set by the location of your duty station, your pay grade and whether you have dependents, not by where you choose to live (37 U.S.C. § 403). Every Peninsula duty-station ZIP checked for this guide maps to Military Housing Area VA297, Hampton/Newport News, in the Defense Travel Management Office's 2026 rate files: Langley (23665), Fort Eustis (23604), NWS Yorktown (23691), Coast Guard TRACEN Yorktown (23690) and the Williamsburg-area ZIPs around Cheatham Annex (23185, 23187 and 23188). Monthly 2026 rates for three common pay grades:

For comparison, the Southside's Norfolk/Portsmouth area (VA298) pays an E-5 $2,430 with dependents and $1,908 without in 2026. With orders to a Peninsula installation, a home in Williamsburg, Hampton or Gloucester Point draws the same VA297 rate. Check your own grade on the DoD BAH calculator; each installation guide lists more grades.

How do VA home loans work for a Peninsula move?

Who is eligible

Service requirements on VA.gov, as of October 2026:

• Active duty: at least 90 continuous days of service.
• Veterans who served after August 2, 1990: generally 24 continuous months, or the full period (at least 90 days) you were called or ordered to active duty, or less if you were discharged for a service-connected disability.
• National Guard and Reserve: 90 days of non-training active-duty service, or 6 creditable years.
• Coast Guard: federal law defines the "Armed Forces" to include the Coast Guard (38 U.S.C. § 101(10)), so Coast Guard service counts toward eligibility the same way.

Active-duty borrowers request a Certificate of Eligibility with a statement of service signed by a commander, adjutant or personnel officer, or have the lender request it online.

What the loan does

• No down payment as long as the price is not higher than the appraised value, and no private mortgage insurance (VA purchase loans).
• With full entitlement there is no VA loan limit, though the lender still has to approve you. With remaining entitlement from a loan you still hold, most lenders want entitlement, down payment or both to cover at least 25% of the loan (VA loan limits).
• You must live in the home you buy with the loan.
• Seller concessions are capped at 4% of the home's reasonable value, and the funding fee is the only cost you can finance into a purchase loan.

2026 VA funding fee

As of October 2026, VA.gov lists the rates effective April 7, 2023:

An IRRRL or a loan assumption is 0.5%. You are exempt if you receive VA disability compensation (or are eligible but receive retirement or active-duty pay instead), receive Dependency and Indemnity Compensation as a surviving spouse, have a proposed or memorandum rating before closing, or are an active-duty Purple Heart recipient.

Assumable VA loans

A VA-backed loan can be assumed: the buyer takes over the seller's existing loan and pays the 0.5% funding fee. For a seller on orders, entitlement is the catch. Under 38 U.S.C. § 3702(b), entitlement can be restored when the property is sold and the loan is paid in full, or when a veteran buyer assumes the loan and agrees to use their own entitlement in place of the seller's. If the buyer does not substitute entitlement, the seller's entitlement generally stays tied to that loan until it is paid off. Ask the loan servicer how release of liability and substitution work before agreeing to an assumption.

Should you buy or rent on a two- to three-year tour?

There is no general answer, but the same handful of facts decide it on every Peninsula move:

• Monthly cost against BAH. Add principal, interest, taxes, homeowners insurance, HOA dues and any flood insurance, then compare that total to your VA297 rate.
• Up-front cost. The funding fee (unless exempt) and closing costs do not shrink on a short tour.
• The exit. At the next PCS you either sell, which has its own costs, or keep the home as a rental. VA loans require you to live in the home you buy, so if renting it out later is the plan, ask your lender how the occupancy rule applies to your timeline.
• Entitlement. Keeping the house with its VA loan leaves part of your entitlement in use, which can mean a down payment at the next duty station under the 25% rule above.
• Flood. Flood insurance is required for federally backed mortgages on homes in FEMA special flood hazard areas. Look up any address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center before you compare costs.
• The on-base alternative. Waits vary by installation, grade and bedroom count. Military OneSource lists 881 family homes at Fort Eustis and waits at NWS Yorktown from zero to three months up to 18 to 24 months; Langley applicants join a waitlist after Hunt Military Communities approves the application.

Selling a home when PCS orders arrive

Orders rarely line up with the listing calendar. The guide to selling on PCS orders without being in town covers timing, prep and remote closing in detail. The short version:

• Work back from the report date, terminal leave and any house-hunting trip to set the list date.
• Decide early whether an assumable VA loan is part of the pitch, and what it means for your entitlement.
• Line up repairs, paint and landscaping so the work happens after you leave.
• Expect to sign and close from your next duty station; documents can move electronically.

More on listing with Adam is on the seller's page.

How Adam Triplett works with military sellers

Adam's process for service members is three steps, built around the orders:

1. Assess the timeline. Report date, terminal leave, house-hunting trip. Adam works backward from the date that matters and sets the list date around it.
2. Coordinate the work. Punch list, paint, landscaping and inspection items are scheduled and supervised with trusted contractors, so nothing waits on you being in town.
3. Sell and close remotely. Marketing, showings, negotiation and closing are handled while you are already at the next duty station. Documents move electronically and updates come to you.

Adam is Vice President and Senior Partner at Garrett Realty Partners in Newport News, where he began his career, and has more than 110 five-star reviews on Zillow. More on his background is on the about page.

Adam's sales near the Peninsula installations

Those five mailing cities account for 488 of Adam's 628 closed sales, which total $172.6 million in volume (Adam's closed-sales record, 2006 through July 2026). Mailing city is not the same as municipality: a Yorktown address can sit almost anywhere in lower and central York County, and Seaford is part of York County too. The full record is on the sold page.