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Coastal artillery training. You can find pictures of naval war games fought at the naval training college in (I believe) Newport News.
is probably doing the same thing as the guy in the back right corner with what looks like a spotting scope on a tripod.
My guess is that they are trying to simulate the field of view you would get by looking at the invading navy "live" rather than the deity's eye view you get standing over the wargame board.
From some maps of the forts (thank you cdsg.org) it appears the markers along the represented shoreline indicate searchlights.
"You sank my battleship!"
It doesn't look like they're wearing Navy uniforms, so they are probably Coastal Artillery folks thinking about sinking the Dreaded Hun.
What's interesting is that they actually are modeling some of the piers at the Naval Base. I recognize the Rip Raps (Fort Wool) and Fort Monroe, Willoughby Spit, the James River, etc.
This looks like it could be some sort of training or war game for members of the Coastal Artillery Corps. There were a number of forts about Norfolk at the time. Fort Wool is the island in the middle of the entrance.
What is that guy in the front row doing with those field glasses? The models are what, 10 feet away from him at worst? Are those standard for this sort of thing, or is this just for show?
Looks like a map of entrance to Hampton Roads, Virginia
This is what they were practicing those deep knee bends for.
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