RICHMOND, Virginia — The U.S. military is adding Virginia's oceanfront to such destinations as Hawai'i's Hale Koa Hotel, where service members and their families can get affordable rest and relaxation.

The Armed Forces Recreation Center in Virginia Beach joins locations in Honolulu, Orlando, Fla., Germany and South Korea that have been serving military families and civilians who work for the U.S. Department of Defense since 1946.

Adding the new resort is part of the adaptation to an "increasingly continental United States based" military that is bringing back significant numbers of soldiers from Germany and South Korea, said Rich Gorman, chief operating officer of the command based near Washington, D.C.

The Army Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command assumed responsibility of a 93-room set of cabins and bungalows last month, but plans to expand the property over the next two years with additional rooms and conference facilities. Feet from the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay, the Virginia Beach resort called Cape Henry Inn has been open for about 12 years under local management.

"The reason for operating these places was for rest and recuperation for war-weary soldiers, and that really continues to be the focus today," Gorman said.

Each year, about 750,000 people visit the resorts, officials said. The resorts are open to active-duty and retired military, current and retired Department of Defense civilians, reservists, delayed-entry recruits and family members. Each resort features gourmet restaurants, guest services, pool and fitness centers.

The first resorts were opened in Germany in December 1945. Forces mostly from the 101st Airborne confiscated hotels that were then used for military rest and recreation.

In 1995, the privately owned hotels were returned. A new facility in the Bavarian Alps called the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort opened in 2004.

The Hale Koa was built in Honolulu in 1975, and Orlando's Shades of Green opened in the mid-1990s. South Korea's resort, Dragon Hill Lodge, is in Seoul.