Naval Air Station Atlanta
Encyclopedia
General D. Lucius Clay National Guard Center (formerly Naval Air Station Atlanta) is a military facility located 1 miles (1.6 km) south of Marietta, Georgia
, United States. It is located immediately south of Dobbins Air Reserve Base
and shares its runway
s.
Before 1959, Naval Air Station Atlanta was located at what is now the Peachtree-DeKalb Airport (PDK), located northeast of Atlanta in DeKalb County
. It operated until 26 SEP 2009 when the base closed its doors. The property is now owned by the state of Georgia as the new headquarters for the Georgia State Department of Defense.
The Navy's website for NAS Atlanta was deleted soon after the transfer.
Company, between Marietta
and Smyrna
. The new air station was completed in April 1959.
NAS Atlanta was originally located at what is now Peachtree-DeKalb Airport in Chamblee, until it moved in 1958. The Southern Technical Institute took over the barracks
there, and it too moved in 1958 to Marietta, just on the other side of Dobbins AFB.
Naval Air Station Atlanta's mission was to train Navy and Marine Corps Reservists assigned to numerous aviation and non-aviation reserve units. The command organization was made of more than 900 active duty military and civilian personnel. NAS Atlanta was the home of Marine Air Group (MAG) 42, Carrier Air Wing Reserve Twenty, three Navy squadrons (flying the F/A-18, E-2 and C-9 aircraft), two Marine Corps squadrons (flying the F/A-18 aircraft, and AH-1W and UH-1 helicopters) as well as several other commands. In 2005, DoD recommended NAS Atlanta for closure and its constituent units relocated or consolidated at other installations.
Like NAS Willow Grove and NAF Washington/Andrews AFB, NAS Atlanta offers superb convenience and thus recruiting opportunities to the services’ reserve components, at some cost in operational flexibility. In the case of NAF Atlanta, that cost is imposed primarily in terms of airspace access.
The F/A-18s assigned to VFA 203 and VMFA 142
faced one of the more difficult airspace access challenges in the DoN. Operations at the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport impose a significant impact on surrounding airspace. Atlanta functions as a 360 degree hub, with approach, departure, bypass or overflight traffic using virtually all available airspace within 200 miles (321.9 km) of the facility. The airspace northeast of Atlanta is probably the most congested, as it must accommodate departures and arrivals between Atlanta and cities in the northeast. Unfortunately, the primary airspace available to NAF Atlanta units, the Snowbird MOA/ATCAA lies in that quadrant.
The Air Station was proudly awarded the Edwin F. Conway Trophy in 1987, 1993 for being the most efficient Naval Air Station in the Naval Reserve, and the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department (AIMD) won the Commander, Naval Reserve Force Robert S. Gray Maintenance Excellence Award in 1987 and 1992. In 1990 the air station was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for unprecedented accomplishments, consistent performance and unswerving dedication to duty. Other awards between 1988 and 1993 include: Secretary of Navy Energy Conservation Award; major claimant nominations for the Bronze Hammer Award, nomination for the Commander in Chief's Installation Excellence Award, and the 1992 Commander, Naval Air Reserve Force Safety Ashore Award.
NAS Atlanta is also the site of the World Famous Navy Lake Site, a military recreation area open to active, reserve, and retired military, located in a 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) park on Lake Allatoona reservoir. Not to be outdone, the Army has its own Lake Allatoona Army Recreation Area, an 85 acres (343,983.1 m²) resort on another part of the same lake at nearby Ft. McPherson.
NAS Atlanta closed its doors on 26 September 2009 in a base closing ceremony. The property was then turned over to the Georgia State Department of Defense for use as its new main base of operations.
The first Georgia Army National Guard aircraft assigned to the new installation, a UH-60M Blackhawk, arrived on 25 August 2009. It was delivered to the 1/832 Medivac Unit fresh from the production line.
On 26 September 2009, the Georgia National Guard assumed ownership of the former Naval Air Station Atlanta at a formal transfer of facilities ceremony. The transfer was the result of the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission report which recommended closing the 50-year-old Marietta base. Captain Chuck Mingonet officially turned over the base to General Nesbitt, Adjutant General of the Georgia State Department of Defense. Commander, Navy Region Southeast, Rear Admiral Tim Alexander was in attendance along with many other flag officers and dignitaries. Governor Sonny Perdue, members of Georgia's Congressional delegation and state legislature, as well as local dignitaries including Chairman Sam Olens and Commissioner Bob Ott, were on hand for the event. The facility's name was also changed to the General Lucius Clay National Guard Center in honor of the World War II hero and coordinator of the Berlin Airlift. Clay was a Cobb County native. Following the ceremony, Georgia National Guard also held a groundbreaking for its new Joint Force Headquarters. The headquarters is scheduled for completion in 2012. More than 1,500 Georgia Guard soldiers and airmen will perform training on the property in the future.
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
, United States. It is located immediately south of Dobbins Air Reserve Base
Dobbins Air Reserve Base
Dobbins Air Reserve Base or Dobbins ARB is a United States air reserve base located in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb about northwest of Atlanta. It was named in honor of Captain Charles M. Dobbins, a World War II C-47 pilot who died near Sicily...
and shares its runway
Runway
According to ICAO a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and take-off of aircraft." Runways may be a man-made surface or a natural surface .- Orientation and dimensions :Runways are named by a number between 01 and 36, which is generally one tenth...
s.
Before 1959, Naval Air Station Atlanta was located at what is now the Peachtree-DeKalb Airport (PDK), located northeast of Atlanta in DeKalb County
DeKalb County, Georgia
DeKalb County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. The population of the county was 691,893 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is the city of Decatur. It is bordered to the west by Fulton County and contains roughly 10% of the city of Atlanta...
. It operated until 26 SEP 2009 when the base closed its doors. The property is now owned by the state of Georgia as the new headquarters for the Georgia State Department of Defense.
The Navy's website for NAS Atlanta was deleted soon after the transfer.
History
In April 1955, Congress appropriated more than $ 4 million to start building a new Naval Air Station at a more suitable location to allow longer runways. The site selected was a large military reservation jointly occupied by Dobbins Air Force Base and the LockheedLockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
Company, between Marietta
Marietta, Georgia
Marietta is a city located in central Cobb County, Georgia, United States, and is its county seat.As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 56,579, making it one of metro Atlanta's largest suburbs...
and Smyrna
Smyrna, Georgia
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 40,999 people, 18,372 households, and 9,498 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,949.9 people per square mile . There were 19,633 housing units at an average density of 1,412.6 per square mile...
. The new air station was completed in April 1959.
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
there, and it too moved in 1958 to Marietta, just on the other side of Dobbins AFB.
Naval Air Station Atlanta's mission was to train Navy and Marine Corps Reservists assigned to numerous aviation and non-aviation reserve units. The command organization was made of more than 900 active duty military and civilian personnel. NAS Atlanta was the home of Marine Air Group (MAG) 42, Carrier Air Wing Reserve Twenty, three Navy squadrons (flying the F/A-18, E-2 and C-9 aircraft), two Marine Corps squadrons (flying the F/A-18 aircraft, and AH-1W and UH-1 helicopters) as well as several other commands. In 2005, DoD recommended NAS Atlanta for closure and its constituent units relocated or consolidated at other installations.
Like NAS Willow Grove and NAF Washington/Andrews AFB, NAS Atlanta offers superb convenience and thus recruiting opportunities to the services’ reserve components, at some cost in operational flexibility. In the case of NAF Atlanta, that cost is imposed primarily in terms of airspace access.
The F/A-18s assigned to VFA 203 and VMFA 142
VMFA-142
Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 142 was an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps Reserve that was active from 1942 to 2008. At the time of its inactivation, the squadron was based at Naval Air Station Atlanta, Georgia and fell under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 42 , 4th Marine...
faced one of the more difficult airspace access challenges in the DoN. Operations at the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport impose a significant impact on surrounding airspace. Atlanta functions as a 360 degree hub, with approach, departure, bypass or overflight traffic using virtually all available airspace within 200 miles (321.9 km) of the facility. The airspace northeast of Atlanta is probably the most congested, as it must accommodate departures and arrivals between Atlanta and cities in the northeast. Unfortunately, the primary airspace available to NAF Atlanta units, the Snowbird MOA/ATCAA lies in that quadrant.
The Air Station was proudly awarded the Edwin F. Conway Trophy in 1987, 1993 for being the most efficient Naval Air Station in the Naval Reserve, and the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department (AIMD) won the Commander, Naval Reserve Force Robert S. Gray Maintenance Excellence Award in 1987 and 1992. In 1990 the air station was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for unprecedented accomplishments, consistent performance and unswerving dedication to duty. Other awards between 1988 and 1993 include: Secretary of Navy Energy Conservation Award; major claimant nominations for the Bronze Hammer Award, nomination for the Commander in Chief's Installation Excellence Award, and the 1992 Commander, Naval Air Reserve Force Safety Ashore Award.
NAS Atlanta is also the site of the World Famous Navy Lake Site, a military recreation area open to active, reserve, and retired military, located in a 25 acres (101,171.5 m²) park on Lake Allatoona reservoir. Not to be outdone, the Army has its own Lake Allatoona Army Recreation Area, an 85 acres (343,983.1 m²) resort on another part of the same lake at nearby Ft. McPherson.
NAS Atlanta closed its doors on 26 September 2009 in a base closing ceremony. The property was then turned over to the Georgia State Department of Defense for use as its new main base of operations.
Present day
In 2007, the state of Georgia announced that it had acquired the NAS Atlanta property as the new headquarters for the Georgia Army National Guard. This preceded plans for units in the remote corners of the state to consolidate at the base.The first Georgia Army National Guard aircraft assigned to the new installation, a UH-60M Blackhawk, arrived on 25 August 2009. It was delivered to the 1/832 Medivac Unit fresh from the production line.
On 26 September 2009, the Georgia National Guard assumed ownership of the former Naval Air Station Atlanta at a formal transfer of facilities ceremony. The transfer was the result of the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission report which recommended closing the 50-year-old Marietta base. Captain Chuck Mingonet officially turned over the base to General Nesbitt, Adjutant General of the Georgia State Department of Defense. Commander, Navy Region Southeast, Rear Admiral Tim Alexander was in attendance along with many other flag officers and dignitaries. Governor Sonny Perdue, members of Georgia's Congressional delegation and state legislature, as well as local dignitaries including Chairman Sam Olens and Commissioner Bob Ott, were on hand for the event. The facility's name was also changed to the General Lucius Clay National Guard Center in honor of the World War II hero and coordinator of the Berlin Airlift. Clay was a Cobb County native. Following the ceremony, Georgia National Guard also held a groundbreaking for its new Joint Force Headquarters. The headquarters is scheduled for completion in 2012. More than 1,500 Georgia Guard soldiers and airmen will perform training on the property in the future.
Tenant Units
- Fleet Logistics Squadron 46 (VR-46) (Moving Out)
- Marine Aircraft Group 49 Detachment B (MAG-49 Det. B) (Moved Out)
- Marine Aircraft Group 42 (MAG-42)(Decommissioned July 2008) (Moved Out)
- Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 42 (MALS-42)(Decommissioned July 2008) (Moving Out)
- Carrier Air Wing Reserve Twenty (CAG-20) (Moved Out)
- Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 142VMFA-142Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 142 was an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps Reserve that was active from 1942 to 2008. At the time of its inactivation, the squadron was based at Naval Air Station Atlanta, Georgia and fell under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 42 , 4th Marine...
(VMFA-142)(Decommissioned July 2008) (Moved Out) - Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 77VAW-77The Nightwolves of Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron 77 based at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans, comprise the U.S. Navy's only fully dedicated counter-narcotics squadron. VAW-77's beginnings go back to 1995, when the U.S. Congress created the reserve squadron as a result of...
(VAW-77) (Moved Out) - Reserve Intelligence Program (RIPO/RIAC-14) (Moved Out)
- Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773HMLA-773Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773 is a United States Marine Corps helicopter squadron consisting of AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopters and UH-1N Huey utility helicopters. The squadron is based at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia and falls under the command of Marine Aircraft Group 49 ...
(HMLA-773) (Moving Out) - Marine Wing Support Squadron 472 (MWSS-472) (Moving Out)
- 4th Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion4th Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion4th Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion was a reserve air defense unit of the United States Marine Corps. They were part of Marine Air Control Group 48 and the 4th Marine Aircraft Wing and were based out in Pasadena, California....
(4th LAAD) (Moving Out) - Marine Air Control Group 48 (MACG-48)(Moving Out)
- 1/151 AVN REGT Georgia Army National Guard (Transferred from Dobbins Air Reserve BaseDobbins Air Reserve BaseDobbins Air Reserve Base or Dobbins ARB is a United States air reserve base located in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb about northwest of Atlanta. It was named in honor of Captain Charles M. Dobbins, a World War II C-47 pilot who died near Sicily...
) - 1/171 AVN REGT Georgia Army National Guard (Transferred from Dobbins Air Reserve BaseDobbins Air Reserve BaseDobbins Air Reserve Base or Dobbins ARB is a United States air reserve base located in Marietta, Georgia, a suburb about northwest of Atlanta. It was named in honor of Captain Charles M. Dobbins, a World War II C-47 pilot who died near Sicily...
) - 1/832 AVN REGT Georgia Army National Guard (Gaining Unit, 2009)
External links
}- An archived version of the official website
- Naval Air Station Atlanta Global Security.org. Retrieved 2006-10-26
- KMGE Atlanta Naval Air Station Air Nav.com Retrieved 2006-10-26
- http://www.ajc.com Atlanta Journal Constitution