Naval Support Activity Mid-South
Encyclopedia
Naval Support Activity Mid-South (NSA Mid-South, NAVSUPPACT Mid-South, NSAMS), in Millington
, Tennessee
, is a base of the United States Navy
. A part of the Navy Region Midwest and the Navy Installations Command, NSA Mid-South serves as the Navy’s Human Resources Center of Excellence. Headquartered onboard NSA Mid-South are Navy Personnel Command, Navy Recruiting Command, the Navy Manpower Analysis Center, as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Finance Center. More than 7,500 military, civilian, and contract personnel are assigned/work on base.
. By February 1918, flight operations were in full swing, but only until November of that year when the Armistice was signed. Two days after the signing, training operations were ceased.
At that time the airfield began pioneering airmail routes throughout Tennessee and the surrounding states. In March 1920, the government officially purchased Park Field. However, the airfield continued to decline until it was little more than a storage area for aircraft and parts.
Ironically, the Stock Market Crash of 1929
breathed new life into Park Field. During the 1930s the field served as a transient camp for unemployed workers. In 1937 the Resettlement Administration
(later the Farm Security Administration
) took over the land and developed model farms used to demonstrate what could be achieved with correctly managed land. Park Field remained under this agency's jurisdiction until the outbreak of World War II
.
Just as the onset of World War I had given Park Field its birth in 1917, the declaration of war on December 8, 1941, had similar results, heralding the arrival of naval aviation
to the Memphis area. In February 1942, the Navy Shore Station Development Board recommended approval of a reserve aviation base on the former site of Park Field. On September 15, 1942, the Naval Reserve Aviation Base was officially commissioned on the south side of the station.
On January 1, 1943, the Naval Reserve Aviation Base was renamed Naval Air Station Memphis. However, in April 1949, the base's functions completely changed, and a new Naval Air Station was established, different in both scope and function.
The new NAS assumed logistic support for all the commands at Navy Memphis, except the Naval Hospital. The boundaries included all Navy property on both sides of the Millington-Arlington Road (Navy Road). NAS Memphis continued its support and logistics role for some 50 years.
The 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission directed the realignment of Naval Air Station Memphis. NAS Memphis was redesignated Naval Support Activity Memphis September 30, 1995. The name was changed to Naval Support Activity Mid-South October 1, 1998, to more closely identify the base's mission requirements and to reflect the Navy's approach to regionalization.
Today, the Naval Support Activity operates and functions with an allowance of approximately 7,500 enlisted and officer personnel, civilians, and full-time contract personnel, who provide all essential logistic and operational support to the commands and activities on board.
As the base has evolved and changed, so has its impact on the area. It plays an important part in the community and is one of the largest single employers in the state of Tennessee.
Millington, Tennessee
Millington is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 10,176. Millington was the home of the recently closed Memphis Motorsports Park. It was granted the title "Flag City Tennessee" by the Tennessee State Legislature. The Naval Support Activity Mid-South is...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, is a base of the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
. A part of the Navy Region Midwest and the Navy Installations Command, NSA Mid-South serves as the Navy’s Human Resources Center of Excellence. Headquartered onboard NSA Mid-South are Navy Personnel Command, Navy Recruiting Command, the Navy Manpower Analysis Center, as well as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Finance Center. More than 7,500 military, civilian, and contract personnel are assigned/work on base.
History
This site was originally established in November 1917 as Park Field, an Army Signal Corps Aviation School used to train pilots for service with the Allied Forces during World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. By February 1918, flight operations were in full swing, but only until November of that year when the Armistice was signed. Two days after the signing, training operations were ceased.
At that time the airfield began pioneering airmail routes throughout Tennessee and the surrounding states. In March 1920, the government officially purchased Park Field. However, the airfield continued to decline until it was little more than a storage area for aircraft and parts.
Ironically, the Stock Market Crash of 1929
Wall Street Crash of 1929
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 , also known as the Great Crash, and the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout...
breathed new life into Park Field. During the 1930s the field served as a transient camp for unemployed workers. In 1937 the Resettlement Administration
Resettlement Administration
The Resettlement Administration was a U.S. federal agency that, between April 1935 and December 1936, relocated struggling urban and rural families to communities planned by the federal government....
(later the Farm Security Administration
Farm Security Administration
Initially created as the Resettlement Administration in 1935 as part of the New Deal in the United States, the Farm Security Administration was an effort during the Depression to combat American rural poverty...
) took over the land and developed model farms used to demonstrate what could be achieved with correctly managed land. Park Field remained under this agency's jurisdiction until the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Just as the onset of World War I had given Park Field its birth in 1917, the declaration of war on December 8, 1941, had similar results, heralding the arrival of naval aviation
Naval aviation
Naval aviation is the application of manned military air power by navies, including ships that embark fixed-wing aircraft or helicopters. In contrast, maritime aviation is the operation of aircraft in a maritime role under the command of non-naval forces such as the former RAF Coastal Command or a...
to the Memphis area. In February 1942, the Navy Shore Station Development Board recommended approval of a reserve aviation base on the former site of Park Field. On September 15, 1942, the Naval Reserve Aviation Base was officially commissioned on the south side of the station.
The new NAS assumed logistic support for all the commands at Navy Memphis, except the Naval Hospital. The boundaries included all Navy property on both sides of the Millington-Arlington Road (Navy Road). NAS Memphis continued its support and logistics role for some 50 years.
The 1993 Base Realignment and Closure Commission directed the realignment of Naval Air Station Memphis. NAS Memphis was redesignated Naval Support Activity Memphis September 30, 1995. The name was changed to Naval Support Activity Mid-South October 1, 1998, to more closely identify the base's mission requirements and to reflect the Navy's approach to regionalization.
Today, the Naval Support Activity operates and functions with an allowance of approximately 7,500 enlisted and officer personnel, civilians, and full-time contract personnel, who provide all essential logistic and operational support to the commands and activities on board.
As the base has evolved and changed, so has its impact on the area. It plays an important part in the community and is one of the largest single employers in the state of Tennessee.
Major commands aboard NSA Mid-South
Of the more than 30 tenant commands that are located aboard Naval Support Activity Mid-South, these are some of the major commands:- Navy Personnel Command
- Navy Recruiting Command
- Navy Manpower Analysis Center
- Navy Personnel Research, Studies, and TechnologyNavy Personnel Research, Studies, and TechnologyNavy Personnel Research, Studies, and Technology is a division of the United States Bureau of Naval Personnel. Since 1946, NPRST or its predecessors have served as a personnel policy laboratory for the Navy...
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Finance CenterUnited States Army Corps of EngineersThe United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
Community involvement
Throughout the year, NSA Mid-South partners with the Millington and Memphis communities to put on several projects:- Flag City Freedom Celebration - the annual Fourth of July fireworks display, seeing more than 40,000 visitors to NSA Mid-South's Navy Lake recreational facility.
- National Night OutNational Night OutNational Night Out is a community-police awareness-raising event in the US, held the first Tuesday of August....
- a community-police awareness-raising event held the first Tuesday of August. NSA Mid-South's NNO event is one of the largest nationwide. - Leadership Millington - a leadership program sponsored by the Millington Chamber of Commerce, which includes a day touring NSA Mid-South.