General Lucius D. Clay National Guard Center | |||||||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||||||
Airport type | Military | ||||||||||||||
Operator | Georgia Army National Guard | ||||||||||||||
Location | Cobb County, near Marietta, Georgia | ||||||||||||||
In use | 1958 - 26 SEP 2009 by Navy, 26 SEP 2009 - Present by Georgia Army National Guard | ||||||||||||||
Commander | MG Jarrard, Adjutant General of the Georgia State Department of Defense | ||||||||||||||
Occupants | 1,500 | ||||||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 1,068 ft / 326 m | ||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 33°54′55″N 084°30′59″W / 33.91528°N 84.51639°W | ||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Sources: FAA
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General Lucius D. Clay National Guard Center (formerly Naval Air Station Atlanta) is a military facility located 1-mile (1.6 km) south of Marietta, Georgia, United States. It is located immediately south of Dobbins Air Reserve Base and shares its runways.
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.
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 Lockheed 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 Aircraft 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.