Naval Support Facility (NSF) Anacostia is a
United States Naval Base in
Washington, D.C., close to where the
Anacostia River joins the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () is in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and flows from the Potomac Highlands in West Virginia to Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography D ...
. On 1 October 2010 the base was conjoined with the adjacent
Bolling Air Force Base to form the
Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling in accordance with congressional legislation implementing the recommendations of the
2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission.
NSF Anacostia fell under the command of Naval Support Activity Washington.
History
Prior to
European colonization, the area where the Naval Support Facility Anacostia was located was inhabited by the
Nacotchtank, an
Algonquian people. The largest village of the Nacotchtank was located just north of Bolling Air Force Base, south of
Anacostia Park. Two
ossuaries (burial grounds) have been discovered at Bolling Air Force Base. Other Nacotchtank archaeological sites have been found at Giesboro Point on the Potomac River, close to where the Naval Support Facility was once located. The two burial mounds, which included Nacotchtank bones and skulls, were discovered in 1936 by crews working at Bolling Air Force Base. The burial site was also likely once a Nacotchtank village.
The Navy began testing
seaplanes at this facility in 1918, and eventually it became a
naval air station
A Naval Air Station (NAS) is a military air base, and consists of a permanent land-based operations locations for the military aviation division of the relevant branch of a navy (Naval aviation). These bases are typically populated by squadron ...
, supporting conventional
aircraft
An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...
. Located immediately north of
Bolling Air Force Base, NAS Anacostia remained in service as an active naval air station until 1962, when its runways were deactivated along with Bolling's due to traffic pattern conflicts with the nearby
Washington National Airport.
Redesignated as a naval support facility, NSF Anacostia served as the headquarters for Commander, Naval Installations, Navy Office of the Chief of Information and continued to maintain a large heliport facility, primarily used by Marine Helicopter Squadron One (
HMX-1) in support of "
Marine One"
presidential transport operations with
VH-3D and
VH-60N aircraft.
[United States Navy]
"NSF Anacostia"
Naval District Washington website. Retrieved on November 18, 2007. These activities remained when the base was incorporated into the larger
Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling.
Tenant commands
*
United States Navy Ceremonial Guard
*
District of Columbia Army National Guard
*
Department of Defense Inspector General
*
Marine Helicopter Squadron (HMX-1)
*
Marine Forces Reserve Center
*
White House Communications Agency
References
External links
NSF Anacostia(official webpage from Naval District Washington website)
{{DCMB
Defunct airports in the United States
Military facilities in Washington, D.C.
Anacostia
Military installations closed in 2010
Closed installations of the United States Navy