Naval Ordnance Laboratory

The Naval Ordnance Laboratory (NOL) was a facility in the White Oak area of Montgomery County, Maryland. The location is now used as the headquarters of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. OriginsThe U.S. Navy Mine Unit, later the Mine Laboratory at the Washington Navy Yard, was established in 1918, and the first Officer in Charge (OIC) arrived in February 1919, marking the beginning of the Laboratory.