Naval Support Activity Panama City
The United States Naval Support Activity Panama City (NSA PC), is located in Panama City, Florida and is a United States Navy military base. It is located within Bay County. Among other commands, it houses Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division and the Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU).
History
The NSA PC was founded as the U.S. Navy Mine Countermeasures Station on July 20, 1945, as a result of the transfer of the test station from Solomons, Maryland, but was renamed ca. 1955 to the U.S. Navy Mine Defense Laboratory. In 1972, it was renamed the Naval Coastal Systems Laboratory. The base has been a subsidiary of several other commands in the past including Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division, and Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division, under which it was designated Naval Surface Warfare Center: Coastal Systems Station. It obtained its current name in 2007 after changing from the prior command structure to the tenant command structure used by the Navy today in its command of research and development centers.
Tenant Commands
NSAPC consists of several tenant command organizations:
- Naval Surface Warfare Center: Panama City Division (NSWC PC): This is the largest tenant command and the Research and Development arm of the base. It is part of the NAVSEA System of Naval Surface Warfare Centers.
- Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU): The Experimental Diving Unit is the training facility for Navy SCUBA diving. These divers are trained for such missions as wreckage recovery, mine defusing, and reconnaissance.
- Navy Diving Salvage and Training Center
- Deployable Joint Command and Control System
- Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment
- Coastal Operations Institute
Research
NSWC PC conducts basic and applied research in all littoral warfare-related areas and pursues scientific disciplines including optics, acoustics, mine warfare and robotics. NSWC PC employs approxiamately 1100 scientists & engineers within NSWC PC The newest facility on the base for research is the Littoral Warfare Research Facility, a $12 million research & development facility dedicated to littoral warfare research, and completed in 2005. In 2008 NSWC PC had a per-capita research expenditure of $550 thousand, making it the most well funded of the Warfare Centers. [1]
Engineering projects of historical note include the Swimmer Delivery Vehicle and Landing Craft Air Cushioned LCAC. Current projects include the majority of US research into hovercraft technology and weapons integration for the Littoral combat ship. Work also includes research for the Joint Architecture for Unmanned Systems (JAUS)
Geography
Naval Support Activity Panama City totals 657 acres and houses 221 buildings. Additionally, NSA PC operates several miles of inter coastal waterways for a direct connection to the Gulf of Mexico. [2]
Economic impact
The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division is a major research, development, test and evaluation laboratories of the Naval Sea Systems Command NAVSEA. It is one of the largest employers in Bay County, Florida with an annual payroll of about $117 million. NSAPC employs approximately 2800 civilian and military personnel, for an anual payroll of over $150 million. NSA Panama City contracts services, buys local goods, and maintains an active construction program. Its economic impact on Bay County is about $400 million annually. [3]