Former Naval Air Station Memphis

Base Mission and Use

Former Naval Air Station Memphis is located approximately 20 miles north of Memphis, Tennessee in Millington, Tennessee. The Base has an extensive history, dating back to 1917 when it was originally established as Park Field, an Army Signal Corps Aviation School used to train pilots for service with the Allied Forces during World War I. The Navy’s presence began in 1942 when Park Field became first a Naval Reserve Aviation Base and finally Naval Air Station (NAS) Memphis in 1943. The primary task of the Base was training air and ground crews in the operation and maintenance of the Navy’s sea and land-based aircraft. The Naval Air Technical Training Center (NATTC) moved its headquarters in 1946 from Pensacola, Florida to Millington, Tennessee. Aircraft maintenance and training operations were provided through its 21 different schools to Navy and Marine Corps aviation personnel. In 1971, NAS Memphis became the headquarters for all Navy technical training under a Navy-wide reorganization and was responsible for technical training at 52 activities in 27 geographic locations in the United States.

The 1993 BRAC Act directed the realignment of NAS Memphis to Naval Support Activity (NSA) Memphis which took place in 1995. In 1998 NSA Memphis was realigned to NSA Mid-South to more closely identify the Base’s mission requirements and to reflect the Navy’s approach to regionalization. At which time airfield training operations transferred back to NAS Pensacola and the airfield closed. In 1999, the 551-acre airfield parcel transferred to the Millington Municipal Airport Authority and the 1,311-acre non-airfield parcel transferred to the City of Millington – jointly, these two parcels are considered “Former NAS Memphis.”

The former NAS Memphis contains a mixture of vacant land, commercial property, and the Millington-Memphis Airport. A 347-acre solar farm, the largest in Tennessee, has been constructed on the western section of the transferred parcel through a partnership with Memphis, Light Gas and Water, the City of Millington, and Tennessee Valley Authority – providing power to the Naval Base and surrounding community. Land use south of former NAS Memphis consists of a mix of residential, commercial, and industrial, including the active portion of NAS Memphis. The land east of the property is primarily agricultural, except for a few recreational tracts (including the Glen Eagle Golf Course) and residential areas. This area includes several churches and school buildings. There are multiple lakes northeast of the property, as well as a golf course, and both agricultural and undeveloped land. The land west and northwest of former NAS Memphis is composed of agricultural and undeveloped land, as well commercial, industrial, and residential land uses. The town of Millington, Tennessee, is located southwest of former NAS Memphis.