|
~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland 
Naval Air Station Patuxent River, also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States Naval Air Station located in St. Mary's County on Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River. It is home to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and serves a center for test and evaluation and systems acquisition relating to Naval Aviation. Commissioned on 1 April 1943 on land largely acquired through eminent domain, the air station grew rapidly in response to World War II.
The base became a center for testing as several facilities were constructed throughout the 1950s and 1960s; including the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School (1958), the Weapons Systems Test Division (1960), and the Propulsion System Evaluation Facility. 
The Patuxent River Naval Air Station Complex stretches across 25 miles of shoreline at the mouth of the Patuxent River, overlooking the picturesque Chesapeake Bay, 65 miles southeast of Washington DC and 90 miles south of Baltimore. The Complex supports naval aviation operations by researching, developing, testing and evaluating aircraft, aircraft components and related products. NAS Patuxent River’s mission is to support the Navy by providing the warfighter with technologies that deliver dominant combat effects and matchless capabilities. 
NAWC Patuxent River continues to serve as the Navy's principal research, development, test, evaluation, engineering and fleet support activity for naval aircraft, engines, avionics, aircraft support systems and ship/shore/air operations. 
In addition the installation hosts the Navy Test Pilot School, and both NAS Patuxent River and the nearby OLF Webster host Unmanned Aerial Vehicle operations, all of which regularly use the installation's airspace complex. An additional mission is the detachment of the very high priority TACAMO mission (VQ-4 Det). 
The Patuxent River Complex has been affected by the 1991, 1993, and 1995 Base Realignment and Closure Act (BRAC) decisions to relocate Naval Aviation Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) facilities from Warminster, Pennsylvania and Trenton, New Jersey and Naval Air Systems headquarters from Arlington, Virginia to the Complex. These realignments and consolidation of their assets positioned NAWCAD to carry out its mission as the Navy's principal RDT&E, engineering, and fleet support activity for Naval fixed and rotary wing aircraft and associated systems from acquisition through all life cycle phases. Learn More About NAS Patuxent River HERE!
FR CANTEEN MISSION STATEMENT~Showing support and boosting the morale of our military and our allies military and the family members of the above. Honoring those who have served before.
Please remember: The Canteen is a place to honor and entertain our troops. The Canteen is family friendly. Let's have fun! We pray for your continued strength, to be strong in the face of adversity. We pray for your safety, that you will return to your families and friends soon. We pray that your hope, courage, and dignity remain unbroken, so that you may show others the way. God Bless You All ~ Today, Tomorrow and Always |