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~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.
This is also the testing facility for the V-22 Osprey. Since the end of the Cold War, the Navy's Base Realignment and Closure measures have migrated research and testing facilities for both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft to NAS Patuxent River from decommissioned bases. The complex now hosts over 17,000 people, including active-duty service members, civil-service employees, defense contractor employees, and military dependents.
Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River was commissioned April 1, 1943, in an effort to centralize widely dispersed air testing facilities established during the pre-World War II years.
Spurred on by the events of World War II, the consolidation effort was swift, and farming operations at Cedar Point, Maryland were replaced by flight test operations within a year after ground was broken in 1942. The Naval Air Test Center was established as a separate entity on June 16, 1945, organizationally dividing the test and support functions. During World War II, hundreds of combat experienced pilots arrived here to test airplanes. Formalized classroom instruction started in 1948 with the establishment of a Test Pilot Training Division. 
Learn More About The History Of NAS Patuxent River HERE!
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!
The Patuxent River Naval Air Museum will soon re-open in its new location at the intersection of Route 235 and Pegg Road in Lexington Park, Maryland. The new site of the Museum is adjacent to Gate 1 of the Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division. The Patuxent River Naval Air Museum is the only Museum in the U.S.A. dedicated to preserving the rich heritage of the research, development, test and evaluation (RDT&E) of Naval Aircraft. The Museum is supported jointly by the Navy, the State of Maryland, St. Mary's County and the Naval Aviation community and the local community. 
Visit The Patuxent River Naval Air Musem 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 |
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