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~The FReeper Canteen Presents~ Road Trip: NAS Brunswick, Maine 
Naval Air Station Brunswick is the last, active-duty Department of Defense airfield remaining in the northeast, and is home to four active duty and one reserve squadron. NAS Brunswick has a Reserve Fleet Logistics Support Squadron flying C-130 "Hercules" transports as well as Lockheed P-3 "Orion" long-range maritime patrol aircraft, tasked by Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing Five and its active duty squadrons. 
About 20 percent of NAS Brunswick's activities, facilities and services support the AEGIS destroyer shipbuilding program at nearby Bath Iron Works. The base also houses the Navy's only cold-weather Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) school; additional SERE training takes place on 12,000 acres near Rangeley in northwestern Maine. 
The U. S. Naval Air Station, Brunswick, Maine, originally constructed and occupied in March of 1943, was first commissioned on April 15, 1943, with the primary mission of training British Naval Command (Royal Canadian Air Force) pilots. It is located two miles east of the town of Brunswick, south of U. S. Route 1. 
The first U. S. squadron to arrive at NAS Brunswick was a heavier than air scouting squadron (VS1D1), under the command of Lieutenant John G. Shelley, Wellesley, Maine. When they began operations, there was only a half mile of runway, no hangers or operations tower. The ready-room the pilots utilized was also incomplete and the men used packing boxes for seats and a pot-bellied stove to warm the hut. It became better known as the "family room" when the mens' wives began making frequent appearances to see the aviators off on missions. After the air station was deactivated in October 1946, the land and buildings were leased jointly to the University of Maine and Bowdoin College as annexes to ease the over-crowded conditions at both colleges caused by G. I. Bill student influx. When the station facilities were no longer needed, both colleges terminated their leases in 1949 and the base was taken over by the Brunswick Flying Service. At this time, the buildings that had housed men and implements of war were put to uses never included in military design. Hanger One was a skating rink; hanger two and the operations tower was a civilian flying school; hanger three housed automobiles; ammunition magazines were mushroom farms; and shrubbery nurseries graced the northern boundaries of the reservation. Any resemblance to a Naval Air Station was purely coincidental. Read More About The History Of NAS Brunswick Here!
As Maine's second largest employer, NAS Brunswick employs 4,863 military and civilian personnel, including 713 officer, 3,493 enlisted personnel and 657 civilians. The air station provides over $187 million to the local economy, including $115 million in salaries, $38 million in contracts and material purchases and $34 million in medical purchases. 
Approximately 20 percent of NAS Brunswick's activities, facilities and services are in direct support of the AEGIS Destroyer shipbuilding program at nearby Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Bath and the Bath Iron Works Corporation. Also, the Navy's only cold weather Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) school is taught at Brunswick and on 12,000 acres near Rangeley in northwestern Maine. Learn More About NAS Brunswick Here!
In nearby Bath, you can take a visit to the Maine Maritime Museum. 
Founded in 1962, Maine Maritime Museum collects, preserves and interprets materials relating to the maritime history of Maine. Located on the banks of the Kennebec River in Bath, the Museum is a major regional cultural resource and a highly popular visitor destination. Maine's maritime heritage is told through gallery exhibits, an historic shipyard site, adult and children's educational programs, special events and narrated excursions along the rivers and coast to points of historic significance and scenic beauty. Visit The Maine Maritime Museum 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 |
