| Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling | |
|---|---|
| Part of Air Force District of Washington (AFDW) | |
| Located near: Washington, D.C. | |
Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB) color guard |
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| Built | 1918 |
| In use | 1918-Present |
| Controlled by | United States Navy |
Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB) is a 905 acres (366 ha) military installation, located in Southeast Washington, D.C.,[1] established on 1 October 2010 in accordance with congressional legislation implementing the recommendations of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission. [2]
The legislation ordered the consolidation of Naval Support Facility Anacostia (NSF) and Bolling Air Force Base (BAFB), which were adjoining, but separate military installations, into a single joint base – one of 12 joint bases formed in the country as a result of the law.[2]
Coast Guard Station Washington, D.C., is located on the post, next to the Capitol Cove Marina.
The only aeronautical facility at the base is a 100 by 100 feet (30 by 30 m) helipad (ICAO: KBOF).
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Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB) is responsible for providing installation support to 17,000 military, civilian employees and their families, 48 mission and tenant units, including ceremonial units (United States Air Force Honor Guard, USAF Band, USAF Chaplains, the Navy Ceremonial Guard), various Army, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Joint Service commands and other DOD and federal agencies.[2]
JBAB’s property has been a Department of Defense (DOD) asset since 1917. From its beginning, the installation has included the Army Air Corps (predecessor to today’s Air Force) and Navy aviation and support elements. The tract of land selected for the base was scouted by William C. Ocker at the direction of General Billy Mitchell. The base began near Anacostia in 1918, as the only military airfield near the United States Capitol and was originally named The Flying Field at Anacostia on 2 October 1917. It was renamed Anacostia Experimental Flying Field in June 1918.[2]
Not long after its acquisition by the military, the single installation evolved into two separate, adjoining bases; one Army (later Air Force) and one Navy. Bolling Field was officially opened 1 July 1918 and was named in honor of the first high-ranking air service officer killed in World War I, Colonel Raynal C. Bolling. Colonel Bolling was the Assistant Chief of the Air Service, and was killed in action near Amiens, France, on 26 March 1918 while defending himself and his driver, Corporal Paul L. Holder, from an attack by German soldiers. [2]
In the late 1940s, Bolling Field’s property became Naval Air Station Anacostia and a new Air Force base, named Bolling Air Force Base, was constructed just to the south on 24 June 1948.[2]
Bolling AFB has served as a research and testing ground for new aviation equipment and its first mission provided aerial defense of the capital. It moved to its present location, along the Potomac in the city's southwest quadrant, in the 1930s.[2]
Over the years, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and National Guard units, as well as DOD and federal agencies also found the installation to be an ideal place from which to operate.[2]
Although fixed-wing aircraft operations ceased, the installations continued their important service to the country and the world, serving in many capacities, including service with the Military Airlift Command (MAC); the headquarters for the Air Force District of Washington; the Air Force 11th Wing; Commander, Naval Installations Command, Naval Media Center (now, Defense Media Activity-Navy) and many other military commands and federal agencies[2]
The Air Force District of Washington (AFDW) was created and activated at Bolling on 1 October 1985 with the mission of providing administrative support to Air Force members. On 15 July 1994, AFDW was deactivated, but was reactivated 5 January 2005 to "provide a single voice for Air Force requirements in the National Capital Region" according to the base's website.[2]
Bolling field units also provide ceremonial support to the White House, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Secretary of the Air Force and the Air Force Chief of Staff, mainly through 11th Wing, the United States Air Force Honor Guard and The United States Air Force Band.
The Defense Intelligence Agency built its Defense Intelligence Analysis Center at Bolling Air Force Base and moved many of its operations there in 1987.
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Base Realignment and Closure 2005 Department of Defense Joint Basing Program:
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