Operations and Management
NSA, Panama City’s largest tenant activity is NSWC PC, still one of the major research, development, test and evaluation laboratories of the Navy, which boasts a wide base of expertise in engineering and scientific disciplines in the mission areas of mine warfare, expeditionary warfare, special warfare, and diving and life support. NSWC PC and the other three major tenants, the Navy Experimental Diving Unit, the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center, and the Center for Navy Ordnance Disposal and Diving, make the Station the consolidated site for all navy diving and salvage research, development, testing, and training.
Currently, the Activity hosts several project offices, including the Deployable Joint Command and Control System. NSA, Panama City also hosts many other diverse tenant activities: Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment, U.S. Coast Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Naval Dental Center Branch Dental Clinic, Navy Exchange Branch, Naval Hospital Pensacola Branch Clinic, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Navy Publication and Printing Service Office, Naval Special Warfare Training Detachment, Personnel Support Detachment, Resident Officer in Charge of Construction, Veterans Administration Primary Care Clinic, and the Coastal Operations Institute.
The Activity totals 657 acres and houses 221 buildings. The Athena Research Vessels are based in Panama City, and include three converted Asheville-class patrol gunboats. Two have been converted to support general hydrodynamic and acoustic testing, and one supports electromagnetic signatures testing.
Diversity of test environments, low encroachment, and mission area synergy make the Activity an ideal location and climate for development, test, and training in littoral warfare missions. Beach contours and water depths replicate more than 80% of the world’s littoral regions, and offer a “surrogate” Persian Gulf.
NSA, Panama City employs approximately 2,800 civilian and military personnel with an annual payroll of more than $150 million. The Activity contracts services, buys local goods, and maintains an active construction program. Its economic impact on Bay County is more than $400 million annually. Throughout its existence, NSA, Panama City and its tenants have continued to evolve to meet the demanding requirements of the U.S. Navy–to defend today and to plan for tomorrow in response to national needs.