Naval Air Station Jacksonville - Definition and Overview

Naval Air Station Jacksonville, located in Jacksonville, Florida, is the third-largest naval installation in the United States. The base was opened on October 15, 1940 and was credited with the city's economic "boom" in the 1950s and 1960s.

An important training ground, the installation served as a key center for equipping troops fighting in World War II, and later the Korean War and Vietnam War. Today, 23,000 civilian and active-duty personnel are employed on the base. The installation is considered to be one of the hubs for naval activity in the U.S. South, outdone only by Naval Air Station Pensacola.