JOINT BASE ANACOSTIA-BOLLING
Washington's joint installation: ONI, DIA, and the Air Force 11th Wing.
OVERVIEW
Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB) is the only joint installation located entirely within the District of Columbia, occupying about 905 contiguous acres on the east bank of the Potomac River directly across from Reagan National Airport. The base was created in 2010 under the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round through the merger of Bolling Air Force Base and Naval Support Activity Anacostia, and is administered by the U.S. Air Force 11th Wing as the host unit. Roughly 17,000 active-duty service members, federal civilians, contractors, and family members are supported by JBAB on a daily basis.
The base's mission profile is dominated by national-level intelligence and headquarters functions rather than operational forces. The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which serves the Secretary of Defense and the combatant commands, is headquartered on JBAB. (The Office of Naval Intelligence, by contrast, is headquartered at the National Maritime Intelligence Center in Suitland, Maryland — a common point of confusion.) The Air Force 11th Wing supports the Air Force Honor Guard, the Air Force Band, and ceremonial and protocol missions across the National Capital Region.
KEY FACTS
- TypeJoint installation in the District of Columbia (Air Force + Navy)
- Host WingU.S. Air Force 11th Wing
- Created2010 — merger of Bolling AFB and Naval Support Activity Anacostia
- Navy PresenceNaval Support Activity Washington and Navy ceremonial and headquarters functions
- Other Major TenantDefense Intelligence Agency (DIA) headquarters
HISTORY
The Bolling component of the joint base traces back to 1918, when the U.S. Army Air Service established Bolling Field on the east bank of the Potomac as a flight-test and ferrying airfield for World War I aviation. The field was named in honor of Col. Raynal C. Bolling, the first high-ranking U.S. Army air officer killed in World War I. Through the interwar years and World War II, Bolling served as a major Army Air Forces administrative and ceremonial post in the National Capital Region. After the Air Force became an independent service in 1947, Bolling Field was redesignated Bolling Air Force Base and continued in a primarily administrative, headquarters, and ceremonial role.
The Navy and Marine Corps component dates to 1919, when Naval Air Station Anacostia was commissioned immediately south of Bolling. NAS Anacostia operated as a Navy and Marine Corps airfield through World War II and the early Cold War, supporting test, transport, and ceremonial flying. The airfield closed to flight operations in 1962, and the site was redesignated Naval Support Activity Anacostia, becoming the Navy's principal administrative installation in the District of Columbia. In 2005, the Department of Defense announced under BRAC that Bolling Air Force Base and Naval Support Activity Anacostia would be merged. The two installations were formally consolidated as Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling on October 1, 2010, initially under Navy lead; host-service responsibility transferred to the Air Force's 11th Wing in 2020.
MAJOR COMMANDS & TENANT UNITS
- 11th Wing (Air Force) — host wing
- Naval Support Activity Washington (NSAW)
- Naval District Washington support activities
- Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) — headquartered on base
- U.S. Air Force Honor Guard and Air Force Band
LOCATION & GEOGRAPHY
NOTABLE EVENTS
- 1918Bolling Field EstablishedU.S. Army Air Service airfield established on the east bank of the Potomac and named for Col. Raynal C. Bolling, the first high-ranking U.S. Army air officer killed in World War I.
- 1919Naval Air Station AnacostiaAdjacent Naval Air Station Anacostia commissioned for the Navy and Marine Corps in the District of Columbia.
- 2010Joint Base EstablishedBolling Air Force Base and Naval Support Activity Anacostia merged into Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling under BRAC 2005.