General Lucius D . Clay National Guard Center General Lucius D . Clay National Guard Center ( formerly Naval Air Station Atlanta ) is a military facility located south of Marietta , Georgia , United States . It is located immediately south of Dobbins Air Reserve Base and shares its runways . Before 1959 , Naval Air Station Atlanta was located at what is now the Peachtree - DeKalb Airport ( PDK ) , located northeast of Atlanta in DeKalb County . It operated until 26 SEP 2009 when the base closed its doors . The property is now owned by the state of Georgia as the new headquarters for the Georgia State Department of Defense . The Navy ' s website for NAS Atlanta was deleted soon after the transfer . History . In April 1955 , Congress appropriated more than $ 4 million to start building a new Naval Air Station at a more suitable location to allow longer runways . The site selected was a large military reservation jointly occupied by Dobbins Air Force Base and the Lockheed Company , between Marietta and Smyrna . The new air station was completed in April 1959 . NAS Atlanta was originally located at what is now Peachtree - DeKalb Airport in Chamblee , until it moved in 1958 . The Southern Technical Institute took over the barracks there , and it too moved in 1958 to Marietta , just on the other side of Dobbins AFB . Naval Air Station Atlanta ' s mission was to train Navy and Marine Corps Reservists assigned to numerous aviation and non - aviation reserve units . The command organization was made of more than 900 active duty military and civilian personnel . NAS Atlanta was the home of Marine Air Group ( MAG ) 42 , Carrier Air Wing Reserve Twenty , three Navy squadrons ( flying the F / A - 18 , E - 2 and C - 9 aircraft ) , two Marine Corps squadrons ( flying the F / A - 18 aircraft , and AH - 1W and UH - 1 helicopters ) as well as several other commands . In 2005 , DoD recommended NAS Atlanta for closure and its constituent units relocated or consolidated at other installations . Like NAS Willow Grove and NAF Washington / Andrews AFB , NAS Atlanta offers superb convenience and thus recruiting opportunities to the services ’ reserve components , at some cost in operational flexibility . In the case of NAF Atlanta , that cost is imposed primarily in terms of airspace access . The F / A - 18 s assigned to VFA 203 and VMFA 142 faced one of the more difficult airspace access challenges in the DoN . Operations at the Atlanta Hartsfield Airport impose a significant impact on surrounding airspace . Atlanta functions as a 360 degree hub , with approach , departure , bypass or overflight traffic using virtually all available airspace within of the facility . The airspace northeast of Atlanta is probably the most congested , as it must accommodate departures and arrivals between Atlanta and cities in the northeast . Unfortunately , the primary airspace available to NAF Atlanta units , the Snowbird MOA / ATCAA lies in that quadrant . The Air Station was proudly awarded the Edwin F . Conway Trophy in 1987 , 1993 for being the most efficient Naval Air Station in the Naval Reserve , and the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department ( AIMD ) won the Commander , Naval Reserve Force Robert S . Gray Maintenance Excellence Award in 1987 and 1992 . In 1990 the air station was awarded the Meritorious Unit Commendation for unprecedented accomplishments , consistent performance and unswerving dedication to duty . Other awards between 1988 and 1993 include : Secretary of Navy Energy Conservation Award ; major claimant nominations for the Bronze Hammer Award , nomination for the Commander in Chief ' s Installation Excellence Award , and the 1992 Commander , Naval Air Reserve Force Safety Ashore Award . NAS Atlanta is also the site of the Navy Lake Site , a military recreation area open to active , reserve , and retired military , located in a park on Lake Allatoona reservoir . Not to be outdone , the Army has its own Lake Allatoona Army Recreation Area , an resort on another part of the same lake at nearby Ft . McPherson . NAS Atlanta closed its doors on 26 September 2009 in a base closing ceremony . The property was then turned over to the Georgia State Department of Defense for use as its new main base of operations . Present day . In 2007 , the state of Georgia announced that it had acquired the NAS Atlanta property as the new headquarters for the Georgia Army National Guard . This preceded plans for units in the remote corners of the state to consolidate at the base . The first Georgia Army National Guard aircraft assigned to the new installation , a UH - 60M Blackhawk , arrived on 25 August 2009 . It was delivered to the 1 / 832 Medivac Unit fresh from the production line . On 26 September 2009 , the Georgia National Guard assumed ownership of the former Naval Air Station Atlanta at a formal transfer of facilities ceremony . The transfer was the result of the 2005 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission report which recommended closing the 50 - year - old Marietta base . Captain Chuck Mingonet officially turned over the base to General Nesbitt , Adjutant General of the Georgia State Department of Defense . Commander , Navy Region Southeast , Rear Admiral Tim Alexander was in attendance along with many other flag officers and dignitaries . Governor Sonny Perdue , members of Georgia ' s Congressional delegation and state legislature , as well as local dignitaries including Chairman Sam Olens and Commissioner Bob Ott , were on hand for the event . The facility ' s name was also changed to the General Lucius D . Clay National Guard Center in honor of the World War II hero and coordinator of the Berlin Airlift . Clay was a Cobb County native . Following the ceremony , Georgia National Guard also held a groundbreaking for its new Joint Force Headquarters . The headquarters is scheduled for completion in 2012 . More than 1 , 500 Georgia Guard soldiers and airmen will perform training on the property in the future .