Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans

Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base New Orleans is located in Belle Chasse, Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, approximately six nautical miles south of the New Orleans central business district. The installation includes Alvin Callender Field. The base’s predecessor, NAS New Orleans, occupied the current site of the University of New Orleans until 1957. The current facility was constructed between August 1954 and December 1957, with operations at the site commencing on December 13, 1957.

Owned by the Department of Defense and operated by the U.S. Navy under Navy Region Southeast, the base maintains a 24-hour operating schedule. Its primary roles include supporting North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) air sovereignty and homeland defense requirements, alongside U.S. Coast Guard search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, and port security missions.

The base hosts aviation units from several branches of the military. The Louisiana Air National Guard’s 159th Fighter Wing operates F-15C/D Eagle aircraft. U.S. Navy Reserve units include Fighter Squadron Composite 204 (VFC-204), which operates F-5N/F Tiger II fighter-attack aircraft, and Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 54 (VR-54), which operates C-130T Hercules transport aircraft. The U.S. Marine Corps Reserve is represented by Detachment A of Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron 773 (HMLA-773), operating AH-1 Super Cobra and UH-1Y Super Huey helicopters. Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans operates MH-60T Jayhawk helicopters from the facility.

Additional resident units include the 377th Theater Sustainment Command, the 3rd Battalion, 23rd Marines, and the Navy Air Logistics Office. The base also houses a Military Entrance Processing Station and the Navy Reserve Center New Orleans. Infrastructure at the installation supports both operational and residential needs, including a residential area designated as New Orleans Station and the Belle Chasse Academy, a K-8 charter school.