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The Naval Air Warfare Center Training System Division, Florida (NAWCTSD) is located in Orlando. The Division got started in 1941 when Commander Luis De Florez was named head of the new Special Devices Desk in the Engineering Division of the Navy’s Bureau of Aeronautics. De Florez was an independent thinker who believed our men could best be trained with synthetic training devices. The Navy agreed and began developing synthetic devices to increase readiness training. By 1946, the Division had grown and was renamed the Special Devices Division and given a new home in Port Washington, Long island New York. In 1956, the Division was again renamed the Naval Training Device Center and in the mid-1960s the Center was moved from Long Island to its present location of Orlando, Florida.
The location of the Center was moved to its present location in 1988, and in 1993 the Division received its final name change to the Naval Air Warfare Center Training System Division. The purpose of the Division besides training for air warfare is to develop training systems for military personnel in undersea and surface operations. The NAWCTD is located inside the Central Florida Research Park at the University of Central Florida. Naval Support Activities (NSA), Orlando is located inside the Central Florida Research Park. NSA Orlando is only 40 acres in size, and is thought to be the smallest United States Navy base in the world.
Presently there are about 1,000 scientists, engineers, contractors, and support personnel employed by the NAWCTD, Orlando. The funding for 2011 was approximately 918.6 million dollars. NSA Orlando has approximately 120 Active duty military personnel, and 2,200 civil service personnel serving on or near NSA, Orlando. NSA, Orlando also serves a community of 3,200 Joint Services Reserves, 48,000 military retirees, and 350 military families in the area of Central Florida. There is no temporary housing on base at NSA, Orlando due to its size. You can contact the housing office for details and directions on several long term stay hotels.
Because of its small size NSA, Orlando does not have many of the things you might find on other bases such as schools, barber shops, or a Commissary. All of these traditional base amenities, can however, be found within approximately 20 miles to the Southwest near Orlando International Airport. There are no inpatient medical facilities on base at NSA, Orlando. Medical and dental care are provided by local civilian medical facilities through Tricare Prime Remote. There are also no Navy Federal Credit Unions on base, but there are several in the Orlando area. The nearest one to NSA, Orlando is located 11 miles to the west in Winterpark, Florida. Due to the base location be aware of hurricane season which runs from June through November. If you are due to arrive on base at NSA, Orlando and a hurricane is predicted in the area contact your sponsor before arrival as evacuations may be in progress.
NSA, Orlando is only located 35 miles away from Disney World, Epcot, Sea World, Universal Studios and other major theme park attractions so you and your family will find plenty of things to see and do. Orlando is a major tourist destination and as such, has excellent restaurants, shopping, hotels, and many other family friendly attractions as well as a healthy dose of night life for adults.
