Naval Air Station Cecil Field, located west of Jacksonville in Florida’s Clay County, was a major tactical aviation base on the East Coast from World War II through its BRAC closure in 1999. The installation supported Navy fighter and attack aircraft squadrons — including F-4 Phantom, A-7 Corsair, F-14 Tomcat, and F/A-18 Hornet units — with extensive maintenance and training facilities built across multiple construction eras. Federal environmental records document the installation in EPA databases as an active industrial site in the Jacksonville area with documented facility systems including a boiler plant.

Federal Environmental Records

EPA and federal facility records identify “Cecil Field Naval Air Station” and “Cecil Field NAS” in the Jacksonville, Florida facilities inventory, with documented environmental entries through the 1980s. The records specifically identify a “Cecil Field Naval Air Station - Manhole” entry, consistent with underground utility infrastructure at large naval air stations that typically included steam distribution systems.

Environmental records also document a “Naval Air Station, E.M. General Exhaust” and “Naval Air Station, Heat Treatment Facility” in the Jacksonville area during the 1982 period, reflecting the industrial maintenance operations characteristic of active naval air stations of Cecil Field’s scale.

Hangar and Maintenance Facility Asbestos

NAS Cecil Field’s main hangars and maintenance facilities were constructed beginning in 1941 and expanded through the Cold War era. Aircraft maintenance operations at Cecil Field involved:

  • Hangar structural steel and roofing constructed in the World War II and early Cold War periods used asbestos fireproofing on steel framing and asbestos-containing roofing materials
  • Boiler plant serving base facilities — specifically documented in federal records — used asbestos block insulation and pipe lagging on steam generation and distribution equipment
  • Maintenance shops supporting tactical aircraft squadrons had heat-generating equipment with asbestos gaskets, packing, and insulation in high-temperature service
  • Barracks and administrative buildings built across the 1940s–1960s incorporated asbestos floor tile, pipe insulation, and ceiling materials standard in Navy construction

Shore Duty Aviation Personnel

Aviation Machinist’s Mates (AD), Aviation Structural Mechanics (AM), Aviation Ordnancemen (AO), and civilian maintenance workers who worked at NAS Cecil Field’s hangar and maintenance facilities before the early 1980s were present in buildings with asbestos-containing construction and equipment insulation.

VA Claims for NAS Cecil Field Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers asbestos exposure at shore installations including NAS Cecil Field. Veterans who served at Cecil Field in aviation maintenance, engineering, or shore maintenance roles before the installation’s closure in 1999 — and particularly during the peak asbestos-use period before 1980 — may qualify for VA disability benefits. DD-214 records listing Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Cecil Field FL, or the installation’s tactical aviation squadrons establish the duty station.