Naval Air Station Key West, located at Boca Chica Field on the Florida Keys island chain, is the United States Navy’s southernmost air installation. The base operated from World War II as a training and fleet defense aviation facility, supporting fighter tactics training, anti-submarine patrol operations, and fleet readiness exercises in the Florida Straits. The NAS is distinct from Naval Station Key West, which occupies a separate location on the main island; together the two installations formed a major Navy complex on the Keys.

Shore Facility Asbestos at a Tropical Aviation Base

NAS Key West’s facilities were built in the wartime mobilization period and expanded through the Cold War, using construction materials appropriate for the tropical maritime climate. Navy shore construction standards through the mid-1970s included asbestos-containing materials in tropical as well as continental installations:

  • Aircraft hangars constructed at Boca Chica during the World War II and postwar periods used asbestos fireproofing on structural steel and asbestos-containing roofing appropriate for the high-humidity coastal environment
  • Steam and mechanical systems serving maintenance facilities and support buildings were insulated with asbestos pipe covering and lagging
  • Barracks and administrative buildings incorporated asbestos floor tile, ceiling materials, and pipe insulation standard in Navy construction
  • Aviation maintenance shops where mechanics maintained training aircraft used asbestos gaskets and packing in engine and airframe support equipment

Training Squadrons and Shore Duty Personnel

NAS Key West hosted Navy and joint training squadrons, with flight line and maintenance personnel accumulating shore duty exposure in hangar and maintenance facilities. Resident squadrons assigned to the installation had aviation maintenance ratings — Aviation Machinist’s Mates (AD), Aviation Structural Mechanics (AM), and support ratings — who worked in facilities with asbestos-containing building materials throughout the asbestos era.

VA Claims for NAS Key West Veterans

VA presumptive service connection under 38 CFR § 3.309(d) covers shore-duty asbestos exposure at Navy installations including NAS Key West. Veterans who served at Naval Air Station Key West in aviation maintenance, training, or shore duty billets before the early 1980s and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer should document their assignment through DD-214 records listing Naval Air Station Key West, Boca Chica Field, or Key West, FL.