Naval Air Station Meridian, located near the city of Meridian in east-central Mississippi, served as a United States Navy and Marine Corps advanced jet pilot training installation throughout the Cold War, training naval aviators in advanced jet training before their assignment to fleet and Marine Corps squadrons. NAS Meridian operated high-performance jet training aircraft — the T-2 Buckeye and TA-4 Skyhawk — providing the advanced jet syllabus phase of naval aviator training following primary training at stations like NAS Corpus Christi and NAS Pensacola. The station was established during World War II and expanded during the Cold War to support the growing naval aviation training pipeline. The station’s WWII-era construction and Cold War expansion incorporated asbestos-containing building materials throughout its aircraft maintenance hangars, maintenance shops, administrative buildings, and residential facilities. Naval personnel stationed at NAS Meridian — student aviators, flight instructors, aviation maintenance ratings, and support personnel — accumulated background asbestos exposure from the installation’s asbestos-containing construction throughout their Meridian duty assignments.

NAS Meridian Facility Asbestos

Naval Air Station Meridian’s construction incorporated asbestos throughout:

  • Jet training aircraft maintenance hangars — the aircraft maintenance hangars at NAS Meridian used for maintaining the T-2 Buckeye and TA-4 Skyhawk training aircraft were constructed using military hangar construction specifications with asbestos-containing building materials in the hangar construction. Aviation maintenance ratings performing jet training aircraft maintenance in Meridian hangars accumulated background asbestos exposure from the hangar construction materials
  • Jet engine maintenance shop construction — the jet engine maintenance shops at NAS Meridian where aircraft power plants were serviced and overhauled were constructed using military construction specifications incorporating asbestos-containing building materials. Aviation Machinist’s Mates working in Meridian jet engine shops accumulated background asbestos exposure from the shop facility construction
  • Student barracks and residential facilities — the student naval aviator barracks and bachelor quarters at NAS Meridian used military construction incorporating asbestos-containing floor tile, ceiling materials, and pipe insulation. Training personnel living in Meridian barracks accumulated background asbestos exposure from the residential facility construction
  • Training squadron operations buildings — the training squadron ready rooms, flight operations buildings, and administrative facilities at NAS Meridian incorporated asbestos-containing construction materials consistent with their Cold War-era construction

VA Claims for NAS Meridian Veterans

VA evaluates asbestos-related disability claims on a case-by-case basis. Veterans generally need evidence of in-service asbestos exposure, a current asbestos-related diagnosis, and a medical link between them. Navy personnel who served at Naval Air Station Meridian and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.