Naval Air Station Sangley Point — located on the Cavite Peninsula on the southern shore of Manila Bay in the Philippines — was established by US Navy forces following the liberation of the Philippines in 1945 on a site with pre-war US and Philippine Navy aviation history. The station served as a Western Pacific patrol aviation base and later as an ASW helicopter base, hosting Navy P2V Neptune and P-3 Orion patrol squadrons flying South China Sea and Western Pacific patrols, and HS (helicopter anti-submarine) squadrons conducting fleet ASW support. NAS Sangley Point was transferred to the Philippine Navy in 1971 as part of base agreement renegotiations. Navy and Marine Corps personnel stationed at Sangley Point accumulated asbestos exposure from the postwar and Cold War construction of the station’s aviation facilities throughout the station’s two-and-a-half decades of active US Navy operation.

WWII and Cold War Facility Construction and Asbestos

NAS Sangley Point’s facility stock incorporated asbestos throughout:

  • Patrol aircraft hangars — the P2V Neptune and P-3 Orion patrol aircraft hangars at Sangley Point used postwar and Cold War military construction with asbestos-containing roofing, asbestos insulation board in hangar construction, and asbestos floor and ceiling materials in the aviation support buildings. Aviation maintenance and patrol crew personnel at Sangley Point worked in these asbestos-containing hangars during the station’s Western Pacific patrol aviation operations
  • Helicopter ASW facility buildings — the HSL helicopter ASW squadron facilities and maintenance buildings at Sangley Point used Cold War military construction with asbestos-containing materials in the aviation support building stock
  • Barracks and administrative buildings — the enlisted barracks, BOQ, and administrative buildings at Sangley Point used postwar and Cold War military construction with asbestos floor tile, asbestos ceiling products, and asbestos-containing pipe insulation in the residential and administrative facility mechanical systems

Western Pacific Naval Operations and Facility Asbestos

Sangley Point’s role supporting Western Pacific operations created extended exposure:

  • Vietnam War-era patrol operations — during the Vietnam War, Sangley Point’s patrol aviation assets conducted South China Sea patrols and maritime patrol support, with aviation personnel working extended periods in the asbestos-containing Sangley Point facilities during surge operations

VA Claims for NAS Sangley Point 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 and Marine Corps personnel who served at NAS Sangley Point during any period from the station’s 1945 establishment through its 1971 transfer and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, or asbestos-related lung cancer may qualify for VA disability benefits.