NAS Pensacola Open To The Public For Two Long Weekends In May

April 27, 2023

Naval Air Station Pensacola will open to the public for two long weekends in May.

Public access to the air station May 4 through 7 and May 11 through 14 will be available from 9 a.m. through 3 p.m. through the West Gate only, located at the south end of Blue Angel Parkway. Areas of public interest onboard NAS Pensacola include the Pensacola Lighthouse and Maritime Museum, the National Naval Aviation Museum (NNAM) and Fort Barrancas. Access to Barrancas National Cemetery is always available to anyone with family interred at the cemetery through the Visitor Control Center at the Main Gate.

“We’re thrilled to be able to provide our community with the opportunity to visit the areas of public interest onboard NAS Pensacola while ensuring the safety of our service members, civilian employees and their families,” said Capt. Terry Shashaty, NAS Pensacola commanding officer.

Foreign nationals will not be allowed access. Non-DoD cardholders operating vehicles with trailers will not be allowed to enter. Access will be dependent on available parking at the National Naval Aviation Museum and Pensacola Lighthouse. Once parking is full, public access will be halted until more parking becomes available. Temporary traffic control points will be located on base to prevent public access to other areas of the installation.

The following restrictions will apply to visitors during public access:

  • No weapons (firearms/knives) allowed (to include concealed weapon permit holders)
  • No backpacks/coolers allowed (diaper bags or medically required bags are acceptable and subject to search)
  • No alcoholic beverages allowed
  • No drones allowed (countermeasures will be taken)
  • Persons with felony convictions are not authorized base access
  • All vehicles and personnel are subject to security searches and background checks
  • No visitors with boats or boat trailers.

The Department of Defense (DoD) and the Navy require any identification card used for base access to be compliant with the Real ID Act of 2005. Real ID compliant identification cards are marked by a star on the upper right of the card.

Comments

7 Responses to “NAS Pensacola Open To The Public For Two Long Weekends In May”

  1. Whipper Snapper on April 28th, 2023 3:07 pm

    @Neighbor —
    Maybe you weren’t aware, but the purpose of a comments section is for readers to share their thoughts and opinions….

  2. Whipper Snapper on April 28th, 2023 3:06 pm

    @Retired Navy
    My point is, shuting out the public doesn’t prevent acts of terrorism. In fact, most of the incidents I’ve heard or read about in the past several years on stateside military installations, the threats have all come from “within” and the violence done by service members. If they really want to prevent these sorts of things, seems to me like there should be more mental health support and resources offered to current and former service members. And maybe if we’re going to train members of foreign militaries, we go to them and train them on their own soil, rather than bringing them into our safe spaces. I was born and raised here, and have been a donor to the museum for most of my adult life… a museum that I can only visit when someone decides that the “public” isn’t a threat for a few days.

    None of what I’m saying applies to any of our overseas bases, even the ones in friendly/ally countries, leave them closed off to the local public, fine. And I’ve got no qualms with searches and such at the gates of stateside bases. But things like the museum and the lighthouse on base at NAS Pensacola, and historical and cultural fixtures on lots of other bases, serve the purpose of making the “public” feel a connection with the military, drives up support and engages the people in the communities surrounding the bases. Shutting out the very communities you sit in the middle of, seems like it stands to do as much harm as good.

  3. Neighbor on April 28th, 2023 12:40 pm

    Why don’t we keep our opinions to ourselves and let this play out. The truth will prevail

  4. Retired Navy on April 28th, 2023 10:45 am

    @Whipper Snapper
    Yeah we remember those days. We also remember the act of terrorism that happened on the base. You are looking at the “small” picture of just that incident by the foreign student. What you fail to realize is that there have been numerous incidents at military bases around the world in the recent years. The decision to open the base or not does not lie with the base CO. That comes from higher up. While it would be nice to “go back to the days like before” it must be done carefully and judiciously. I have stood post both stateside and overseas. It’s not an easy job maintaining the security of the base.

  5. ensley boy on April 28th, 2023 9:57 am

    Whipper snapper—— You are so right.

  6. Lou on April 27th, 2023 10:44 pm

    The public, has no idea how hard it is to open the gates, to the wonderful and unique, Naval Museum. Let’s protect the proctectors of freedom first. That is one of the oldest Aviation school in our nation. The folks on this base as well as others still recovering from hurricane Sally. My fellow citizens would not believe, that even playgrounds for their children still no repaired, yet the mission continues no matter what , even at the cost of the great service man and women serving our nation have their dependents serving at home under substandard conditions.

  7. Whipper Snapper on April 27th, 2023 1:05 pm

    Remember to old days, back when the less-sensitive areas of the base were open to the public every day? It’s almost like no one cares that the terrible violence that happened on the base wasn’t done by one of us “members of the public,” but by someone authorized to come there for schooling. And the act was STOPPED by the Sheriff’s Department, and NOT base police. Seems to me like they’re shutting out the wrong people.

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News