NAS Atlanta was decommissioned as a Navy air station in 2007. Today, it is called the General Lucius D. Clay National Guard Center, and serves as homeport for Georgia’s National Guard. The National Guard took control of the base in 2007, but the name change did not become official, and Navy operations continued, until September, 2009.
Before, when the base was still known as NAS Atlanta, it served as a major Navy base. It was commissioned in April 1955, when Congress approved almost $4 million for the development of a new Navy station. They wanted a station in a good location that could have long runways, and be able to launch larger planes. They chose a location right next to Dobbins Air Reserve Base, near Marietta, Georgia. In fact, NAS Atlanta actually shared its runways with Dobbins Base.
The transfer from the US Navy to the US Coast Guard became official on September 26, 2009, after a formal change-of-command ceremony. The base was re-named in honor of General Lucius Clay, the organizer of the Berlin Airlift. The base is now completely under Coast Guard control, and all Navy aircraft and personnel have been transferred to different bases in the area.