In July 1995, Naval Security Group activity (NSGA) Adak was slated for closure under the Base Realignment and Closure Act and deactivated on January 31, 1996. At the time of deactivation approximately 500 military and 50 civilian personnel were on the island. Officially, the military mission ended on March 31, 1997, and the station closed.

Naval Security Group Activity (NSGA) Adak’s history dates back to the early days of World War II in the Pacific.  Shortly after Japan bombed Dutch Harbor, located on Unalaska Island east of Adak near the mainland, and occupied the Aleutian Islands of Attu and Kiska, located to the west of Adak, the Navy established two major naval installation on Adak to counter the Japanese threat, Naval Air Station in May 1943 and Naval Operating Base in July 1943.  In September 1943, the Naval Communication Supplementary Activity, Adak, NSGA Adak’s progenitor organization, was established to provide communications support to the location forces.  The original activity, consisting of eight men, operated out of Quonset huts through the war’s conclusion until June 1948 when a new communication facility was constructed to replace the temporary wartime structures.

Adak
The Naval Communications Supplementary Activity was decommissioned in October 1951 and immediately replaced by Naval Communications Station (NAVCOMMST) Adak as a separate command on the island.  Construction of the Circularly Disposed Antenna Array (CDAA) Operations Facility started probably between 1962 and 1963.  During the next decade, the command’s telecommunications and cryptologic mission continued to grow.  On April 1, 1977, after nearly twenty-six years as an active telecommunications site, NAVCOMMSTA Adak was decommissioned and Naval Security Group Activity, Adak was commissioned, growing to a major command of over 700 military personnel assigned.  The end of the Cold War, coupled with the high cost of sustaining operations, placed NSGA Adak under consideration for Navy downsizing.

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Classic Wizard

NSGA Adak began downsizing by terminating manual Morse collection operations in November 1993.  A full scale drawdown effort occurred throughout 1994 with the closing of the Naval Telecommunications Center in January 994, the transfer of Company I Marine Support Battalion in May 1994, and the termination of Special Communications and High Frequency Direction Finding Operations in December 1994.  The command closure effort peaked in 1995, and the Telecommunications Department becoming a detachment of Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station, Puget Sound on September 30, 1995.  NSGA Adak achieved final facilities closure, detached all remaining personnel, and formally decommissioned on January 31, 1996.  Coming full circle, all that remains is a small 15 man detachment supporting telecommunications operations on Mount Moffett until January 1998.

Source: NSGA Adak Decommissioning Booklet