PANAMA CITY — Local business leaders were given a glimpse of what goes on behind the gates of Naval Support Activity Panama City (NSA PC) at a networking event joint-hosted by the Bay County and Panama City Beach Chambers of Commerce Friday.
NSA PC Commander Christopher Serow served as the keynote speaker at First Friday, outlining a $500 million annual economic impact from the facility.
“Using [fiscal year] 2013 data, roughly half a billion dollars are flowing through the base,” Serow said. “About two-thirds of that is for payroll; the other third is from various contracting and other revenue that flows through the base.”
The base is one of 18 installments in the Navy’s Southeast region and has a heavy focus on underwater training.
“We have a heavy aviation training focus in Navy Region Southeast, and we’re a little different than that,” Serow said. “We’re not above the water; we’re beneath the water here.”
The base’s major tenant commands include the Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division, the Center for Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Diving, the Navy Experimental Diving Unit and the Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center, the largest diving facility in the world.
“The easiest way to describe the role of Naval Support Activity Panama City is to compare it to a municipal government,” Serow said. “We provide the essential services necessary to support the missions and the personnel.”
The base supports year-round training, development, testing and research for tenants. Areas of concentration for the base include littoral warfare, or missions near the shoreline, mine countermeasures, fleet exercises and submarine activity.
In 2013, NSA PC employed about 3,200 and welcomed 1,200 students throughout the year. Serow said the base is unique in that it employs a large number of civilians and contractors.
“Usually uniformed personnel greatly outnumber civilians and contractors on a base, so that’s a bit of a difference for us in comparison to other naval installations,” he said. “We have a great group of people working at NSA Panama City.”
Last year, the base was honored with the 2013 Commander in Chief’s Installation Excellence Award, which is only awarded to one installation from each military branch every year.