Unit History

The Naval Sea Cadet Corps was federally chartered in 1962 as a non-profit organization to be sponsored by the Navy League of the United States and Supported by the Department of the Navy. June 1965, Jack Clark (now CAPT J.E. Clark, USNR) met with eight concerned fathers at the Naval Reserve Training Center on Fifth Street in Atlanta. His request to put together a Naval Sea Cadet Corps Division was accepted.

On 4 August 1965, Division 6-6-85, Naval Sea Cadet Corps was commissioned by CDR George Marshall, USN, Executive Officer of Naval Air Station Atlanta, to drill one night per Week at the NRTC. The Atlanta Council of the Navy League of the United States appointed LCDR Marshall "Dusty" M. Banks, NSCC, to serve as the First Commanding Officer. John Adams, Pat Sw'indall, Chris Banks, Randy Taylor, and Charles Wirt were among the first cadets.

In August 1965, the Naval Sea Cadet Corps was in its infancy. The staff had to forget its procedures for obtaining Navy uniforms and establish a Division structure and a training program. Fortunately, one staff member was also a member of Naval Air Reserve Staff B-1, a Naval Air Reserve unit that drilled at NAS Atlanta, and was familiar with the structure of a Naval Reserve Unit and the Naval Reserve training program. By November 1965, there Were 103 Naval Sea Cadet Divisions and Navy League Training Ships in commission.

In December 1965, the first “Boot Camp” was conducted by the Training Department of NAS Atlanta for a total of 8 cadets over a period of two weeks. From 1965 to 1968, the Division developed structure, procedures, and training programs, with as many field trips as possible to Navy Bases and Naval Air Stations. Air transport was challenging to arrange, and “Boot Camp” was provided as often as possible. “Boot Camp” for Naval Sea Cadets was not nearly as standardized as it would become.

In 1968, the Division was divided into Detachment A, which drilled on weekends at NAS Atlanta, and Detachment B, which continued to drill at the surface-oriented NRTC with LCDR Harry L. Mahoney, Executive Officer of Division 6-6-85, as Officer-in-Charge.

On 22 February 1970, Detachment A changed its name. It was commissioned as NARS B-1 Squadron, Naval Sea Cadet Corps, and set to drill on weekends at NAS Atlanta. During the following years, the Squadron sponsored many summer Two-Week Training (TWT) periods. The most notable was for 53 cadets aboard the USS Lexington, CVT-16.

On 7 June 1973, LCDR Banks resigned as Commanding Officer of NARS B-1, and from the Naval Sea Cadet Corps, and LT F.A. Ingalsbe, NSCC, became the Commanding Officer.

The Squadron was finally named NARS B-1, which stands for Naval Air Reserve Station – Base-1. To date, NARS B-1 is one of the oldest units in Georgia, leading with 50 + years.