Department of Defense senior leaders attended a ceremony to commemorate the history of the Navy Annex building by Arlington National Cemetery and the Air Force Memorial and mark the start of its demolition process. Pictured, left to right, are Michael Rhodes, director of Administration and Management; Joan Hughes, director, Operations Directorate, Office of the Department of the Navy Assistant for Administration; Col. Aaron Amey, assistant chief of staff for Logistics for the Marine Corps Installations Command; Rear Admiral Robert Thomas, chief of staff, J5, The Joint Staff; Kathryn Condon, executive director of Army National Cemeteries Program, Michael Donley, secretary of the Air Force; Thomas Hawley, deputy under secretary of the Army; Steven Redmann, executive director, U.S. Army Headquarters Services, Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army. In accordance with the fiscal year 2000 Defense Authorization Act, 42 acres of land will be transferred to the Department of the Army for future use by the cemetery. The 70 year-old annex building was originally built as a warehouse in 1941 and has housed Marine Corps headquarters and many Navy offices through the years. (Courtesy Photo) View over the U.S. Navy Annex, showing the completed U.S. Air Force memorial dedicated on Saturday, October 14, 2006. U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Gary R Coppage) SecAF helps commemorate Navy Annex history 11/28/2012 - ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) -- Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley attended a ceremony Nov. 27 to commemorate the history of the Navy Annex building by Arlington National Cemetery and the Air Force Memorial, and mark the start of the demolition project. The 70 year-old annex building was originally built as a warehouse in 1941 and has housed Marine Corps headquarters and many Navy offices through the years. In accordance with the fiscal year 2000 Defense Authorization Act, the building will be demolished and 42 acres of land will be transferred to the Department of the Army for future use by the cemetery. "Next week officially begins the demolition of this historic building, which will undergo a noble transition to burial space for the Arlington National Cemetery," said Director of Administration and Management Mr. Michael L. Rhodes. According to Washington Headquarters Services, the project will be conducted in five phases and is expected to be completed in 11 months or less. For more information on the project, visit http://www.whs.mil/NavyAnnex/