National Guard Depot

Located along the northern edge of Downtown DC, the National Guard Depot is a high-security compound that used to be the headquarters for the Washington militia. Over the 200 years since the Great War, the building has partially collapsed and any useful components have been destroyed. It is also very radioactive, making extended trips inside hazardous.

Although the buildings are destroyed, many of the facility's robots survived unharmed. A large number of Robobrains, Protectrons and Sentry Bots guard the location, as do several turrets. The only section of the building that hasn't been touched by nuclear devastation or scavengers is the ammo bunker, where the depot's emergency supplies were stored.

Location
The National Guard Depot is located at the eastern edge of the map, just on the outskirts of the DC area, northeast of the Friendship Heights Metro Station. You will pass Rock Creek Caverns if you strike out from Friendship Heights. Failing this, you can go South from the Corvega Factory.

The number of robots inside can potentially pose a challenge for certain characters, and unless you are equipped properly for the fight, it can be quite wasteful on your ammo. Luckily, a large supply of Pulse Grenades can be found inside, which will make fighting the robots a breeze. Note, however, that you won't find them until about halfway through, in an ammo box in an office cubicle.

The depot is also protected by turrets, which can either be destroyed or disabled by hacking nearby terminals (average difficulty). Using the terminals also allows the player to delete the targeting data, which results in the turrets shooting at everything, including robots and other turrets.

There is at least one gas pipe in the beginning that can be used to your benefit tricking robots into the mist and blowing it all up.

For those having difficulty inside the depot:

It is necessary to go to the top most floor, first using the stairs, then using the collapse ceiling. It is not easy to climb up the debris - suggestions include taking off all gear and crouching. Once on top floor, the there is a door that is only accessible by jumping through a hole on the the correct platform. It is impossible to reach this platform from below and the door is in a corner making it difficult to spot - suggestions include using your local map, completely zoomed in.

If you are still having trouble:

You don't necessarily have to go up any debris, once you get inside, just head for the door to the Depot Training Wing it will lead you through the other areas (as well as the Armory for the Bobblehead).

YouTube video "walk from Megaton to National Guard Depot":
 * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNka9ASH5Fk

YouTube video about the fastest way inside the Armory:
 * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWf2XelJzOs

Notable Loot

 * Nikola Tesla And You located in the National Guard Depot, in a storeroom on the lowest level (near the mislabeled "Very Hard" door) that leads to the National Guard Armory
 * Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor sitting on a desk located in Training Depot portion after climbing a set of stairs and going through two doors. Same room as the average locked safe.
 * Duck and Cover! located on a long counter in an irradiated section of the National Guard Offices portion. One Pre-War Book one floor directly above that, next to a terminal in the third cubicle on the left.
 * U.S. Army: 30 Handy Flamethrower Recipes after getting into National Guard Armory and next to Experimental MIRV
 * Pre-War Book in the same room as the Junktown Jerky Vendor (above the safe). Three more in the National Guard Offices on the shelves in the center of an open collapsed two floor room.
 * Three Pulse Grenades

National Guard Armory
The Armory is only accessible after traversing the National Guard Depot, the National Guard Training Wing, the National Guard Depot Offices, then exiting from the Offices back to the National Guard Depot. Just as you zone back into the Depot, there is an electrical switch on the left straight ahead. When you throw the switch, you will see the rotating lights of the Armory's utility door turn on, two stories below where you just threw the switch. (You can't pick the the utility door, even though it says it's a Very Hard door.) To get into the Armory itself, you will have to activate a second switch right inside the utility room - once activated, the floor will open and you will be able to enter the armory itself.

In the armory, you will find the Bobblehead: Small Guns (which will increase your Small Guns skill permanently by 10) on a shelf next to the terminal for the bunker access. Additionally, you will find a Minigun, a Missile Launcher, four Assault Rifles, two 10mm SMGs, two 10mm Pistols and lots of ammo and supplies. Unfortunately, all of the weapons are in poor condition.

The armory's bunker is opened by finding all 5 of the Keller Family Transcripts located throughout the wasteland. Inside the bunker is the Experimental MIRV Fatman (and a plasma grenade hidden in a cooking pot on the first set of shelves left-hand side.) Also 5 Mini-Nukes next to MIRV and a Nuka-Cola Quantum in bin near back. There is one Glowing One in the bunker, as well as three adult skeletons, possibly hinting that 3 of the Kellers did, in fact, all group together and enter the bunker. It is most probable that the glowing one is the father, who repeatedly leaves the bunker for supplies just after the bombs dropped. When he continued going outside, the radiation could have caused him to become a Glowing One. In the game files, the Glowing One is referred to as "Mister Keller", leading us to believe it is the Dad.

There is also a "glitch" way to get into the armory area, not into the armory vault itself as you need the Keller Family Transcripts. It is possible to jump to the electrical switch after entering the Depot by placing carts and trolleys near the door sticking out of the rubble, in the room with the Nuka-Cola machines and Eat-O-Matic's. This method can also be used to obtain access to the top floor of the building, also you can pick up a barrel and place it on the ramp next to the two turrets on the second floor.

Nothing inside the bunker or armory seems to "reset" with time, so you can effectively use the entire bunker and armory as your home. Since there is a usable workbench, (with a safe), refrigerator, beds, and plenty of storage boxes, tables and shelves, it can arguably be considered to be better than either the Megaton Shack or Tenpenny Tower Suite. The only amenities it lacks are the Bobblehead Stand, and the options for buying "themes", the jukebox, the infirmary, the Nuka Cola machine, or the science lab.

YouTube video for a faster way to open the Armory door:
 * http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWf2XelJzOs

Notable Loot in The Armory

 * Five Mini Nukes and the unique Fatman "The Experimental MIRV"
 * The Small Guns Bobblehead located on a shelf in the sealed storage room in the basement of the Armory
 * A Nuka-Cola Quantum near the back of the Keller Shelter
 * Four Assault Rifles and 5.56 Ammo
 * Missile Launcher and several Missiles
 * A Minigun and 5mm Ammo
 * Two 10mm Sub-Machine Guns and Two 10mm Pistols and 10mm Ammo
 * Lots of Rad-X, RadAway, and Stimpacks.

Bugs

 * You can get to the higher level of the top floor by stacking barrels. (Although this is not a bug actually)

Appearances
appears only in Fallout 3.