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 a Mark I Security Robot 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.

Quite obviously, the location is a nod to the Glow.

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 the cavern with the Mirelurk King if you strike out from Friendship Heights.

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.

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 to the National Guard Depot. There you will find an electrical switch that opens the utility door to the armory, (it cannot be lockpicked, contrary to what one might think examining it); the switch is on the leftmost wall straight ahead when you exit the offices. To get into the armory itself, you will have to activate a second switch on the bottom floor of the depot - once activated, the floor will open and you will be able to enter the armory itself.

In the armory, you will find the Small Guns Bobblehead (which will increase your Small Arms 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, making the profit almost non-existent when compared to the cost of the Stimpaks and RadAways used in gaining access to the ammo bunker.

Also in one of the storage rooms (next to the armory door) is a Nikola Tesla and You book.

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 shelfs lefthand side.) There is one Glowing One in the bunker, as well as three adult skeletons, possibly hinting that the Kellers did, in fact, all group together and enter the bunker. It is possible that the glowing one was once/is Paul Keller, who mentions in his holodisk recording that he is going to 'Walk into some mushroom clouds', rather than face sheltering from a nuclear holocaust with his father. It could also be Candice, who witnesses a nuclear explosion during her holodisk recording.

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, into the room with the Nuka-Cola machines and Eat-O-Matic's.

Appearances
appears only in Fallout 3.