THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 16, 1995 TAG: 9501160067
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Base Closings
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines
Often faulted for failing to work together, Hampton Roads government and business leaders have forged a united front to battle for preservation of the area's military infrastructure in 1995.
``We have prepared,'' said Arthur L. Collins, executive director of the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission. In 1993, local base-closing recommendations caught the community's leaders napping, he said. ``That was a lesson learned.''
The crux of their argument this year for preserving area installations is its track record of cooperative efforts among the Navy, Army and Air Force. With the Pentagon moving toward more interservice operations, the argument goes, bases should be preserved - even expanded - in areas where the services already work together. Hampton Roads is such a place.
Committees coordinated by the planning district commission are at the heart of the effort. The budget is half a million dollars: $250,000 from the General Assembly, $100,000 from the planning district commission and $150,000 pooled from 15 area communities on a population-based formula.
The commission's ``Tier I'' committee includes the state's two U.S. senators, all four area members of Congress, the mayors of cities with military bases and the state's secretary of commerce. A ``Tier II'' panel is composed of staff members of those officials, along with several retired military officers and others.
Several of the congressmen, most visibly Rep. Owen B. Pickett whose 2nd District includes Virginia Beach and Norfolk, also have set up local business and government committees to work on lobbying. Delegations have come to Washington for meetings with Pentagon officials, the staff of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, and Navy analysts readying the service's recommendations for '95 base realignments.
The staff of the planning district commission produced a 15-minute video on the base-closing process and the area's military presence. The tape has been provided to civic groups and aired on local cable television channels.
The centerpiece of the local effort, however, is a 10-page ``synergy report,'' also prepared by the planning district staff.
Formally titled ``The Hampton Roads Military Complex,'' the document is dry reading but bursts with statistics on the local military presence and examples of how its segments fit together.
The planning district staff has provided copies of the paper to dozens of civilian and uniformed officials in the Pentagon. It has also been distributed to the staff of the base closing commission.
Here are some of their arguments, excerpted from the report, for preserving Hampton Roads installations in the upcoming round of base closings.
CONCENTRATING RESOURCES: `` `Strategic dispersal' of the defense infrastructure served its Cold War purpose, but concentrating our defense assets at key megabases offers obvious readiness and cost efficiencies in the current defense environment. To capitalize on the existing defense investment, optimize potential cost savings and realize the full advantages of inter-service cooperation, Hampton Roads should continue to expand as the nation's preeminent multi-service complex.''
``MEGABASE'' IN PLACE: ``More than 180,000 military members and DoD civilians are employed at the area's 12 major defense installations.'' The Virginia Peninsula ``hosts Langley AFB, Fort Monroe, Fort Eustis, Yorktown Naval Weapons Station and the Cheatham Annex Navy supply facility. The Southside hosts Fort Story, the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and the Navy's multi-base Atlantic Fleet complex. . . . This naval megabase contains more than 100,000 active duty military personnel and 35,000 civilian employees.''
LOCATION: ``The Hampton Roads military complex is sited in one of the world's finest deep water ports. . . . The region's central location on the East Coast provides a favorable climate for year-round operations and convenient ship transits to training and operational areas.''
ONE STOP SHOPPING: ``The Hampton Roads complex offers an unequaled array of support services and other complementary activities contributing to high readiness levels. Virtually all training, logistics, maintenance/repair, medical and other services required by fleet operating forces are locally available.''
CAREER DEVELOPMENT: ``Megabasing is a boon to the morale, welfare and stability of military families. The resulting number and variety of military jobs provides an excellent opportunity for follow-on assignments in Hampton Roads without jeopardizing professional development and career progression. Successive assignments provide continuity in dependent schooling, spousal employment and medical care while allowing service members to enjoy the long-term benefits of home ownership and community involvement.''
JOINT OPERATIONS: ``Hampton Roads is a major operational military command center, second only to Washington, D.C., in the variety and population of major headquarters. . . . As emphasis on joint operations increases, Hampton Roads is uniquely situated to play a pivotal role. Along with the U.S. Atlantic Command (USACOM), the area already hosts the Joint War Fighting Center (Fort Monroe), the Joint Doctrine Center and the Navy Doctrine Center (Norfolk). A USACOM Joint Training and Simulation Center is under development (in Suffolk).''
KEYWORDS: BASE CLOSINGS MILITARY BASES HAMPTON ROADS by CNB