THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, June 24, 1995 TAG: 9506240338
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 158 lines
Hampton Roads can rejoice at this year's base-closing commission decisions, which offered no surprises Friday and confirmed that a fleet of Florida- and California-based Navy fighters will be coming to the area within a year.
Also left untouched were the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth and all other major military facilities in the area. Only a few small military detachments in the area, involving fewer than 100 personnel, were contained on the final list.
The biggest hit for Virginia came when the commission voted 7-1 to close Fort Pickett in Blackstone. But the commission recommended that the 46,000-acre facility be turned over to the National Guard for use as a training enclave.
There were brief moments of concern during the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission's deliberations over the wording of exactly where the Navy could move the 163 F/A-18 Hornets from Cecil Field, Fla., and the 76 F-14 Tomcats from Lemoore Naval Air Station in California.
However, lawyers finally ironed out the problem in a resolution that allows all the aircraft to come to Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach.
With them come about 5,000 active-duty and civilian personnel. They are enough to refill the ranks emptied by the demise of A-6 Intruder squadrons - only two of which remain at Oceana.
Rep. Owen B. Pickett, D-2nd District, who has worked to protect his military-rich district that includes Norfolk and parts of Virginia Beach, said he was ``very pleased'' at Friday's outcome.
A Pickett staff aide in Virginia Beach invited a caller to come out and help finish off a bottle of champagne.
Two years ago it was a different story when Pickett and other local politicians watched helplessly as thousands of defense jobs were lost, mainly from the closing of the Norfolk Naval Aviation Depot, a repair facility for A-6s and F-14s.
While the commission's decisions must still be forwarded to President Clinton by July 1 and must be accepted or rejected as a package by Congress, most believe there will be no changes. In each of the past three closure rounds, the commission recommendations stood up to White House and congressional review.
As a result, Oceana becomes the home to all of the Navy's F-14 fighters and the East Coast hub for its F/A-18s, considered the mainstay of the Navy's air arm.
California suffered a large blow with the loss of the Long Beach Naval Shipyard and its 4,000 employees.
On Thursday, the commission voted to close an air maintenance depot at McClellan Air Force Base, costing the Sacramento, Calif., area about 12,000 jobs.
Commissioner Al Cornella argued unsuccessfully for Long Beach, saying the panel should neither ``rubber stamp'' the Pentagon's proposals nor try to meet some arbitrary level of savings.
But in a 6-2 vote, the commission recommended closing the Southern California yard.
The commissioners then voted unanimously to keep open its East Coast counterpart, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine, one of the nation's oldest military facilities.
The yard on the Maine-New Hampshire border dates to before the War of 1812. It is also the only one in the region capable of servicing nuclear-powered submarines.
For a time, there had been considerable concern that the Norfolk Naval Shipyard would be pitted against its northern neighbor in a fight for life. But the Navy convinced the Defense Department that it needs the capabilities of both, for now.
Lawmakers from New Hampshire and Maine hailed the decision. ``Elation, what can I say?'' said Sen. Bob Smith, R-N.H.
Watching the commissioners vote was like waiting for a jury to come in, said Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. California members, bruised by Thursday's decisions, chose to stay away Friday.
The commission accepted the arguments of Adm. Jeremy Boorda, chief of naval operations, who said the Long Beach yard's functions could be handled by the private sector or by other West Coast Navy bases. Closing the yard would save the government about $1 billion over 20 years.
Friday's votes came as the commission reached the halfway point in its consideration of 177 military facilities across the country. Members are expected to conclude their work Monday.
In a move that will have a dramatic impact on the Pacific island of Guam, the commission voted to close three Navy facilities and realign two others. The actions, involving a naval air station, ship repair facility and fleet industrial supply center, would claim 2,200 jobs and result in the transfer of 6,500 others off the island.
The commission also voted unanimously to close South Weymouth Naval Air Station in Weymouth, Mass., and move the aircraft to another air station in Brunswick, Maine. That would mean the elimination or transfer of 800 jobs from Weymouth.
At the same time, the commission spared Atlanta Naval Air Station, which it found to have greater military value.
Citing a shortage of Navy flight training facilities, the commission rejected a Clinton administration proposal and voted to keep open Meridian (Miss.) Naval Air Station. The move would keep about 1,500 jobs in the area but deprive the Pentagon of about $27 million in annual savings.
``This little ole base . . . just means so much to us,'' said Rep. Sonny Montgomery, D-Miss., who has maintained a vigil at almost all the commission meetings.
Noting that the Meridian base has survived two previous base closure rounds, Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., paraphrased Winston Churchill: ``There's nothing more exhilarating than being shot at three times without effect.''
Revisiting some previous commission decisions, the panel changed the destination of a nuclear training center that is being moved out of Orlando, Fla.. It will go to the Charleston (S.C) Naval Weapons Station, instead of the New London (Conn.) Naval Submarine Base. The move was designed partly to offset the effect of major base cuts in Charleston ordered in 1993.
Friday afternoon, the commission also recommended closing Fort McClellan, Ala., the Army's main chemical weapons training center. The training operations would be moved to Missouri.
The fort's closure has been complicated by environmental considerations, particularly the question of whether Missouri would issue the necessary permits to move the operation to Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
Army officials, meanwhile, said closing Fort Pickett in Southside Virginia would save $21 million per year.
Rep. Norman Sisisky, D-4th, who fought to keep the base open, said he will turn his attention to making the training facility idea work. Sisisky's district includes Portsmouth, Chesapeake, western Hampton Roads and Petersburg. MEMO: WINNERS
Hampton Roads
EXPANDING: Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach.\ The
base gets 163 F/A-18 Hornets from Cecil Field, Fla., and 76 F-14 Tomcats
from Lemoore Naval Air Station in California. With them come about 5,000
active-duty and civilian personnel.
Maine
STAYING OPEN: Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery
Georgia
STAYING OPEN: Atlanta Naval Air Station
Misissippi
STAYING OPEN: Meridian Naval Air Station, with 1,500 jobs
LOSERS
Southside Virginia
CLOSING: Fort Pickett, with 290 civilians and 20 military personnel.
It was recommended, however, that the facility in Blackstone, Va., be
turned over to the National Guard for use as a training enclave
California
CLOSING: Long Beach Naval Shipyard, with 4,000 employees
CLOSING: An air maintenance depot at McClellan Air Force Base,
Sacramento, with 12,000 jobs
Texas
CLOSING: Kelly Air Force Base, San Antonio, with 13,000 jobs
Guam
CLOSING: A naval air station, ship repair facility and fleet
industrial supply center, with 2,200 jobs
MOVING: 6,500 other jobs
Massachusetts
CLOSING: South Weymouth Naval Air Station, Weymouth, with 800 jobs
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The complete listing of recommended base closings is on page A4.
KEYWORDS: BASE CLOSURE AND REALIGNMENT COMMISSION BASE CLOSING by CNB