THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 11, 1994 TAG: 9412090085
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 18 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY GARY NEWSOME, CORRESPONDENT
LENGTH: Long : 193 lines
FORT STORY'S 16-INCH GUNS, able to hurl shells well past Cape Charles, once guarded Washington. Those guns have long disappeared but the base provides a unique setting for training that make its troops among the most frequently deployed in the Army.
They increasingly have been called upon in the post-Cold War era for their expertise in creating and controlling ports around the world. Some of these troops remain deployed in Haiti and the Persian Gulf region.
Despite this larger role, Fort Story faces an uncertain future under the scrutiny of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission, the same panel that also will evaluate Oceana Naval Air Station.
The Navy's master jet base received greater attention locally after it appeared on the 1993 commission's list of possible closures but escaped the final recommendations. Fort Story meanwhile didn't face as tough a test last year.
Army officials say it may not be as easy in 1995, but civilian experts remain optimistic about Fort Story's future.
The Secretary of the Army must submit by Jan. 1 a list of recommended closures. That decision is based on an Army study that begins by grouping its assets by mission, such as training or logistics, and then ranking the bases in each group.
The BRAC commission's final report last year said the Army ranking is based on five categories: mission essentiality, mission suitability, operational efficiency, quality of life and expandability.
Col. Franklin F. Wise, commander of Fort Story, said his post ranks high in all categories but expandability. The problem is that Fort Story is a sub-installation of Fort Eustis in Newport News.
Wise said Fort Eustis, classed as a training facility, ranks low in its group because it must compete against larger bases, such as Fort Bliss in Texas and Fort Knox in Kentucky. Fort Story's training space extends 20 miles into the Atlantic Ocean, he said, but only land area is considered in the rankings.
The ocean and the Chesapeake Bay, however, make Fort Story's current mission possible.
That mission, called logistics-over-the-shore (LOTS), involves moving supplies and equipment ashore on foreign beaches by setting up makeshift ports. American troops relied on modern ports or airfields in all major actions since the Vietnam War, but Wise said ``that does not diminish the need to be prepared for the harder tasks. We can't keep betting that we're always going to have a fixed port.''
Moving supplies without a port is not easy, but the Army has a specialized navy to do the job. Much of that fleet trains at and off Fort Story.
One way of moving equipment ashore involves the use of Logistics Support Vessels, ships that can ride up on shore, and large landing craft capable of traveling between continents without refueling.
Another method is unloading from a ship offshore onto the the LARC-60, an amphibious vehicle with wheels wider than most cars that can haul 60 tons of equipment up the beach and beyond.
Floating causeways provide another means of moving wheeled cargo, such as trucks and ``humvees,'' which roll off the back of sealift ships and onto the vessel for the ferry ride ashore.
In later stages, barges able to lift themselves out of the water are joined end to end to form piers for the sealift ships that must remain in deep water.
Moving the supplies on the beach also requires special tools. Instead of unloading ocean-going containers by crane like most ports, the Army uses an oversized forklift to move those containers across sand.
The process takes time.
In an August exercise, troops at Fort Story unloaded equipment for one brigade of the 101st Airborne Division from a fast sealift ship anchored in the Chesapeake Bay off Cape Henry. Army officials said 26 helicopters, 819 vehicles, and 66 containers crossed the beach in the 35-hour exercise.
Since a brigade numbers about 5,000 soldiers, the exercise represented only a fraction of what's involved in an actual deployment.
Col. Wise says the ability to carry out these functions has made the 7th Transportation Group, whose four battalions train at Fort Story, among the most frequently deployed unit in the Army. One of those units, the 11th Transportation Battalion, also operates the base.
Army officials say one reason why the 7th Group maintains such high readiness is that the Army's Training and Doctrine Command pays for maintaining Fort Story but its Forces Command covers the costs of deployment. Many other units must pay for both out of the same operating funds and deployments force a trade-off between making repairs or training.
This fall, for example, the Navy had to ground several squadrons at Oceana because money for fuel wasn't available.
``These deployments exemplify what Fort Story's all about,'' said Wise, ``and we're able to do it because we're able to train and maintain efficiency.'' Training is essential to readiness, Wise said, and readiness and the ability to sustain operations are the keys to a nation's military preparedness.
Wise said the base can represent 80 percent of the world's beaches due to its terrain and location on both the ocean and the Bay. Diverse soil densities, weather, currents, tides and surf conditions are also needed for realistic training.
Retired Col. John T. Sprague, a former commander of Fort Story, said the land at Cape Henry is the only place in the world where all these ingredients come together.
The combination of natural assets at Fort Story provides prime training opportunities for other branches of the military besides the Army.
The Marine Corps Amphibious Reconnaissance School actually benefits from Fort Story's location in a coastal city, said Wise. Marines encounter much of the same land and sea traffic, houses and roads that they would if deployed.
And the Navy's Explosive Ordnance Disposal Training and Evaluation Unit Two enjoys similar benefits, Wise said, adding that Fort Story gives them the seclusion needed for their test ranges and to practice the sea and air techniques of entering foreign territory. Another Navy unit at Fort Story, the Shipboard Electronic Systems Evaluation Facility, is essential to the testing and evaluation of new combat systems and the proper calibration of those now in use.
Wise predicts an increase in the number of tenant units calling Fort Story home. ``The tenants prefer to be here because it absolutely gives them all they need,'' he said. However, Fort Story is still a sub-installation of Fort Eustis, and Wise said ``if either the 7th Group or the 11th Battalion moves, the role of Fort Story has diminished considerably.''
``Fort Story does not have to be a part of Fort Eustis,'' said Sprague. ``It can stand alone. It has before and it can again.'' Fort Story stood alone from its creation in 1914 until it became a sub-installation in 1962.
Sprague said it also may be possible to move the entire 7th Group to Fort Story. He said the post housed two transportation groups the size of the 7th Group during the Vietnam War. Army officials said 2,224 troops and civilians are now assigned to Fort Story but that number often surges past 3,000 throughout the year.
Sprague, a member of Congressman Owen B. Pickett's base closing advisory board, doubts the base will appear on the Army's list of recommended closings. He cites a study of single-mission posts ordered in 1976 by former Secretary of Defense Harold Brown to guide the build-down following Vietnam.
That report, released in 1979, found Fort Story essential to national defense because of its role in joint training, said Sprague. He said LOTS operations also rely on the Navy and Marine Corps and Fort Story is the only location where joint training can be held economically.
``Conceivably, we could continue LOTS training to some degree in another location, like Camp Lejeune,'' said Wise. Camp Lejeune is a Marine Corps base on the North Carolina coast with amphibious units. ``But in my opinion, it would cost much more to move us than to operate here.''
Wise said Fort Story is cheap to operate with only 14 people on his staff, and the costs of building new facilities elsewhere would be high because its units would not be deactivated. Army officials said that current plans to eliminate two divisions ``in fact reinforced the need'' for the 7th Group's ability to move troops and supplies quickly.
The federal government cannot sell most, if not all, of Fort Story's land to ease the cost of any needed construction. Virginia donated about half of the base's current 1,451 acres in 1914 and city officials said the deed returns that land to the commonwealth if there is no base. The federal government acquired an additional 727 acres for the base in 1943 by condemning part of Seashore State Park. That action has been challenged by the state.
Bob Matthias, assistant to the city manager for intergovernmental affairs, said the uncertainty also makes it harder to replace lost revenue if Fort Story did close because ``there wouldn't be much opportunity for re-use'' by the city or private sector.
That might not always be the case, said City Councilman W.W. ``Bill'' Harrison Jr., noting that Virginia has been negotiating a sale of Camp Pendleton to the city for several years. ``The state shouldn't be in the land holding business if it's strapped for cash every year,'' said Harrison.
While discussion proceeds this winter over whether Fort Story closes or gains, so will construction on the post. Not far from the main gate will be a $1.3 million youth activities center. The Navy's explosive ordnance specialists will open a state-of-the-art training center in April.
``New construction is a good sign, and construction goes on because most of us have a firm belief in Fort Story's military value,'' said Wise. ``Every post commander should feel that way, and if not, then it should be closed.'' MEMO: [For a related story, see page 20 of The Beacon for this date.]
ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
THE STORY ON FORT STORY
[Color Photo]
[Color] Staff photos by MORT FRYMAN
Upon his return from Saudi Arabia, Army Spc. 4th Class William
Thompson greets daughter Kia. The 7th Transportation Group is among
the most frequently deployed units in the Army.
The Expeditionary Warfare Group, Atlantic, trains in reconnaissance
at Fort Story. Marines make up most of the trainees, but joint
forces personnel aren't uncommon.
The base is a training ground for many factions of the military,
including this Air National Guard unit stationed at Camp Pendleton.
Dale Brouse, a Marine in the 11th Batallion, does training in
defusing a car bomb.
Staff photo by MORT FRYMAN
Col. Franklin F. Wise, commander of Fort Story, said his post ranks
high in all categories but expandability. It is a sub-installation
of Fort Eustis in Newport News.
KEYWORDS: HISTORY FORT STORY BRAC MILITARY BASES CLOSURE by CNB