THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 25, 1995 TAG: 9502250295
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 61 lines
Military forces, along with the money to support them, are being cut ``too far and too fast,'' Sen. John Glenn said Friday in Norfolk, in a warning against further defense drawdowns.
``I want to see us cut, but not to the point of weakness where we encourage other people to do stupid things on the world stage,'' the Ohio Democrat said as he helped place the nation's newest warship - the fast attack submarine Toledo - into service.
Glenn decried planned cuts that will drop the nation's military forces to 1.4 million. ``We have gone from a 2.1 million military active force to below 1.6 million,'' he said.
``That is where I thought we should have stopped.''
Glenn, 73, a retired Marine and the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth, addressed an audience of nearly 3,000 on the wind-swept Norfolk Naval Station pier where the Toledo was welcomed by hundreds of Ohioans who came to Norfolk for the celebration.
The submarine is the 58th of 62 Los Angeles-class ships authorized for construction and the 50th submarine built at Newport News Shipbuilding.
Its commissioning Friday brings the Navy's fleet to 380 ships, compared with more than 550 during the the mid-1980s.
The Toledo enters service just a few days before the Pentagon makes public its list of recommended base closings and realignments - a day the Navy in Hampton Roads should have no reason to fear, said Adm. Jeremy Mike Boorda, chief of naval operations, who also attended Friday's ceremony.
Boorda would not elaborate on the work of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, but said, ``I think that the BRAC is not going to be a big surprise to people of Norfolk.
``Nor do I think the people here will be particularly unhappy with the outcome.''
Boorda also called for a Navy that is bigger than the one toward which it is drifting down. A fleet of 330 is too small, he said, referring to current plans. He is pushing for a fleet of 346 ships.
Glenn said he is particularly concerned that operations and maintenance funds are lacking.
The Navy and Air Force will be unable to perform 25 percent of their scheduled maintenance on heavy equipment this year, he said. The Army is deferring 42 percent of its depot maintenance.
Glenn, noting that Congress begins hearings soon on the next defense budget, said he is concerned the ``euphoria'' from the fall of the Soviet Union is no longer appropriate.
``While 162 nations have signed up under the non-proliferation treaty, we see the Peoples Republic of China spreading weapons systems to Syria, Pakistan, Libya, Iran and Algeria.
``This is not a very safe world any more.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo by TAMARA VONINSKI, Staff
Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, spoke at the commissioning ceremony for the
submarine Toledo.
by CNB