THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, March 1, 1995 TAG: 9503010476
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BILL SIZEMORE AND TONYA WOODS, STAFF WRITERS
LENGTH: Long : 101 lines
In California and Florida communities that would give up Navy fighter squadrons to Oceana, military boosters are philosophical about the loss.
There is disappointment over the economic losses facing Navy communities and the human toll on the families that would have to move. But there is also a widespread recognition that some consolidation of facilities is inevitable as the Navy shrinks to post-Cold War size.
In Lemoore, Calif., residents are mourning the loss of an economic boost that may never come, though it was promised during the 1993 round of base closings: the relocation of the Navy's West Coast fleet of F-14 Tomcats from Miramar Naval Air Station near San Diego.
But tempering the disappointment is a nagging feeling that the Pentagon's recommendation to the base-closing commission - relocating the F-14s to Oceana rather than Lemoore - is really a more logical move.
``There's probably some disappointment in the community about not having the F-14s come up here, but I think that realists, when they look at the problem, are going to understand,'' said Al Gorthy, a retired Navy captain and former commanding officer at Lemoore who heads a support group for the base.
``The F-14 is kind of a dying breed. It's going to be out of the fleet by 2015. You have a fleet of airplanes on both coasts that is dwindling. It makes sense to single-site those airplanes on one coast.''
Besides, he added, ``at least we're remaining open. Some bases are closing.''
The Lemoore base, which will remain the West Coast home of the Navy's fleet of F/A-18 Hornets, pumps an estimated $285 million a year into the economy of Lemoore - a city of 14,000 in the central part of the state - and into the neighboring city of Hanford, population 35,000.
In San Diego, the Pentagon's change of direction is causing hardly a ripple. Howard Ruggles, a retired Navy commander who is now director of military affairs for the Greater San Diego Chamber of Commerce, said the recommended shift of the F-14 fleet to the East Coast makes sense for the Navy.
In 1993, he noted, ``Miramar's F-14 training squadrons were disestablished and the decision was made to go to single-point training in Oceana. The fleet squadrons were slated to go to Lemoore. But that's an F/A-18 base. There are no support facilities for F-14s. They would have had to pack up everything at Miramar and move it to Lemoore.
``In the ensuing two years, the Navy has been struggling with that decision, and finally decided it wasn't a smart decision.''
Retired Navy Capt. William H. Reed, commanding officer of the Association of Naval Aviation in San Diego, agreed - up to a point.
``We understand we have to draw down the infrastructure,'' Reed said. ``But it's damn hard on the people. . . . If you take an East Coast squadron and deploy it on a West Coast carrier for a short time, it's impossible to get the crews home.''
At Miramar, base public affairs officer Doug Sayers was stoic about the decision Tuesday.
``These are just recommendations,'' he noted. ``Until the president and Congress sign off on them, we're still operating under BRAC '93 mandates. We're not making any plans until we get our marching orders, and once we do, like all good sailors we'll salute smartly and march off in the right direction.''
One defiant note among the conciliatory talk came from North Carolina, where Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station had been scheduled to get the Navy's East Coast F/A-18s from Cecil Field Naval Air Station, Fla. Defense Secretary William Perry is now proposing to move those jets to Oceana instead.
U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones, a Republican who represents northeastern North Carolina, called the recommendation to transfer the jets to Oceana ``politics at its worst.''
``However, the recommendations by Defense Secretary Perry have no force of law,'' Jones added. ``The real decisions will be made by the 1995 BRAC commission. I look forward to working with local leaders to make sure the integrity of the BRAC process is upheld.''
In Havelock, N.C., near the Cherry Point station, the Pentagon's change of plans does not sit well.
John Randell, president of the Havelock Chamber of Commerce, said it's premature to say the F/A-18s will be transferred to Oceana.
``There are still at least four more months before a final decision is made,'' he said.
Randell's predecessor as chamber president, Brenda Wilson, said a reversal in the relocation of the F/A-18s would be unfair to Cherry Point.
``Many of us see a lot of positive benefits for the people of Cecil Field to move to Cherry Point.''
But Steven Estes, a former F-14 pilot at Oceana who served on a committee to support Cecil Field after it was recommended for closure in 1993, said the latest BRAC decision was expected.
``We're pleased to see the F/A-18s go to Oceana, because overall it's good for the Defense Department,'' Estes said. ``Moving those jets to Cherry Point would be tremendously expensive.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
BILL TIERNAN/Staff file
The Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station, in North Carolina, had
been scheduled to get F/A-18s from Florida. U.S. Rep. Walter B.
Jones, R-N.C., called the plan to transfer the jets to Oceana
``politics at its worst.''
KEYWORDS: BASE CLOSINGS MILITARY BASES by CNB