THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Friday, March 24, 1995                 TAG: 9503240425
SECTION: LOCAL                    PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER 
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH                         LENGTH: Medium:   58 lines

UNION AND NAVY DEBUNK SHIPYARD-CLOSING RUMOR A ``WILD RUMOR'' SAYS THE PORTSMOUTH FACILITY WAS ADDED TO THE LIST.

Memos suggesting the Naval Shipyard has been placed on the base-closure list are nothing but a ``wild rumor,'' union and Navy officials say.

``I'm going to choke somebody,'' said Ron Ault, a union officer representing the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers.

``We met with a group yesterday at the shipyard that heard this wild rumor. They panicked the crews and everything. The truth is that there has been no decision to add us to the list.''

Shipyard officials also said they have not been notified.

The Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission said Thursday that no action has been taken to add the shipyard to its formal review of the Navy's 1995 base-closure proposals.

A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Norman Sisisky, a Democrat who represents parts of Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Suffolk, also said the yard has not been placed on the list.

One shipyard worker said he saw a memo on a bulletin board Thursday morning that said the shipyard was on the base-closure list.

The memos are being thrown away as soon as they are found, officials said.

``When we find these fliers, we have been tearing them down,'' said Ault, who could not explain who was posting the notices.

``It's just pure speculation on the part of people who are glooming and dooming.''

The base-closing commission has the authority to add any military facility to the Defense Department's list of recommended closings until May 17.

The shipyard was added to the 1993 base-closing round, as were other facilities, including Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach.

However, none of the facilities added by the base-closing commission was closed.

Ault said the rumors probably stem from the union's plan to send representatives to the commission's public hearings, scheduled for Baltimore, New York, Chicago and elsewhere this spring.

The union representatives will attend some of the hearings mainly to listen, but also to make presentations if warranted, said Ault.

``The main thing is to hear what other commands are saying, because we got blindsided before,'' he said, referring to the 1993 action by the commission.

The shipyard's commander, Capt. William R. Klemm, in a biweekly newsletter to workers March 10 explaining the base-closing process, said the command probably will be called upon to participate in hearings and provide data.

But he reminded the shipyard workers of a series of evaluations and approvals through the summer months before the base-closing list becomes final. He promised to keep the workers informed of developments.

KEYWORDS: U.S. NORFOLK NAVAL SHIPYARD BASE CLOSURE AND REALIGNMENT

COMMISSION RUMOR by CNB