THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 31, 1995 TAG: 9512290288
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 13 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: 1995: YEAR IN REVIEW
LENGTH: Short : 48 lines
By late spring, the threat loomed large that Oceana Naval Air Station might not completely survive the process of sharply cutting back or closing military bases nationwide.
After months of wrangling, the sprawling base in Virginia Beach had only managed to secure six squadrons of the S-3, an anti-submarine plane and 1,200 personnel. But the big prize, the F/A-18 Hornets, and the huge support staff needed to fly, maintain and equip them, were destined for Cherry Point, N.C., with a few reserve squadrons planned for Beaufort, S.C.
The Hornets remained a distant prize that a committed group of city, state and federal officials fought hard to secure for Oceana. In the end, they won transfer of the Hornets to Virginia, saving for now the status of Oceana as the East Coast's premier military jet base.
Actually, Oceana and its 11,000 workers and $392 million payroll, was never targeted by the Defense Department for a drastic change. But after Jacksonville, Fla., residents complained in 1993 that nearby Cecil Field had taken too hard a hit and that Oceana should shoulder some of the burden, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission relented and added Oceana to its list.
Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf said it was a ``wake-up call'' that helped Congressman Owen B. Pickett assemble a 25-person committee, many of whose members were former Navy commanders, Army and Marine officers. The group helped convince BRAC that Oceana was crucial to the military's overall strategic objectives.
- Tom Holden ILLUSTRATION: Staff file photo by MORT FRYMAN
A 25-member committee of politicians and former military officers
convinced BRAC to transfer the F/A-18 Hornets to Virginia, saving
for now the status of Oceana as the East Coast's premier military
jet base.
Mayor Meyera E. Oberndorf called the BRAC listing of Oceana a
``wake-up call.''
KEYWORDS: OCEANA NAVAL AIR STATION by CNB