THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 22, 1996 TAG: 9601200374
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 8 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: Forecast 1996
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
The Navy's presence in Hampton Roads dropped below 100,000 active-duty members in 1994 for the first time in a decade.
Despite the numbers, which are the latest available from the Navy, Hampton Roads remains the cornerstone of the fleet.
Not since 1983, when the military's presence was increasing during President Reagan's theme of ``Rearming America,'' has the military's population in Hampton Roads been that low.
Navy officials estimate that the declines, which have occurred annually since 1990, have about bottomed out locally. It is predicted that from the turn of the century on, the area's naval population will remain constant at about 100,000 and 90 to 100 ships.
The Navy accounts for at least three-fourths of the total defense department work force in the area, with the remainder being made up by Army and Air Force commands, located primarily on the Peninsula.
In Hampton Roads are some of the largest commands in the military: headquarters for the U.S. Atlantic Command, headquarters for the Atlantic Fleet, headquarters for NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic, headquarters of the Air Force Air Combat Command, headquarters for the Army's Training and Doctrine Command, headquarters for the Coast Guard's 5th District (one of 10 in the nation). The Coast Guard announced in October it will be moving its Atlantic Area command from Governors Island, N.Y., to Hampton Roads this year, bringing an additional 500 Coast Guard personnel to the region.
Compiled by the Norfolk Naval Base command, which is responsible for naval activities within a 50-mile radius of Norfolk, the latest figures available disclose that the active-duty Navy and Marine Corps population for the area was 95,817 at the end of fiscal year 1994, compared to 100,536 for fiscal year 1993.
The nearly 5,000 person drop is reflected in the loss of 13 ships during the year, 8 aircraft squadrons, 2,100 civilian defense workers and $94 million in salaries.
However, the realignments of other bases, transfers of personnel and consolidations of still other commands have worked to bolster the area's military presence here. For example, the closing of Cecil Field in Florida and changes at Miramar Naval Air Station near San Diego will mean 15 new squadrons of F-14 and F/A-18 aircraft, along with 5,000 new personnel assigned to Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach by the spring of 1999.
At the same time, Oceana is having to retire its fleet of A-6 Intruder jets.
Such comings and goings, therefore, make the calculations for Hampton Roads' military future somewhat difficult to predict.
In all, the Navy based 116 ships and 32 aircraft squadrons locally in 1994. It employed 35,514 civilians that year.
The Navy in Norfolk grew steadily through the Reagan years to a peak of 110,150 active-duty personnel, 147 ships and 48 aircraft squadrons. It then dropped to 107,800 in 1991; grew slightly to 108,050 in 1992; and dropped again to 100,536 in 1993.
By comparison, a decade earlier, in 1984, there were 102,064 active-duty personnel assigned, 126 ships, 51 aircraft squadrons and 40,736 civilian defense workers.
A decade before that, in 1974, there were 81,700 active-duty personnel, 118 ships, 37 aircraft squadrons and 35,400 civilian workers.
About the only area that increased during 1994 were the number of retired military members - from 26,374 in 1993 to 28,164 in 1994. ILLUSTRATION: Color graphic/The Virginian-Pilot
Navy Spending
Source: U.S. Navy
KEYWORDS: U.S. NAVY SPENDING NAVY POPULATION HAMPTON ROADS by CNB