THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 3, 1996 TAG: 9602030327
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
The Navy formally notified Congress on Friday that it will complete longstanding plans to eliminate just over 2,000 civilian jobs in Hampton Roads this year and about 13,000 more at other installations nationwide.
Most of the losses were announced more than two years ago when the Norfolk Naval Aviation Depot was planned for closure.
But transfers of uniformed and civilian personnel into the area are expected to more than make up for the losses. At Oceana Naval Air Station alone, more than 5,300 troops and civilians are to be added to the work force during the next few years as a result of decisions by the 1995 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission.
The new jobs are coming to Oceana through transfers of F-14 Tomcat squadrons from California and F/A-18 Hornet squadrons from Florida. It was unclear Friday how many of those positions will be moved into the area during 1996.
The list released Friday says Oceana will lose 12 civilian jobs this year, but a base spokesman said those figures may already be out of date and officials at the Virginia Beach base don't expect to lose any employees.
Hampton Roads was one of a handful of military communities to actually gain jobs as a result of the base closure process last year. The area took a substantial hit in the 1993 round of closures, losing the Norfolk Naval Aviation Depot and the Norfolk Detachment of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, along with several smaller commands.
Most of the local job cuts projected this year, including the final 1,950 jobs at the Norfolk depot, grow out of base closing decisions.
But some other jobs are being eliminated as the Navy continues ``rightsizing its infrastructure,'' said a letter signed by Capt. Jay M. Cohen, the service's deputy chief of legislative affairs.
The Navy and the other military branches have been cutting their civilian work forces, along with the number of people in uniform, since the end of the Cold War.
The Navy said it expects more one-third of the employees whose jobs are to disappear this year to accept buy-out offers from the government and give up their jobs voluntarily. The rest will be laid off, though the Navy said it will try to help them find jobs in the Defense Department or other government agencies. ILLUSTRATION: EXPECTED CUTS
Navy jobs expected to be eliminated in Hampton Roads in 1996:
Oceana Naval Air Station: 12
* Naval Aviation Depot, Norfolk: 1,950
Fleet Industrial Supply Center, Norfolk: 15
* Naval Education Training Program, Norfolk: 8
Naval Air Force, Atlantic Fleet, Norfolk: 5
Naval Imaging Command, Atlantic, Norfolk: 1
Fleet Aviation Specialized Operational Training Group, Norfolk:
5
* Human Resource Office, Norfolk 35
Atlantic Fleet headquarters, Norfolk: 4
Fleet Combat Training Center, Atlantic, Virginia Beach: 3
Fleet Training Center, Norfolk: 2
* - Denotes actions being taken because of base closure
commission decisions
KEYWORDS: MILITARY BASES BRAC COMMISSION BASE CLOSINGS by CNB