THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, July 31, 1996 TAG: 9607310433
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 88 lines
The Navy's amphibious base at Little Creek is ready to grow, but new tenants need to bring money, says its outgoing commander.
The base straddling the Norfolk-Virginia Beach border is the largest of its kind in the world.
And it may get bigger still, Capt. John E. O'Neil Jr. will tell you.
Everyone, it seems, wants a piece of Little Creek.
With three miles of beachfront on the Chesapeake Bay, a 22-foot-deep harbor that's home to 27 ships, more than 2,200 acres of land, a $150 million annual operating budget and nearly 14,000 military and civilian workers assigned, Little Creek, at 51, is aging well.
``A lot of other commands want to come here,'' said O'Neil, just prior to giving up his three-year command for a new assignment as deputy and chief of staff for the Atlantic Fleet Training Command in Norfolk.
``They have to come with money, because I don't have enough. But I have room.''
Not only are displaced Navy facilities from across the country coming here, but Army, Air Force and Marine Corps units also like what it has to offer.
``The Air Force comes here to set up radars. . . . They practice tracking airplanes coming into Norfolk International Airport,'' O'Neil said. ``The Marines are here (and) their schools are expanding. The Navy's leadership school here is expanding.
``We are getting the Navy's underway replenishment trainer school'' from the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, Calif., which was ordered closed this year. A $10 million project. We'll pick up another 300 to 400 students a year.
``The Army is doing more and more here, sending their landing craft from Fort Eustis because it is closer (to the Chesapeake Bay) when they want to exercise.''
If Fort Eustis doesn't put more money into its own port facilities on the James River, O'Neil believes they will be forced to send some of their craft to Little Creek, as well.
And, he said: ``We've had a lot of people ask to share our harbor.''
The Virginia Marine Responder, a marine environment protection vessel, is looking for a permanent berth at Little Creek. Research vessels from Old Dominion University and Tidewater Community College also are berthed there.
While not opening advertising for new tenants, O'Neil has heard from other commands that like the base's central location and its unique assets.
The Navy's Special Warfare Command, which oversees the elite 2,000-member SEAL teams at Little Creek, is perhaps the fastest-growing segment in the Navy.
Soon it will be adding 10 new Mark 5 special warfare boats to the fleet of nearly 200 small, fast boats that already are here. In addition, the base is to receive three new mini-submarines the SEALS will use.
``They asked (in mid-July) for a place to put them,'' said O'Neil. ``They are true submarines, diesel/electric-powered, and will be here in a year and a half.''
Already there are nine large amphibious ships at Little Creek, nine fast coastal patrol boats and nine salvage and rescue ships and miscellaneous vessels.
O'Neil, who turned over his command last Friday to Capt. David A. Schwiering, previously assigned to the Chief of Naval Operations Office in Washington, said Little Creek's future is solid.
It was never overly concerned during past rounds of base closings and has worked hard on efficiencies that should ensure its worth in years ahead, he said.
A new fire station, indoor small-arms firing range and barracks buildings, renovations to base housing and open base access policy have given the place a new, modern look, he said.
Efforts to switch to gas heating is well under way, allowing the base eventually to eliminate the less efficient steam heating system - along with miles of ugly, above-ground steam lines.
While many people living in the 840 base housing units don't like the new open base policy, O'Neil said, it has created few new problems.
``There's no more theft than usual,'' he said. ``A lot more people are poking around, but I've not seen a significant problem.''
The most serious new problem the open base policy has caused, he said, is people coming on base to dispose of trash, some of it containing toxic materials.
O'Neil's successor may well have to use the gate locks on the trash cans in the future. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MOTOYA NAKAMURA, The Virginian-Pilot
Capt. John E. O'Neil Jr., outgoing commander of the Navy's
amphibious base at Little Creek, says the 51-year-old, 2,200-acre
base is aging well. Look for its ongoing growth to continue, O'Neil
says: ``A lot of other commands want to come here. They have to come
with money, because I don't have enough. But I have room.'' by CNB