THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 2, 1995 TAG: 9502020348
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Virginia Sen. John W. Warner has urged Navy Secretary John Dalton to help reverse the decision of a base closure commission and bring the Navy's fleet of 163 F/A-18 Hornet jets to Oceana Naval Air Station.
In a letter to Dalton on Tuesday, Warner said that the decision of the 1993 commission to move the jets to Cherry Point, N.C., may have been wise at that time, but ``subsequent events in the right sizing of our forces and weapons systems represent a changed circumstance for which corrective action is warranted.''
Warner's formal request is the latest public push for what other area congressmen, including Rep. Owen B. Pickett, have been doing behind the scenes for some months. Pickett, whose 2nd District encompasses Virginia Beach and Norfolk, had been urging similar action from Dalton.
The 1993 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, which closed the F/A-18s' base at Cecil Field, Fla., had recommended that those aircraft be moved to the Marine Corps air stations at Cherry Point and Beaufort, S.C.
The F/A-18s, though in production since the 1970s, are seen as the future of Navy aviation because newer aircraft programs have been eliminated.
Bringing Hornets to Oceana is a top priority for community leaders and retired military officers trying to save the base. Oceana has an annual economic impact of at least $542 million on the area.
Both Warner and Pickett have joined other public officials in leading an aggressive, coordinated effort to obtain the planes. There is concern that as Oceana loses its A-6 Intruder jets, deemed obsolete, and its F-14 Tomcat fighters, a victim of downsizing, that there will be little else for the base to count on for business.
Today, Oceana has 12 squadrons, compared with 25 a few years ago. With the 11 squadrons of Hornets would come 15,000 people - 5,000 Navy personnel and their families.
Warner has asked Dalton to request a reversal of the 1993 decision by the new base closure commission that is preparing to meet for a final round of closings.
Dalton is expected to pass along the Navy's recommendations for base closings to Defense Secretary William Perry by Feb. 15. Perry must submit the entire list to the commission by March 15.
Specifically, Warner suggested that two or three of the F/A-18 Reserve squadrons at Cecil Field be transferred to Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station and that the remainder be sent to Oceana.
The 1993 closure commission already has recommended that Oceana receive six squadrons (58 planes) of S-3 Viking anti-submarine planes that will be transferred from Cecil Field.
Warner said he has evaluated the military value, economic cost and environmental factors concerning the proposed move to Cherry Point.
Citing an environmental assessment prepared for the consolidation of the Naval Aviation Depot at Cherry Point, plus other information he has obtained, Warner said there are ``serious limitations on the resource capacity'' of Cherry Point.
``Sufficiency of fresh water, waste water treatment, heavy metal contamination of the Neuse River and Albemarle and Pamlico sounds, ground water runoff issues, the development of an outlying landing field and the dramatic increase in aviation noise are but several of the difficulties which bode ill for the assignment of the Cecil Field aircraft to Cherry Point,'' Warner wrote.
He also cited higher costs, saying that the military will have to spend between $400 million and $525 million at Cherry Point on hangar buildings, administrative offices, taxiways and an outlying practice field to handle the new aircraft.
Oceana has existing facilities and can accept the F/A-18s at a fraction of the cost, Warner said. He estimated it would take less than 20 percent of the projected investment to move the planes to Oceana.
Warner called the change ``a rare opportunity to increase military value while saving scarce taxpayer dollars.''
KEYWORDS: BRAC COMMISSION OCEANA NAVAL AIR STATION JOHN WARNER by CNB