THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 22, 1995 TAG: 9502220383
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SERIES: BASE CLOSINGS:
THE FINAL ROUND
What's at stake for Hampton Roads?
SOURCE: By KERRY DEROCHI, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 158 lines
Two years ago, when members of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission threatened to shut down Oceana, politicians and civic leaders reacted with force.
They trotted out a host of Navy admirals dressed in crisp white uniforms to testify on the air station's behalf during a hearing at Chrysler Hall. They hired consultants and offered to tear down schools built too close to one of the station's two runways.
The campaign was designed to remove the Oceana Naval Air Station from the threat of closing and, by all accounts, the effort succeeded.
But this year, faced with another review by the base-closing commission, civic leaders want more than just to escape the base-closing list.
This time, they want to secure a future for the sprawling 6,000-acre base in Virginia Beach.
This time, they want to land some 163 F/A-18 Hornets.
``There's no guarantee on Oceana until the F/A-18s are programmed in there,'' said Leslie K. Fenlon Jr., a retired Navy captain and president of the Virginia Beach Council of Civic Organizations.
``Without them, Oceana's future is limited. The planes it has now will be phased out in the first 10 years of the next century. What will Oceana be then? It won't be a master jet base, that's for sure.''
As it now stands, the Hornets - the Navy's only tactical jet still in production - are headed to the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, about 200 miles south, in rural eastern North Carolina.
What Fenlon and others fear is that unless that plan is changed, Oceana will lose its place as the vaunted East Coast hub of naval aviation and take with it more than 11,000 employees and an annual $392 million payroll.
In recent weeks, Fenlon and other civic leaders have taken their campaign on the road, appearing in front of neighborhood associations, urging vocal support and warning against complacency.
``Even though you may look golden at the beginning, you might be beat-feeting later on,'' said G.L. Riendeau, a retired Navy aviation admiral.
The campaign comes as Hampton Roads braces for the fourth and final round of base closings, a round that some suggest could leave the region largely unscathed.
Navy officials are blocked from discussing the 1995 base-closing round, but those close to the process say Oceana will not be included in the list of bases that Defense Secretary William Perry will recommend to be closed.
Perry's list, compiled from recommendations from all of the military branches, is expected to be released Tuesday. It will be forwarded to the 1995 BRAC for review. The base-closing commission, made up of eight appointed commissioners, can add or subtract bases before voting on a final list by July 1.
Two years ago, it was during this review by the commission that Oceana was added to the list of possible closures.
After a series of hearings, the commission opted instead to close the mammoth Cecil Field air station outside Jacksonville, Fla., the home of the F/A-18 Hornet.
To some, the vote signaled a clear victory for Oceana, and an assurance that it would remain the premier Navy jet base on the East Coast.
To others, it sounded the death knell.
As part of the decision to close Cecil Field, the commission suggested that the prized Hornets be sent to Cherry Point. Two or three Marine Reserve squadrons were to be sent from Cecil Field to Beaufort, S.C.
Oceana was to get an anti-submarine plane, the S-3 Viking. As many as six S-3 squadrons, 58 aircraft and 1,200 personnel, are scheduled to transfer to Oceana by 1997.
Oceana now 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.
Without the F/A-18s, the number of planes at Oceana could drop to 160 in the coming years, once the A-6 Intruder is retired in September 1997 and the F-14 Tomcat squadrons dwindle.
Built to handle as many as 450 aircraft, Oceana would have a hard time justifying continued operations and could become a base-closing target.
The decision to send the Hornets to Cherry Point has come under fire in recent weeks, following reports that it could cost as much as $650 million to build new hangars, maintenance buildings and other airport facilities.
The cost of moving the planes to Oceana, which already has such facilities, would be less than $100 million.
The disparity recently drew the attention of Virginia Sen. John Warner, a Republican, who urged Navy Secretary John Dalton to ask the base-closing commission to reverse its earlier decision. Warner suggested that the Reserve Marine squadrons still be sent to Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station and that the remainder be sent to Oceana.
Warner wrote there were ``serious limitations on the resource capacity of Cherry Point.''
Citing the military value of Oceana and the economic costs of moving the jets to Cherry Point, Warner said changing the plan would provide ``a rare opportunity to increase military value while saving scarce taxpayer dollars.''
The letter was the latest effort in a lengthy, vocal campaign that has involved most of the area's congressional leaders, including Rep. Owen Pickett, D-2nd, to snare the F/A-18s for Oceana.
Riendeau, the retired aviation admiral, said timing was key in ensuring success. He warned that unless the base-closing commission or the Navy reverses the decision soon, all could be lost for Oceana.
Contracts have not been awarded for the construction at Cherry Point, but efforts are under way to solicit bids for the construction of hangars, administrative offices, taxiways and an outlying field to handle the incoming aircraft.
``If you start putting your eggs in some other basket, you're going to continue in that direction,'' Riendeau said. ``If we make a $700 million decision to improve Cherry Point, it's going to stop us from doing things at Oceana.''
At a recent gathering in the Virginia Beach City Council Chambers, Riendeau tried to convince 40 civic leaders of the need to pay attention to the base-closing process.
Citing the politics of federal base closings, Riendeau urged the civic leaders to get involved.
``It is critical for us to get the latest aircraft the Navy is buying and flying and that's the F/A-18,'' Riendeau said.
``Now is the time to strike.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
BILL TIERNAN/Staff
Navy aviation electricians Luke Sickles, left, and Jerad Geer work
on the wing of an F-14 Tomcat at Oceana Naval Air Station in
Virginia Beach. The F-14 is assigned to VF-14, nicknamed the
Tophatters. The squadron is the oldest in the Navy - 75 years old
this year.
PAUL AIKEN/Staff
Home to five aircraft carriers and scores of other ships, Norfolk is
by far the Navy's biggest port. It is likely to remain so. But make
sure the ships keep coming back, the commander of Norfolk Naval Base
has developed a blueprint for the future of the mammoth complex.
Story, Page A7.
Photos
BILL TIERNAN/Staff
Oceana Naval Air Station currently has 12 squadrons, compared with
25 a few years ago. The number of planes there could drop to 160 in
the coming years - a source of concern at a base built to handle as
many as 450 aircraft.
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/Staff
The jet engines of F-14 Tomcats and A-6 Intruders are undergoing
repairs in the Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Division at Oceana
Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach.
Graphic
JOHN CORBITT/Staff
OCEANA NAVAL AIR STATION
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
KEYWORDS: MILITARY BASES BASE CLOSINGS by CNB