THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 23, 1995 TAG: 9505230252
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 132 lines
The destroyer Deyo, one of nine South Carolina warships being reassigned to Norfolk, arrived Monday - its crew hoping, but not sure, that Norfolk will be the place they settle.
The Deyo, one of 14 warships reassigned to Norfolk because of base closings elsewhere, brings to Hampton Roads 355 crew members, a $12 million annual payroll and about 175 more families.
Overall, the 14 new Norfolk-based ships account for about 3,450 more sailors and $114 million in annual salaries. That's about how many people work at Smithfield Foods, the seventh-largest nongovernment employer in Hampton Roads.
``It's hard to get everybody to understand in a climate of downsizing that there can be places that are actually growing,'' said Capt. Christopher E. Weaver, commanding officer of Norfolk Naval Station, who was at the pier to greet his newest tenant.
``We are soon going to have up to 100 ships here,'' he said.
If Adm. Mike Boorda, chief of naval operations, succeeds in slowing the planned retirement of about 15 guided-missile frigates, ``then those ships will have to go someplace,'' Weaver said.
Norfolk and Mayport, Fla., will be the only remaining East Coast Navy ports for surface ships. Base-closing decisions authorized in 1993 are shutting down Navy ports at Newport, R.I., Staten Island, N.Y., and Charleston.
The 14 reassigned vessels help balance the planned retirement of 21 Norfolk-based ships during the same time frame. Eight new ships are being based in Norfolk, as well.
With about 25 ships at Little Creek Naval Amphibious Base, the area is home to 125 Navy ships - the largest concentration in the Navy. By comparison, San Diego has 56 ships.
Crew members aboard the Deyo, and their families, were happy about arriving in Norfolk but uncertain how long they will be staying. The ship soon will undergo a 13-month overhaul at one of three East Coast yards.
Still, the mood in Norfolk beats Charleston's, said Susan Kight, who moved to Hampton Roads three weeks ago with her two sons, ages 8 months and 5 years.
Military services - such as medical and dental care and commissaries - are dwindling as the South Carolina base nears its final days.
``It's closing down - not only the base, but the stores are closing, too,'' she said.
``We lived in base housing, and there used to be traffic gridlock in the mornings. But today you can drive right through. There's nobody left. It's very sad.''
Kight, who was waiting for her husband, Chris, a petty officer second class, said they have moved to Hampton and are excited about being near Coliseum Mall shopping center.
``I really like it here. There's lots of variety, lots of stores,'' she said.
The Kight family is among only a few dozen that have made the move.
``We still have a lot of people sitting on boxes down there, wondering where our overhaul will be,'' said Ann Maydosz, the wife of the ship's captain.
A contract award on the upcoming overhaul has not been announced, leaving many families wondering where they should move.
``It will be a problem,'' said Cmdr. Jeffery Maydosz, the Deyo's commanding officer, especially if the overhaul is not done in Hampton Roads.
``It will force us to do three homeport changes in two years,'' he said.
Maydosz said he hopes to learn the location soon so families concerned about the next school year will have time to relocate.
The overhaul is being bid by at least three shipyards in Hampton Roads, plus others in Bath, Maine, and Pascagoula, Miss.
The overhaul of two other ships reassigned to Norfolk - the Klakring and the Estocin - has been awarded to Colonna's Shipyard in Norfolk.
``We have about 100 families (still in Charleston) that are ready to just jump on the area here,'' said Maydosz.
``But they don't want to move until they actually hear.'' ILLUSTRATION: BETH BERGMAN/Staff color photos
The destroyer Deyo, above, arrived in Norfolk on Monday, bringing a
crew of 355, an annual payroll of $12 million and about 175 more
families.
Anina Foster embraces her husband, Intelligence Specialist Stephen
Foster, on the Deyo.
Graphic
How many new ships?
11 frigates, 2 destroyers, 1 cruiser
When
Through September 1995
Total crews
3,450
Cruiser: 385
Destroyers: 350 each
Frigates: 215 each
Total payroll
$114 million
Each destroyer has about 355 crew members and about $12 million
in annual payroll.
Each frigate has about 215 crew members and about $7 million in
annual payroll.
Each guided-missile cruiser has about 385 crew members and about
$13.3 million in annual payroll.
IN FROM CHARLESTON, S.C.
Destroyers
Thorn
Deyo
Guided-missile frigate Elrod
Still to come
GUIDED-MISSILE FRIGATES
Hawes
Nicholas
Carr
Halyburton
Robert G. Bradley
Klakring
IN FROM NEWPORT, R.I.
GUIDED-MISSILE FRIGATES
Estocin
Clark
Simpson
Kauffman
IN FROM STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.
Guided-missile cruiser Normandy
KEYWORDS: MILITARY BASES U.S. NAVY by CNB