THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, October 26, 1995 TAG: 9510260654
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 122 lines
The largest Navy base in the world will remove its daytime security force from its gates and open the facility to the public beginning Wednesday.
The unprecedented move is designed to let the public enjoy the Navy waterfront, its parks and other amenities, said the base commander, Rear Adm. Robert S. Cole.
Easing traffic congestion during the morning and evening rush hours for the estimated 70,000 motorists who enter the base daily is seen as the most welcomed result.
There will be no sentries to check for base decals between 5:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. Anyone with a valid driver's license and vehicle registration may enter. An enlisted person will staff certain gates to provide information to inquiring visitors.
During late-night and early-morning hours, entry still will be granted, providing motorists show a driver's license and announce their destination.
Roving security patrols will still be evident around the base during the day, and limited security on the gates will be present at night, the Navy said.
The home to nearly 100 ships, thousands of sailors and dozens of aircraft has generally been a closed, barricaded, bastion.
Just six years ago, before the Persian Gulf War, the Navy in Norfolk and military bases nationwide beefed up their base security forces, worried that international terrorism was aimed at their gates. Huge concrete blocks, barbed wire fences and fortified gates were installed at the Norfolk naval facility.
If a terrorist threat arises, or any other world event causes the base to go on alert, the base can quickly revert to a secure position, officials said.
``If there ever becomes a threat, then things will change,'' said Beth Baker, a spokeswoman for Cole's command. ``We will go back to manning the gates during those times when it's needed.''
The main reason for next week's change is ``increased customer service for the thousands of people who work and live here,'' Baker said.
Under the current system, she said, a sailor living aboard ship must obtain a pass for visiting relatives or friends. That no longer will be necessary.
Commercial vendors wanting access to the base in the past have had to obtain special decals through the base police department.
``It will reduce gate congestion, especially during peak working hours,'' Baker said. ``We will be able to take that security force (which previously manned gates) and patrol inside of the base.''
Direct access to piers and other sensitive areas still will be monitored by sentries or inside security personnel, she said.
Cole, who last month took command of the complex from retiring Rear Adm. Paul Moses, is furthering Moses' plan for the base, which called for such a move. The plan also has been endorsed by Adm. William J. Flanagan, the Atlantic Fleet commander.
In the plan, called ``2010,'' the Navy decided it could open the Norfolk Naval Station and Naval Air Station - the two main elements of the naval base complex - without jeopardizing security. Other naval facilities, at Oceana and Dam Neck in Virginia Beach, plus Little Creek, which borders Norfolk and Virginia Beach, retain gate security and admit authorized visitors only.
Fort Story in Virginia Beach, Fort Monroe in Hampton and Fort Eustis in Newport News also allow general public access during the day.
``Adm. Flanagan wants to change the landscape of the naval base,'' said Baker, ``to be enjoyed not just by sailors and civilian employees, but by everyone.''
While the Navy complex does have some parks and open spaces, it mainly serves as a mammoth industrial facility where jet engines are tested, ships hauled and equipment stored.
Norfolk's mayor, Paul D. Fraim, said the opening of the base would strengthen the longtime marriage between the civilian and military sectors of the city, as well as help industries like tourism.
``We are, in fact, family, and we are finding more ways to act like family,'' he said. ``Norfolk citizens will have access to the waterfront and the base, and it will just open up a new era of strengthened relationship.''
Cole has said he sees an opportunity for private companies to invest in the base infrastructure, including the construction of parking garages on the waterfront and an amphitheater. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot
Gate 2, late-afternoon traffic. Starting Wednesday, decals on
entering cars won't be checked from 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
STAFFING AT GATES
The following gates at Norfolk Naval Base will be staffed between
5:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. with an enlisted person, in a ``customer
service greeting mode,'' who can provide information and will be
open every day, around the clock:
Gate 2, at the north end of Hampton Boulevard.
Gate 3-A, at the north end of I-564 at Bainbridge Avenue.
Gate 4, at Bay Avenue in Ocean View.
Gate 5 on Hampton Boulevard at B Avenue and the Surface Ship and
Submarine Piers.
``Proceed'' signs will be at all those gates. All motorists may
drive on through, without having to be waved through or held up,
unless they need to stop for directions or information.
These gates will be unstaffed, but open, between 5:30 a.m. and 9
p.m.:
Gates 1 at the northwest end of Hampton Boulevard at Taussig
Boulevard.
Gate 3 at the northeast end of I-564 at Bellinger Boulevard.
Gate 10 at the end of A Street near Willoughby Housing.
Gate 22 off Granby Street at Patrol Road across from Forest Lawn
Cemetery.
Visitors will not need a base pass; they should simply drive on
base.
Between 9 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. two personnel will be at the 24-hour
gates. There, if a vehicle has a base decal, it is waved through. If
not, the driver is checked for a valid driver's license and asked
his or her destination, then allowed to proceed.
The only reasons a vehicle would be turned away at the gate:
The driver has no license.
The driver's destination and circumstances for being there are
questionable.
A letter of exclusion on base is recognized.
The driver's license has expired.
- Staff report
by CNB