U.S. Sen. John Warner

U.S. Sen. John W. Warner on Friday blasted the federal military base closure commission, saying its decision to hold a new hearing on replacing Oceana Naval Air Station is illegal and “threatens the integrity” of the base closure process.

In a tough letter to Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission Chairman Anthony J. Principi, Warner rebuked the commission’s move this week to consider reopening Cecil Field in Florida to replace Oceana in Virginia Beach.

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush asked BRAC to investigate the Cecil Field option after Principi broached the possibility to him.

Warner, R-Va. and chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote to Principi: “Is it appropriate to have what may be perceived as a public auction at a time when the personnel and resources at Naval Air Station Oceana are serving the wartime needs of this nation?”

Saying BRAC’s action “appears to stand in violation” of federal base closure law, Warner asked for a prompt response because he is conferring with Virginia Beach and the state “with regard to their legal rights.”

The two states are again locked in fierce battle over the fighter jets – and huge economic and community benefits – of Oceana , a competition that has lasted for more than a decade.

The nine-member commission is considering whether to recommend closing or downsizing the Virginia Beach installation because suburban development has compromised training and safety.

Virginia elected officials said they were told late Thursday that the commission would hold a special hearing on alternatives to Oceana. On Friday, more details emerged about the public hearing, and Virginia officials acknowledged that saving Oceana is now in a life-or-death struggle.

“We should assume a worst-case scenario,” said George Foresman, an assistant to Gov. Mark R. Warner. “Everybody involved is very concerned.”

State and federal officials said the hearing will be held Aug. 20 in Washington, D.C., and will focus solely on Florida’s proposal. Both states are expected to be allowed to argue their case. A BRAC Commission spokesman did not return several phone messages Friday.

Elected leaders in North Carolina and Texas also have submitted proposals to attract Oceana, the Navy’s East Coast hub for fighter jets.

Responding to Principi’s inquiry in late July, Gov. Bush pulled together an offer to re-establish the Jacksonville-area installation closed by another BRAC Commission in 1993.

Federal, state and local governments have spent $133 million to improve Cecil Field since the Navy closed it and sent most of its squadron to Oceana in 1999.

In an Aug. 1 letter to commissioners, Gov. Bush said public money had been spent to upgrade the control tower, eight hangars, utilities, drains and roads throughout the complex. Jacksonville has secured another $130 million for a road to provide better access to Cecil Field, he added.

The Florida governor also promised to accelerate the road project and work with the Florida Legislature to find additional money and support for the base. Gov. Bush assured the commission that current civilian tenants of Cecil Field can be removed so the property can return to the Department of Defense.

Ownership of some of Cecil Field has been turned over to state and local agencies. The city of Jacksonville estimates that the cost to reopen the installation would be $250 million.

But Sen. Warner said the BRAC Commission is explicitly prohibited from considering promises – or “advanced conversion training” – from affected communities.

“Congress specifically intended for the Commission not to exhaust valuable resources and time reviewing complex promises and proposals from affected communities,” he wrote.

John Ullyot, a Warner spokesman, said the senator is a strong defender of the process, having co-written the original law and its amendments since 1990.

“He’s very serious that the commission is breaking the law in this case,” he said.

The commission must consider only the present military values of the installation, he said, adding “they can’t shoehorn into that process what the Navy might want in 10 or 15 years.”

In his letter, Sen. Warner also said the commission was ignoring recent testimony from Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Mullens that Oceana is the Navy’s choice for its master jet base.

Virginia officials said holding a fresh hearing just days before voting whether to recommend to President Bush whether Oceana’s status should be changed skews the process.

Foresman, who heads up the Virginia Department of Commonwealth Preparedness, said the new hearing intensifies the fight over Oceana.

“On a scale of one to 10,” Foresman said, “this is probably a seven.”

The state remains committed to working with the commission to protect against further encroachments, he said.

Virginia and Florida have tangled over hosting the master jet base since the early 1990s, when the Defense Department decided to contract and close unnec essary bases in the post-Cold War era.

The 1993 BRAC Commission found Cecil Field wasn’t being fully used and that other East Coast air stations had higher priority missions.

The commissioners thought the Navy overstated the air space encroachment troubles at Cecil Field but still chose to relocate its fighter jets to Oceana and Beaufort Marine Corps Air Station in South Carolina.

nReach Louis Hansen at (757) 446-2322orlouis.hansen@pilotonline.com.