 After
final public hearing, no hint at Oceana's future
By LOUIS HANSEN, The Virginian-Pilot © August 21, 2005 Last updated: 1:08 AM
Some expressed doubt the ideal place for the base would be in either state. The members of the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission said the former Navy air base at Cecil Field remained a viable option, and they acknowledged there is no ideal solution to the encroachment around Oceana Naval Air Station. “You’ve got your work cut out for you,” Commissioner James V. Hansen told the Virginia delegation. “You might be on the right track, maybe 20 years too late.” The special meeting was the last public hearing to consider closing or downsizing Oceana , the Navy’s E ast C oast hub for attack jets and Virginia Beach’s largest employer. The Navy has stated Oceana is the only viable East Coast base for the fighter squadrons. The commission’s decision is expected later this week. The nine-member panel voted in July to consider closing Oceana. Chairman Anthony J. Principi asked Florida Gov. Jeb Bush for a proposal to re open Cecil Field Naval Air Station. Bush down played political motives behind Florida receiving a special hearing, denying speaking about the matter with his brother, President George W. Bush. On Saturday, the Virginia and Florida delegations attacked the issues and each other, while assuring commissioners that most of their own shortcomings could be fixed. Each side came with promises. Florida officials stated that Cecil Field could be re-established within six years. Bush said the state would welcome the military with new, subsidized housing and better access roads to the rural base, which is 15 miles from downtown Jacksonville. The state and city have pledged $200 million to relocate tenants at the Cecil Commerce Center, the industrial park at the former base. An additional $130 million would go toward a new access road to the facility. Federal, state and local governments already have contributed $133 million worth of improvements. Florida congressman Ander Crenshaw told commissioners it was the “opportunity of a lifetime.” Several former Navy pilots and top brass said the Virginia base had become too dangerous for young pilots to train. Retired Adm. Stan Arthur said one mistake flying on to a carrier “can often result in a fatality.” John Leehouts, a retired Navy pilot who flew from both bases, said the bombing ranges and ability to fly with other military branches based in Florida made Cecil Field ideal. Military operations ceased at the rural north Florida base in 1999. Years of industrial use made it a Superfund clean-up site, and local officials struggled to create a new identity for the 18,000-acre base. The city of Jacksonville has lured military and aviation-related businesses to the commerce park but has failed to reclaim the 9,500 jobs the facility generated in the early 1990s. Fewer than one in five jobs remains. Virginia leaders testified they had made tangible steps to slow growth around Oceana. The city and state have teamed up to spend $15 million to purchase the property underneath a proposed condominium development in the high-risk area. The city has pledged an additional $160 million to purchase development rights for properties along the corridor between Oceana and Fentress Naval Auxiliary Landing Field in Chesapeake. A bi partisan group of state lawmakers also has agreed to new legislation restricting inappropriate development. “We have heard, loud and clear, your concerns about encroachment,” Gov. Mark R. Warner told the panel. Virginia officials also argued that re opening the Florida base was filled with uncertainty and could be more costly than anticipated. They said heavy commercial air traffic between Cecil Field and the Atlantic Ocean would interfere with training operations. Estimates to re open Cecil Field have ranged from $250 million by a Jacksonville consultant to $1.6 billion by Navy planners. U.S. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., said spending additional money to replace a viable base would be a waste of taxpayers’ money. “Oceana remains the best site,” he said. U.S. Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., did not attend the hearing, citing other commitments. But in a recent letter to Principi, Warner questioned the legality and practicality of basing the Navy’s active jet fighters at a closed military base. The rivalry between the two bases dates to the 1993 round of base closings. The Navy pitted Oceana against Cecil Field and two other air bases for the principal home to the service’s top strike fighters. Cecil Field scored higher marks for military value. But Oceana supported a classified mission that commissioners deemed too important and immovable. Oceana survived. Cecil Field closed. Twelve years later, a new BRAC panel has shown little indication of its members’ leanings. Many said the Virginia base had serious flaws, and it was their job to consider all viable options. They doubted the Navy’s $1.6 billion estimate to re open Cecil Field. Commissioner Harold W. Gehman Jr. , a retired admiral and former commander of the U.S. Joint Forces Command, asked if Florida would still grant its incentives to receive only part of Oceana’s operations. Bush said the incentives would only make sense for the entire base. Commissioner James H. Bilbray praised the Virginia delegation for its presentation and said Florida officials now had to come up with more certified data to make their case. Principi said the commission will face numerous difficult decisions when it votes on a final list this week. The commission must finalize its recommendations by Sept. 8. “There are some really tough ones,” Principi said. “Oceana is a really tough one.” Reach Louis Hansen at (757) 446-2322 or louis.hansen@pilotonline.com. |
