NORFOLK
The Hampton Roads congressional delegation on Friday lobbied Secretary of the Navy Donald Winter to postpone a decision that could move an aircraft carrier to Florida.
The delegation is concerned that shifting a carrier to Mayport Naval Station near Jacksonville would take a ship, sailors and their families away from Virginia.
U.S. Rep. Randy Forbes said the Navy was moving too fast on the decision. It could cost as much $500 million to prepare Mayport for a nuclear carrier.
Forbes said the move would be too costly in the current economic climate and strategically unnecessary.
"It certainly merits us to just take a breath," said Forbes, a Republican from Chesapeake. Representatives Bobby Scott, D-Newport News, Thelma Drake, R-Norfolk, and Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland County, also met with Winter.
Florida leaders have openly coveted the aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush, being built at Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Newport News shipyard.
The Navy is considering 13 alternatives for the northern Florida base, which has seen its fleet dwindle.
Mayport lost its lone conventional-powered carrier, the decommissioned John F. Kennedy, and the Navy also plans to phase out frigates based there by 2014.
The Navy released a draft report in March, with the goal of finding the best use for the facility. A decision on the base's future is expected in December or early January.
Mayport would need major improvements to its piers and facilities, as well as dredging, to accommodate a nuclear carrier, according to the Navy.
Forbes said Winter listened to the concerns at a closed-door meeting but showed no indication that he would delay a choice. No specific ships were discussed.
Forbes said the Navy has more pressing commitments to build and repair ships and increase the size of the fleet.
Scott said: "You cannot possibly save any money moving a carrier to Mayport."
The economic impact of an aircraft carrier is estimated at $400 million to
$500 million annually for a host region, said Frank Roberts, director of the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance.
Louis Hansen, (757) 446-2322, louis.hansen@pilotonline.com
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It’s going to happen
This has been in the works for years. Do you really need more traffic congestion here?
Spread the wealth
The GW Bush isn't even crewed up fully yet, so there won't be much impact on the number of people involved in moving to FL. And keep in mind that each of them has to return to VA for their big refits. So there is a gain for the state in many ways.
And like others have said, remember your history, Dec 7, 1941. And the thought that we are not afraid of a country with many big weapons. It is the lone radical with one or two that we need to be worried about.
Did we learn NOTHING
I can only imagine how happy the Japanese Naval High-Command would have been had they caught our flat-tops sitting in Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7th, 1941. I would also imagine our congressional would be quite indignate if terrorists sank a container ship in our channel to bottle up our carriers in Hampton Roads and then started trouble in an area of the world where we needed to send them.
Send the carrier to Mayport, spread the risk and the traffic.
Mayport carrier move doesn't go far enough
Carriers and other ships should be should disbursed at many ports, including Mayport, Charleston, Norfolk, and Boston. For strategic reasons, no more than one carrier should be based in one port. I know it costs more, but the security of our capital ships is too important to risk. One attack at Naval Station Norfolk could damage or destroy as much as half of the U.S. carrier force. Good leadership is the key. It is just not smart to place so many high value assets in one port. Apparently, we don't remember the lesson the Japanese Navy taught us at Pearl Harbor in 1941.
I agree with most of the
I agree with most of the comments here. Do what's best for the Navy and national defense. The impact on the local economy should be of no concern at all. These local politicians should not even be part of the debate. It's up to the DOD and the DOD alone.
I think the delegation as stated:
"The delegation is concerned that shifting a carrier to Mayport Naval Station near Jacksonville would take a ship, sailors and their families away from Virginia."
Is more concerned about the lost tax base and revenue than the military and its families. Everything is always about the money and how do they get more, and in these queasy economic times, it will be even more so.
I find it strange...
That the Hampton Roads area wants the nuclear carrier and the money that goes with it, but yet, they don't want the jets and the noise they produce? How do you people sleep at night?
Please politicians,
locate the carrier where the nation's best interest would have it. I think it is an honor for the Tidewater Area, oops, Hampton Roads area to be so rich in naval presence. I hope the area stays that way but more than that I hope we allow the USN to use their expertise to decide where and how to operate. If the ship would better serve us in Mayport, send it to Mayport.
It makes sense
I shuddder everytime I drive past the base on the HRBT and see most of our carrier force sitting like a row of ducks in a gallery. It just makes sense to split up the ships so they don't make a juicy target. Bad enough if the carriers get hit but since the shipyard that builds them is just on the other side of the water replacement would be a problem.
John945777 is correct. .
It's absolutely baffling whey the DOD keeps all these ships right in Hampton Roads. They should station a couple of carriers in Mayport in my opinion. And yes, the DOD seems to be following states intesest not the Navy's as evidenced by Oceana still existing as a MJB, when the pilots already have to make compromises in their training. Oceana's jets should go to Cecil Field in Florida.
A Carrier Needs To Go
A carrier needs to go to Florida not for economic or political reasons but for National Defense. We are putting all our eggs in one basket again. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.
aircraft carriers homeport
I served for 26 years in the navy, with two tours on carriers. During the 70's the navy started moving many ships to different home ports, in part, to avoid another Pearl Harbor attack. If a nuke were to hit Norfolk naval base now, our navy would be crippled. Don't bet that it will never happen. The USA can't afford to gamble on world stability forever. It takes a great deal of time to build up other naval bases in order to service the needs of ships. Lets start the process now.
Moving a CVN to Mayport
Unfortunately the congressmen, both here in Hampton Roads and in Florida, are only concerned with what's best for their respective regions economically. They are not concerned what's best for the Navy and national defense.