Navy's top admiral 'wide open' to Fort Pickett for OLF

Fort Pickett is 100 miles from Oceana and even farther from Cherry Point. (The Virginian-Pilot file photo)

By LOUIS HANSEN
The Virginian-Pilot

The Navy's top admiral softened his stance on considering a Virginia site for an auxiliary fighter jet airstrip Thursday, as congressional delegations from North Carolina and Virginia continued to weigh in on the site for the proposed air strip.

Adm. Mike Mullen, chief of naval operations, told senators at a hearing that "my lens is wide open" to consider other sites, including Fort Pickett.

Two days before, o n Tuesday, Mullen suggested it would be difficult for the Navy to consider Fort Pickett. He said the base near Petersburg was too far from Oceana Naval Air Station and the Marine Corps air base in Cherry Point, N.C.

"We are willing to consider other options," he said. "We're trying to balance it between two bases."

The Navy prefers to build the field on farmland in Washington and Beaufort counties in North Carolina. Opponents have drawn the support of legislators.

On Wednesday, for example, two North Carolina congressmen met with Navy Secretary Donald Winter and asked him to extend the process to consider alternatives.

Navy and Marine Corps fighter jets would use the field for aircraft carrier take off and landing exercises, thus diminishing air traffic around Fentress Naval Auxiliary Landing Field in Chesapeake.

Fort Pickett is about 100 miles from Oceana, similar in distance to the Navy's preferred site in Washington County, N.C. But the Virginia Army base is much farther from the Marine Corps air base in North Carolina.

The local congressional delegation on Thursday asked Winter to be included with the Virginia governor in any discussions about a new site for an outlying field.

North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley has been discussing alternatives with the Navy, the letter said.

"Should the ongoing effort to find a new site in North Carolina fail, we would expect that the Navy had fully analyzed potential new sites in Virginia, as well as North Carolina," the letter said.

It was signed by the four members of the House of Representatives who represent Hampton Roads - Rep s. Thelma Drake, Randy Forbes, Jo Ann Davis and Bobby Scott.

Sen. John Warner, R-Va., has urged Winter to consider expanding the Navy's field of options should North Carolina reject an outlying field. Warner supports building the field in Washington County but wants the Navy to look at its options should the preferred site fall through.

North Carolina Rep. Walter Jones, who met with Winter on Wednesday, said the Navy needs to study the environmental effects more before making a decision.

Jones is concerned that the military did not thoroughly examine the risk to pilots from waterfowl surrounding the Washington County site.

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., asked Mullen about the field during Thursday's Armed Services subcommittee hearing. Webb also wants the Navy to find suitable options to support Oceana.

Mullen said the input from both congressional delegations and environmental concerns in North Carolina have given the Navy more reasons to continue studying the issue.

"We are having challenges, clearly, in North Carolina," Mullen said. "We want to get this right."