| Hampton Roads officials applaud defense plans |
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| Written by HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com |
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Authors: HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com
By Bill Bartel
according to their income.
The Virginian-Pilot © February 15, 2012 WASHINGTON Members of Hampton Roads' congressional delegation generally were pleased with parts of the Obama administration's defense budget proposal that focus on continued funding for shipbuilding and ship repair and keeping intact the Norfolk-based fleet of five aircraft carriers. But some aspects of the budget plan, including a proposal for two rounds of base closings, next year and again in 2015, did not sit well with the legislators, who said the Pentagon should begin by targeting overseas bases rather than those at home. And they had mixed reactions to proposed changes in veterans health care benefits that would require working-age military retirees to pay larger fees, varying The budget proposal, which calls for spending $614 billion next year but which defense officials said will save $259 billion over the next five years, follows a new defense strategy that involves large reductions in Army and Marine Corps personnel over time while shifting emphasis to more mobile Navy and Air Force units. Included in the proposal is $5 billion budgeted for ship maintenance - $457 million more than this year - that will, in part, be spent in Hampton Roads, legislators said. The Navy plans to keep intact an 11-carrier fleet, which means continuing a multiyear schedule for constructing new carriers and keeping a steady cycle of work overhauling and refueling the existing carriers. All the work is done at Newport News Shipbuilding. In 2013, the shipyard will begin a three-year project to deactivate the Enterprise, the world's first nuclear-powered carrier. The effort, which involves defueling the half-century-old ship, will cost $900 million. Three locally based ships - a cruiser, fast-attack submarine and a dock landing ship - will be decommissioned under the spending plan. At least three ships that are part of an amphibious ready group will be heading to Mayport, Fla. However, the Navy announced Tuesday that the hospital ship Comfort, now based in Baltimore, will be homeported in Norfolk starting in March 2013. Overall, the number of sailors and Marines stationed in Hampton Roads will drop by 3,000 to about 111,000. Given the depth of the military presence in Virginia, the loss is not too severe considering the cutbacks that will be felt elsewhere, said U.S. Sen. Mark Warner. "I'd love it if we had not lost anything, but it's hard to make the case," Warner said. The Pentagon's desire for another Base Realignment and Closure Commission - known as BRAC - to select bases for shutdown will get resistance from the delegation. Sen. Jim Webb and U.S. Reps. Scott Rigell and Bobby Scott said the military first needs to look abroad and conduct what Webb called a "good hard scrub" of foreign operations before considering closing bases in the United States. Elected officials have said Virginia and Hampton Roads are in a better position to defend their military bases today than in 2005, when the recommendation came to close Oceana Naval Air Station because of the Navy's concerns about development interfering with the base's flight operations. Caught by surprise, state and local elected leaders scrambled to put together a defense. Virginia Beach and state leaders eventually agreed to spend tens of millions of dollars buying property around the base to appease the Navy's concerns. Virginia Beach Mayor Will Sessoms said if another BRAC Commission comes, "There's no question we're better prepared than we were last time. A tremendous amount of lessons were learned from 2005." But Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Chesapeake, said nothing is certain. "Whenever you have a BRAC, it's a crapshoot," he said. "Even if you think something is secure, you don't know." Forbes said he would expect to exert some influence as chairman of a readiness subcommittee that would have to approve any BRAC legislation. He had sharp criticism of the Navy for backing off its plans for a 313-ship fleet, arguing that the new goal of a 286-ship fleet is not adequate. The Pentagon proposal to mitigate fast-rising medical expenses by requiring some military retirees who are still of working age to pay more for Tricare coverage drew varying levels of concern. Rigell, whose district includes one of the largest concentrations of veterans in the country, said the Defense Department should not renege on a promise it made to veterans to cover health care. The military should look for savings somewhere else, he said. "You've got to do what you've got to do. You honor the commitment," said Rigell, a Virginia Beach Republican. Scott, a Newport News Democrat, agreed. Webb, a Democrat, said any increases in Tricare fees should be linked to cost-of-living increases. Warner, also a Democrat, said he wants to dig deeper into the issue but said it's not practical to have no increases in fees given the rise in medical costs. Pilot writer Aaron Applegate contributed to this report. Read more http://hamptonroads.com/2012/02/hampton-roads-officials-applaud-defense-plans |
