Thursday, May 12, 2005

Brunswick awaits news of potential Naval Air Station closing BRUNSWICK — Retirees Roy Peddle and Roy Holmblad often have their quiet lives interrupted by the roar of P-3 Orions flying over their homes. Peddle says he doesn't mind that his home is near the flight path of the airplanes that have been flying in and out of the Brunswick Naval Air Station for more than 50 years. Holmblad, who lives next door, also doesn't mind the noise. He is a retired Navy flight engineer... Jittery Brunswick holds breath (Portland Press Herald) As I mentioned yesterday, my father (a retired Naval Flight Officer with over 5000 hours in the aforementioned P-3 Orions) and I both think Brunswick is going to be closed.  Our reasoning is fairly simple.  There is no longer a need for two P-3 bases on the east coast.  So one of the two bases should be closed.  The choices are Brunswick (Maine) and Jacksonville (Florida).  Of the two places, (my father was stationed at both, with me tagging along as a kid, of course) Jacksonville is the friendlier place for members of the military.  The community supports its local servicemen 365 days a year, every year.  My experienc in Maine (from '91-'03) was that a significant amount of the people in Maine were pro-military only to the point of pro-not-getting-their-base-closed (with a smaller amount being pro base closure).   Of course, the climate in Jacksonville beats Brunswick.  As for 'strategic value' it is a draw at the moment.  Before 9/11 a significant amount of P-3 activity on the east coast was centered around the Carribean (counter drug ops).  P-3s have since been key players in Operations Enduring and Iraqi Freedom.  Looking towards the future, it is arguable that we will always have more to worry about to our south then to our north.  But at the moment our concerns are not local, so I consider the issue to be a draw.  An issue I am not weighing in this, but does also support Jacksonville is that it is more of a fleet center than Brunswick is (because of the nearby Mayport Naval Station).  With one issue being a draw and the other being advantage Jacksonville, it is reasonable to expect that if an east coast P-3 base is to be closed that it will be Brunswick. Military comment []1:17:05 PM   trackback []

Life-saving sailors On April 29, the crew of USS Normandy was training for what to do if it ever took on a captured crew of smugglers. That's the kind of thing the guided missile cruiser does in the Gulf of Aden, the western finger of the Arabian Sea. "We want to deny the use of the seas to international terrorist organizations," said Capt. Stephen Hampton, the Normandy's commander. That night, the ship instead hosted nearly 90 Somalis whose overwhelmed dhow capsized en route to Yemen. About 41 people were lost to those waters, including children, according to the boat's skipper. Both the dead and the saved changed the Norfolk-based crews of the USS Normandy, USS Firebolt and USS Typhoon forever... 'Act of sheer bravery' changes Norfolk Crew (Daily Press, Hampton Roads) Military comment []12:50:46 PM   trackback []