Navy To Cut 16,000 Jobs

HAMPTON ROADS—

Being a good Sailor just isn't enough these days.

In the era of shrinking defense budgets, the Navy is now looking to axe about 1 percent of its workforce, all from mid-level enlisted ranks, and even some close to retirement.

"I think it's a shame. Anybody with that much time obligated that they have already done, that they would have to go out," said Gunnar Godjonsson.

Godjonsson is just one of the many retired miilitary vets who frequent VFW Post 392 in Virginia Beach. The former Marine major couldn't imagine being forced out of the career he loved.

"It just shows anybody interested in military service that, hey, it's not 100%t that you are going to be able to do good and stay in for 20 years," he says.

16,000 Sailors will be on the chopping block, from 31 different jobs that the Navy has deemed overstaffed.

All will go in front of a retention board this summer, and the 3,000 at the bottom will be forced out of the service next year.

Bob Wolfarth, a retired Navy senior chief, thinks the Navy will be using more contractors to fill those positions, a mandate coming down from Washington.

"What they are doing is not taking in more military people, keep that force down, because you are talking long range, high benefits, where the contractors, they get no benefits, just get a fee," he says. "Our system is based on civilian control of the military, so yes, ultimately it is all political."

At the VFW, we met two current Sailors. They didn't want to be identified, but both have been selected for possible dismissal.


They tell us 75% of enlisted sailors in aviation groups at both NAS Oceana and Naval Station Norfolk are in danger of being cut.

And all are worried sick about what the future holds.

"I'm sure many people have to consider that, where they are at, what they are gonna do, because you go on the outside today, the jobs just aren't out there," he said.

Source;  http://www.wtkr.com/news/wtkr-navy-cutting-jobs,0,4550794.story

Virginia's Congressman Weigh In On JFCOM

Here are statements on the proposed closing of JFCOM in Norfolk, from Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Chesapeake, and Rep. Glenn Nye, D-Norfolk and Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Westmoreland.

From Forbes:

“For the past two years I have sounded the alarm that this Administration has allowed their uncontrolled fervor for social spending and the resulting budgetary pressure to drive our national defense strategy. We are now seeing the piecemeal auctioning off of the greatest military the world has ever known. Unfortunately, it is a silent auction because the voice of the American people is not being heard.

“Today's announcement to close our nation's premier joint operations and efficiency command is the outcome of fiscal coercion resulting from reckless and dangerous spending decisions, not from well-placed and much-needed efforts to root out waste in government. It exhibits an arrogant lack of leadership and lack of concern for the welfare of our nation and for the men and women in uniform.

“Under the cover of night, this Administration is selling off our military at auction to pay for its social programs. It has withheld our nation’s shipbuilding plan - required of them by law - while the Chinese navy aggressively bypassed us in number of ships. It has withheld our aviation plan, while our Navy struggles from a lack of aircraft needed to perform current and future missions. It has issued gag orders preventing any Pentagon officials, military and civilian, from speaking with Congress about budgets cuts and the risks to our national defense. This Administration has brought blatant partisan politics into the annual defense policy bill by attaching controversial social agendas. They have shown more regard for the rights of terrorists than for justice for those lost on September 11th and the safety of those currently fighting to protect our nation from the next radical terrorist attack. And this week, they and Congressional Democrat leadership have called the House back into session to vote on a package that includes $2.8 billion in defense spending cuts in order to pay for more social bailouts.

“The American people will see this decision for what it is: a first step in a long string of national defense cuts that will systematically and intentionally gut the institutions that protect and defend the freedoms and liberties upon which our nation was founded - and they will not stand for it.”

Joint Forces Command is the leading command for joint training, development and experimentation. Tracing its history back to 1947 with the establishment of the new commands made up from services of more than one military service, it had originally been Atlantic Command. In 1999, it was reorganized to become JFCOM for the purpose of ensuring efficiency among branches of the military. The command oversees a force of more than 1.16 million men and women and coordinates more than 70 joint training events, involving 46,000 participants, each year.

Forbes is Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Readiness Subcommittee.

From Nye:

NORFOLK – Rep. Glenn Nye, D-Norfolk, questioned U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ proposal to eliminate U.S Joint Forces Command (JFCOM), headquartered in Norfolk, VA. JFCOM is one of the Department of Defense’s ten combatant commands, and was created to coordinate joint training, development and experimentation among the different branches of the armed services. Gates’ proposal comes at a time when DoD is trying to substantially trim its budget.

“The proposal by the Defense Department to close JFCOM is short-sighted and without merit,” Nye said following Gates’ announcement. “I appreciate the Department’s attempt to rein in spending, but I have yet to see any substantive analysis to support the assertion that closing JFCOM will yield large savings.”

“JFCOM exercises combatant command over 1.1 million U.S. forces, and performs critical functions and training necessary to maintain our warfighters’ supremacy in overseas operations,” Nye continued. “Eliminating the Command does not eliminate the demand for these critical missions; it only redistributes the responsibilities elsewhere. I look forward to receiving the Secretary’s official proposal and his analysis for reorganization.”

Finally, from Wittman:

"I have deep concerns about the strategic implications of Secretary Gates’ decision to close Joint Forces Command (JFCOM). Until I am convinced that it is the right decision for our national security, I cannot support the closure of this Command. One of the greatest successes of the U.S. military – unlike any other in the world – is its ability to function jointly, and this decision could hinder the tremendous progress we’ve made. ‪

"I question why a change in structure of this magnitude was not included in the Quadrennial Defense Review. This is just one more example of budgetary pressures, rather than strategic need, driving defense decisions. In this announcement, the Executive Branch has clearly side-stepped the Legislative Branch without deliberation on the way forward with what's best with our nation's defense policy. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Armed Services Committee to conduct oversight and execute our funding authority to the fullest extent. Furthermore, I look forward to hearing from Secretary Gates how the current, critical missions of JFCOM, such as joint training efforts, will be carried out under this new plan.‪"

www.dailypress.com

Ike Sailors Return To Naval Station Norfolk

~~~ WELCOME HOME USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER -CVN-69~~~

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) - After seven months at sea, nearly 5,000 sailors are now safely home. The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, or "Ike" as it's affectionately known, docked at its home port Naval Station Norfolk Wednesday morning.

The Ike's crew has certainly been busy at sea and I think they're going to be pretty busy at home now, too. WAVY.com's Katie Collett spoke to some of their family members anxiously awaiting their arrival, and they have big plans for their sailors.

"I'm really excited. The house is clean thankfully, car is all working and ready, the battery's good. That's important, you'd be surprised," laughed one sailor's wife.

Even the little ones have big plans for the ones they've missed.

"Her biggest thing is she wants to go to the beach. She wants to take daddy back to the beach."

It was January when families had to say goodbye to their sailors on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower as they headed overseas. While there, the Carrier Strike Group supported Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and helped protect waters from piracy.

Now, seven months later, those goodbye tears transformed from tears of heartache to tears of joy.

The sailors' return comes on the heels of Carrier Air Wing 7's return one day earlier on Tuesday, it was part of the massive Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group.

This homecoming is not only special for the families, but it's also special because the Ike's helicopter squadron has a new home at Naval Station Norfolk. It was based in Jacksonville, Florida. Commanded by Rear Adm. Phil Davidson, the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group (IKE CSG) is comprised of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), the guided-missile cruiser USS Hue City (CG 66) the guided-missile destroyers USS Carney (DDG 64), USS McFaul (DDG 74), USS Farragut (DDG 99) and Carrier Air Wing 7 was also embarked aboard Eisenhower.

The USS McFaul is scheduled to return Monday.

www.wavy.com

Fate Of the USNS Comfort

There was a rare instance of sweet harmony this week in the normally bitter realm of Maryland politics. The possibility that the Navy might move the USNS Comfort's home port from Baltimore to Norfolk, Va., in 2013 brought Republicans and Democrats together. From both sides of the aisle came the call to keep the 1,000-bed hospital ship berthed in Canton.

Helen Delich Bentley, who as a Republican member of Congress was instrumental in bring the ship to Baltimore in 1988, this week was working with Democratic Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski and Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger to block the move. Mrs. Bentley called the 894-foot-long ship "an icon," part of the local landscape. "When you are driving in any direction you can see the Comfort, and it is a comfort," she told The Baltimore Sun.

Mr. Ruppersberger praised the ship as a longstanding "source of pride and jobs" for the Baltimore area. He wants to require the Navy to do a cost-benefit analysis before making a decision. Senator Mikulski called for a federally funded study to examine how moving the ship would affect its mission.

The Comfort has become, to steal a phrase from former President George W. Bush, a uniter not a divider.

How long, we wonder, will this kinship last?

What if moving the Comfort to Norfolk proves to be a better use of taxpayer dollars? The last time we looked, Norfolk was closer to the Atlantic Ocean, where the ship sails, than to Baltimore, which sits in the heart of the Chesapeake Bay. In addition, Congress is considering spending $10 million to fix up a pier in Norfolk, which could be the Comfort's new home.

Putting the ship in Baltimore makes it an easy drive to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, where many Navy medical personnel are stationed. Moreover, the Navy spent $5 million two years ago to upgrade the pier in Canton that the Comfort now calls home. Why move out just after you fixed up the place?

The Comfort has done good work. It has provided emergency medical care for U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf War and Iraq. It has responded to domestic disasters, sailing to New York after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005. Last January, it went on a two-month mission to Haiti, providing humanitarian relief to victims of a devastating earthquake.

Quick it isn't. Once it is called to duty, it has five days to get ready. Maybe the half day it spends steaming down the bay to get to the ocean does not matter that much.

Mrs. Bentley is right: It does look good in our harbor. Mr. Ruppersberger is correct: The Comfort is a source of local pride. Rallying to keep it here has produced an extraordinary accord between our Democrats and Republicans. But the decision of where to put the Comfort should be made on what is best for the country, not on what makes Marylanders happy.

www.baltimoresun.com

USS ENTERPRISE Returned To Navy

NEWPORT NEWS — After spending two years at Northrop Grumman Corp.'s Newport News shipyard for its final major maintenance project, the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier was re-delivered to the Navy on Monday after successful sea trials.

The nation's oldest warship entered Hampton Roads harbor just after 1 p.m. Monday, its flight deck lined with sailors clad in dress whites to celebrate the completion of the ship's last dry-dock availability in Newport News.

Flanked by a four tugboats, the nearly 49-year-old matriarch of the U.S. fleet returned to pier at Naval Station Norfolk, where it will prepare for two final six-month deployments before it's decommissioned in 2013.

"Enterprise is as ready and capable as she has ever been throughout her 48 years," said Capt. Ron Horton, the ship's commanding officer. "For me, Enterprise is more than just the oldest active warship, she's the legend."

The Enterprise arrived at the shipyard in April 2008 for what was supposed to be a 16-month maintenance project estimated to cost $453.3 million. But the aging 1,101-foot giant, with its corroded pipes, tanks and hull, proved to be a much more formidable challenge.

The Navy spent nearly $662million on its 24 months of maintenance work, about 46 percent higher than the original price tag. Just last week, the service approved spending an additional $6.8 million to complete the project — the 12th time in 22 months it doled out more cash to fix unexpected problems.

"There's a lot of equipment from the 1950s still on board that no one makes anymore," said Dan Klemencic, Northrop's top-side construction director for the Enterprise project. "So what appears to be a minor problem can quickly become a major one."

Northrop fixed and repaired pipes, tanks, combat systems and electrical systems and made enhancements to the hull and mechanical systems.

Many problems weren't discovered until shipyard engineers and waterfront workers performed inspections and made repairs deep within the ship's hull.

In tanks and fuel and sewage pipes, for example, the yard found a significant amount of "good, old-fashioned rust," Klemencic said. In some cases, the only thing holding together sewage pipes was a buildup of calcification. In some fuel pipes, "we saw some significant holes" that either were patched or the pipe replaced, he said.

"We found more things than one could have possibly anticipated," said Jim Hughes, vice president of aircraft carrier overhauls at Northrop. "It's like the plumbing in an old home — the more you get in there, the more you find."

Built in Newport News and commissioned in 1961, the "Big E" is the world's first nuclear-powered carrier.

Over the past five decades, the Enterprise has spent several years in Newport News for maintenance projects, employing thousands of shipyard workers. That fact spawned the creation of an oft-repeated saying around the yard: "There are two kinds of people who work here: Those who have worked on the Enterprise, and those who will."

Northrop has a contract to provide all remaining maintenance on the ship. But when Enterprise left Newport News on Saturday morning for sea trials, it marked the last time the ship will be on the James River waterfront until it is deactivated and decommissioned in three years.

"This is an exciting day for us and the Navy," Hughes said. "But it's also very bittersweet."

The "Big E"

•Northrop completed the ship's final maintenance project Monday at a cost of $662 million.

•The project was delayed eight months and was 46 percent over budget, mostly because of unexpected problems due to its age.

•Enterprise is scheduled to make two final six-month deployments before a 2013 decommissioning.

•The world's first nuclear-powered carrier and the oldest in the U.S. fleet was built in Newport News and commissioned in 1961.

www.wtkr.com

Plane From USS Eisenhower Crashes At Sea

Three of four crew members rescued

MANAMA, Bahrain (WAVY) - The Navy says an E-2C Hawkeye from Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 121 stationed aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) crashed at sea Wednesday while operating in the North Arabian Sea.

Three of the four crew members have been rescued and returned to the ship. According to the Navy, search and rescue efforts for the fourth crew member are currently underway.

Officials say the E-2C was returning from conducting operations in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan when the aircraft experienced mechanical malfunctions and the crew performed a controlled bailout.

The identities of the crewmen involved have not been released.

Both the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the "Bluetails" from Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 121 are based in Norfolk.

The Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group left Naval Station Norfolk on a regularly scheduled six-month deployment January 2nd.

VAW-121 is part of Carrier Air Wing Seven (CVW 7).

www.wavy.com