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

Wallops Off Shore Exercise Is A Success

OCEAN CITY – Perhaps providing further evidence of a growing presence at Wallops Island, along the coast just south of Assateague, NASA last weekend conducted a significant rocket launch visible in much of the mid-Atlantic area, as part of a joint training exercise with the U.S. Navy.

Shortly after 1 a.m. last Saturday, residents and visitors to the resort area still awake were treated to a rare spectacle when the Terrier-Oriole sub-orbital rocket arched its way across the Delmarva sky and reached its peak altitude before falling harmlessly into the ocean.

According to Wallops officials, the launch was visible throughout a wide swath of Delmarva from Delaware to as far south as North Carolina.

“It was a great launch and should have been visible throughout much of the region, although I’m not sure how many people were up at that hour to witness it,” said Wallops spokesman Keith Koehler this week. “It wasn’t crystal clear and it might have been hazy in some areas, but many people in the area probably saw a pretty cool show.”
The rocket was launched as part of a Navy exercise off the mid-Atlantic coast. Three U.S. Second Fleet ships, including the U.S.S. Monterrey, the U.S.S. Ramage and the U.S.S. Gonzalez, converged off the Atlantic coast just south of Assateague to test their tracking systems for the Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system. All three successfully tracked the sub-orbital Terrier Oriole rocket launched from Wallops early last Saturday morning.

All three ships were able to successfully track the target missile, with the Monterrey and the Ramage, both Aegis destroyers, providing simulated target solutions that would have resulted in a successful interception of the rocket had it been a real threat. No missiles were fired from the ships during the launch because it was simply a simulated training exercise.

“The whole exercise went very well,” said Koehler. “The Navy was able to accomplish everything it hoped to with the launch and its simulated responses to a real threat, and we were able to successfully launch another significant rocket at Wallops.”

Koehler said the training exercise was just one of many planned off the coast of the Atlantic involving rocket launches from Wallops.

“We are looking forward to working with the Navy on similar exercises in the future,” he said. “Because of our natural proximity to a vast majority of the Atlantic fleet in Norfolk, it makes perfect sense to continue our great working relationship with future launches.”
www.mdcoastdispatch.com
by: Shawn J. Soper, News Editor

Exercises From NASA Beginning Tonight

NORFOLK, Va. - The Navy is planning to conduct its first live sea-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) test on the East Coast this weekend.

The test is part of exercise Atlantic Trident 2011 scheduled through January 25.

According to the Navy, the exercise will provide realistic training for BMD ships and give them the opportunity to track a live target and simulate intercept of a short-range target missile in the midcourse phase of flight.

A target missile will be launched from the NASA Wallops Island Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore. The launch is scheduled during the overnight hours of Friday night into Saturday morning.

As part of the exercise, the Navy says a cruiser and destroyer will detect and track the target with its SPY-1 radar, develop fire control solutions, and simulate firing SM-3 missiles.

The Navy stresses that no missiles will be fired from the ships as Atlantic Trident 2011 is a tracking exercise only.

Aegis BMD is the sea-based mid-course component of the Missile Defense Agency's (MDA) Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) and is designed to intercept and destroy short to intermediate-range ballistic missile threats.

The MDA and the U.S. Navy cooperatively manage the Aegis BMD program.

www.wavy.com

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Homecoming

More than 5,000 sailors are home in Norfolk this week.

The USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group returned after more than six months at sea.

Strike Fighter Squadron Eight Three (VFA-83), the "Rampagers", Strike Fighter Squadron One Zero Three (VFA-103), the "Jolly Rogers", Strike Fighter Squadron One Three One (VFA-131), the "Wildcats", and Strike Fighter Squadron One Four Three, (VFA-143), the "Pukin' Dogs" arrived at NAS Oceana at 2:00 p.m. with 44 aircraft and 56 aircrew.

Whoever said size matters has never met the families of the Bluetails - they make a lot of noise for a group of 20 Naval Aviators. It's a small, very close family.

"It's a tight group. We're all happy here supporting each other. Just because there's not hundreds of people doesn't make this any less special. Oh no trust me," said Jenny Dzieann, Navy wife. "I like it like this because it's more personal for us. We've all seen each other here and there. It's like family. It is," added Shanta Brooks, Navy wife.

The men are part of the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Strike Group. They have been overseas for the past six months.

"Six months and a few days. Not that you're counting. No," Brooks said.

Wives and mothers kept watch on the homefront.

Dzieann said, "I think of everything that we have done since he left, the milestones, trials, and tribulations, but we're so proud."

When a loved one has been half way around the world away from family and friends for several months it doesn't matter how many people are there to greet them when they arrive - as long as that one special person is there.

"I would not be able to do what I do without my wife of course, but everyone who helps us out. Neighbors, family."

Family - the one word that can make a hardened warrior weak at the knees. The one thing they cling to the most no matter how small.

During the Bluetails' mission one of its aviators dies.

Lieutenant Steven Zilberman was killed when his plane had engine trouble and crashed into the Arabian Sea. He was able to save his crew, telling them to bail out of the plane before it crashed with him in it.
www.wtkr.com

County Airport on Site List For Navy Practice

The Accomack County Airport is on the list as a possible practice landing site for the Navy. According to an article in Saturdays Virginian Pilot, the Accomack County Airport is among eight sites in Virginia that qualify for use as practice landing sites for Navy turboprop aircraft. The turboprops include the E-2 Hawkeye AWACS radar plane and the C-2 Greyhound. The prop driven aircraft are significantly quieter than the jet fighter aircraft that have caused a lot of controversy in Virginia Beach. The planes would use the strip for field-carrier landing practice.

According to the article, the Navy is considering several sites to relieve the problem of too many aircraft scheduled for landing practice at the same airstrip. The Navy has long sought to build an outlying landing field but has run into considerable local opposition at the sites being considered. Fentress Field in Chesapeake has gotten so busy serving fighter jets that Norfolks turboprop training squadron has to travel as far as Florida to conduct landing practice five or six times a year.

In addition to the Accomack County Airport, the Navy is also considering the Hanover County Municipal Airport in Ashland, Richmond International Airport, Chesterfield County Airport, Emporia Municipal Airport, Newport News-Williamsburg International Airport, Norfolk International Airport and Chesapeake Regional Airport.

Some Accomack County officials contacted for the article showed interest in the proposition. Atlantic District Supervisor Ron Wolff told the Pilot that the airport had to cut back on operations due to budget issues. He said I, personally, as a member of the board, would certainly hope the county would entertain the idea of this for the Navy.

County Administrator Steve Miner said he looks forward to hearing more about the Navys requirements. It would be a benefit to the community as well as the navy.
In order to be considered, the airfield must have a runway thats at least 5000 ft. long and 100 ft. wide and be able to support a 25,000 lb. single gear weight. The project would be a win-win for the Navy as well as cash strapped communities eager to attract federal dollars. Accomack County would certainly fit that description.

Originally the Accomack County Airport was built by the Navy in World War II as a training site and was later turned over to the County when it became a surplus property. According to the article Ted Brown , a spokesman for the Navys Fleet Forces Command said it isnt an all or nothing game. Brown said multiple airfields could negotiate contracts with the Navy. The Navy currently has contracts to use two outlying airfields in Alabama for planes to practice from Whiting Field in Florida.

Even though the project is in its earliest planning stages, it couldnt come at a better time . Accomack County Supervisors who are struggling in the face of lost state funding to balance the County budget, have announced layoffs among county employees. The Accomack County School Board is also is facing the daunting task of operating the school system after funding cuts. It isnt known as of now how much the County could expect to get from renting the field to the Navy for use as a practice landing site or if the revenue would significantly affect current projections.


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