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Hampton Roads Military Developments

vdogg

By vdogg
in Hampton Roads

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bobliocatt City

bobliocatt

Posted
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Update: State of Florida/city of Jax ready give Navy $200 million in cash :o

The city of Jacksonville is ready to give the Navy $50 million in cash, while Jeb Bush and the state government will offer $150 million, as well as a possible $650 million in tax credit grants, if needed. The significant amount of cash being thrown on the table would most likely be enough to cover all the costs, if Cecil is re-opened.

http://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/st...15/daily41.html

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Viper Burg

Viper

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after going on the the tour with the commissioners that they were "overly impressed" by the condition of Cecil Field.

"They were expecting to see boarded-up windows and tumbleweeds," Stewart said. "But they didn't find that."

http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stor..._19551392.shtml

However....to be fair.

Before and during the meeting, two of the JAA members said there was no way Oceana would move to Cecil Field.

After the meeting, Weaver was asked why he said Cecil didn't have a chance, and he said, "John Warner, no question."

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reggie3 Crossroads

reggie3

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Welcome but the military dictates where you go not you.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That's not the case Russ. I chose a job that only has three locations with Norfolk being the primary one. Like many civilian jobs you can decide to do something that increases the chances of having a successful career in a given location. Since Hampton Roads has jobs for almost every specialty in the Navy, making choices that allow you to come here isn't that difficult.

Lots of military personnel don't have a choice as to where they go, but many do. In particular Navy personnel have the opportunity for

"Homebasing" in particular areas, and the large Naval presence here makes Hampton Roads a perfect place for this.

You're right in that if I was ordered to go someplace else I would have to, but we do have more of a choice than you seem to think.

As for the topic, I don't understand why people think we can't have a big city environment, and still keep Oceana. There is more than enough room in Va Beach itself for the base to have an adequate buffer, and allow for development in other parts of the beach.

Additionally, Oceana has some of the best runways on the east coast; 4 runways ranging from 8-12,000' ft (it's even a launch abort site for the space shuttle). Large amounts of ramp space, and ready-made FAA approaches. Those aren't resources you just build condos on. The state had expressed interest in building a larger airport in Isle of Wight. If Oceana is closed than it makes building that new airport that much easier.

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reggie3 Crossroads

reggie3

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Norfolk will never give up that Airport revenue up. The airport will never move to Isle of Wight.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Opening another airport does not mean Norfolk Intl will close, though there would definitely be an initial drop in traffic. However, this may be a case where both Norfolk and Newport News take one for the team.

In the event that Oceana is closed, I think there is another scenario that the state should be contemplating. The Airbus A380 will be coming online within the next 2 years. As of now the only east coast airport that is ready for it is JFK. If Airbus's gamble is correct then the A380 is going be a major people mover. Expanding Oceana's runways could make us a potential hub for A380 flights. Of course you'd have to do environmental studies, still deal with jet noise, improve mass transit in the area and between Oceana and Norfolk Intl, build terminals, overcome the current parochial Hampton Roads mindset and such (not a complete list of course). And it would need to do this before Atlanta decides to change its mind and upgrade to take the A380. However, Oceana's not going to be available over night, and saying the chances of this happening are slim to none would be an overstatement.

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Viper Burg

Viper

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At least you are thining ahead and I like that but if Oceana gets closed it's due to noise, flight path alterations, encroachment (meaning no runway expansions) and bringing in the biggest commercial jets there are seems counteractive of why they would be closing Oceana.

I say try for a business park. Oyster Point of VB.

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reggie3 Crossroads

reggie3

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At least you are thining ahead and I like that but if Oceana gets closed it's due to noise, flight path alterations, encroachment (meaning no runway expansions) and bringing in the biggest commercial jets there are seems counteractive of why they would be closing Oceana.

I say try for a business park.  Oyster Point of VB.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

A quick Google Maps satellite search for San Francisco, JFK, and Baltimore Washinton International airports show that they're not immune to encroachment. The first two have the benefit of being on the water so that takes care of approaches from that end of the runway. Oceana's photo shows that there is room to lengthen the 3 shortest runways to make them as long as the ~12,000' one. However, runways 14/32LR look like they would need to expand into some farmland. Caveat that with the fact that the map I'm looking at is from prior to the main gate expansion so it's at least a couple of years old.

Admittedly, the entire idea is very counter-intuitive to what the people complaining about jet noise want, but such an airport could be an economic engine for south eastern VA. I believe that if the state dictates it, it would be built. I also think there would be some high paying lobbies willing to help push such a measure through.

Barring that, I think we would get the same kind of aviation related businesses that moved into Cecil Field. Apparently, for Florida, getting those businesses in return for a master jet base wasn't a good trade.

As for tourism jobs, the majority of them are seasonal, and don't pay much. For example, someone working 40 hours a week at a job paying $9 an hour is grossing the same as an E-3 with 2 years or less in service. That's before you even count benefits that many higher paying civilian jobs can't match. Also, while tourism jobs have higher paid supervisors, so does the military. However, while tourism has the benefit of bringing in visitors who are willing to spend money without using the amount of city services a resident would, military personnel contribute to their communities in more familial ways.

If push comes to shove I think we could get businesses to move to Oceana if the state, and VA Beach were willing to put up the money to lure them here. That is how many southern states are luring automotive jobs.

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bobliocatt City

bobliocatt

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Reading the Pilot's message board is very entertaining. There's virtually no mention of this stuff in the Jax newspapers and their message boards. Did anyone watch the meeting on C-SPAN? Was it as one sided as the posters on the Pilot claim?

Btw, how much will it cost to build this new master base near VA Beach, that Warner was previously supporting?

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rusthebuss Metropolis

rusthebuss

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Reading the Pilot's message board is very entertaining. There's virtually no mention of this stuff in the Jax newspapers and their message boards. Did anyone watch the meeting on C-SPAN? Was it as one sided as the posters on the Pilot claim?

Btw, how much will it cost to build this new master base near VA Beach, that Warner was previously supporting?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

[/quote

These special ops might have something to do with the SEALs and some of the facilities in Norfolk NOB. Not sure but this must be what Viper was talking about that caused Cecil to be closed. The bases here have alot of special missions and sensitive things going on around here.

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bobliocatt City

bobliocatt

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Reading the Pilot's message board is very entertaining.  There's virtually no mention of this stuff in the Jax newspapers and their message boards.  Did anyone watch the meeting on C-SPAN?  Was it as one sided as the posters on the Pilot claim?

Btw, how much will it cost to build this new master base near VA Beach, that Warner was previously supporting?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

These special ops might have something to do with the SEALs and some of the facilities in Norfolk NOB. Not sure but this must be what Viper was talking about that caused Cecil to be closed. The bases here have alot of special missions and sensitive things going on around here.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I'm not too familiar with the military, its operations and special missions. However, with today's technology and jet speeds, I fail to see the big difference in having this base located in VaBeach or Jax. Yes, Norfolk is the largest naval region, but Jax is the Nation's third largest behind the Hampton Roads and San Diego. With Kings Bay, Jax NAS and Mayport NAS, I would think a jet base in any of these cities would still be able to carry out secret missions. I stil believe Oceana will remain open, but whatever decision being made in the end, will most likely be strickly political, one way or the other. It will come down to who has the most power......Warner or Jeb Bush.

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