Navy Proposes Moving Carrier to Mayport

[Thothmes]

Source: WAVY channel 10 in Norfolk

The Navy has announced plans to relocate a Norfolk, VA based carrier to Mayport, FL. The move will take place in about 6 years. The cost of upgrading
the facilities at Mayport to homeport the carrier is $500 million dollars. In a taped interview, both Virginia Senators, Warner and Webb said that they will strongly oppose the Navys proposed move.

No link yet.

[Recursion]

1. Closer to Cuba?

I don't know; I do think our fleet suffers from an all-the-eggs-in-one-basket problem sometimes; too much is in San Diego and Norfolk and not enough is spread out in case of God knows what.

[Bozita]

2. Sounds like VA is getting the blue state treatment.

[Lasher]

3. Folks in Virginia are being a little greedy.

Half of the 10 active US carriers are based in Virginia: Norfolk is the homeport for Enterprise, Eisenhower, Roosevelt, and Truman. The USS Carl Vinson is based at Newport News.

San Diego has Nimitz and Reagan.

The Washington is based at Yokosuka, Japan.

There are three carriers based in the state of Washington: The Lincoln at Everett, and the Stennis and Kitty Hawk at Bremerton. Kitty Hawk is awaiting 1 January decommissioning, and is not included in the total of 10.

It seems reasonable to spread that defense spending around a little more. And it makes strategic sense to better diversify these bases. Florida is a good choice for another base and it might be a good idea to put one in New England as well.

[amandabeech]

12. Yes, I agree. Spread them out some and put one in New England.

It's too bad that the St. Lawrence Seaway is so narrow. If it weren't, I'd say stick one in Rochester or Buffalo. Or Detroit.

[Steelworker In OH]

4. And what will it cost

to constantly repair the port after it gets slammed by hurricanes repeatedly?? I'm not opposed to spreading the carriers out a bit, but Florida seems to be a little risky...

[Sub Atomic]

5. Oh please, you sound so cynical!

Why would a Republican administration want to relocate an aircraft carrier to a typical red state that gets battered with hurricanes every year other than for the good of the country!!

:sarcasm:

[1monster]

6. Mayport has been around for as long as I've lived in NE Florida -35 years- and

I've never heard of the port needing repairs after a tropical storm... We haven't had hurricane strenghth winds in Northeast Florida since 1964 when Dora a weak hurricane hit between Jacksonville and Daytona Beach.

Hurricanes can and do hit north of Florida on the eastern seaboard and even further inland. With the intensification of hurricanes and the warmer waters spreading northward, hurricanes have been moving north often enough. Norfolk doesn't have special immunity.

I do remember hurricane Agnes in 1972 which devastated huge swaths of New York and Pennsylvania, with Virginia and West Virgina not escaping unscathed.

Northeast Florida in general and Jacksonville in particular are very supportive of the military. Mayport wouldn't be a bad home port for the carrier.

[jedr]

10. Hell yes...this ain't no big deal.

As an ole salt myself, I did "A" school in Jax and when assigned to a carrier we docked in Mayport many times and our sister ship was home ported at Mayport......much adieu about nothing.

[Thothmes]

22. Other than the expenditure of around $500,000,000.00

to upgrade the facilities at the Mayport Naval Station to take a Nuclear Powered Carrier. Norfolk alread has this capability in spades.

[Steelworker In OH]

19. yeah

I figured if they did move it down there it'd have to be somewhere near there. I was hoping they wouldn't be dumb enough to make it say.. Miami, but ya know I'm not surprised by the current idiots we have in control of crap like that.

Half of my post was a bit of joking and sarcasm, but it is something they need to think about in terms of fortifying the port and such.

[14thColony]

8. Three things

1) Mayport was the base of at least one fleet carrier for decades. It's only relatively recently that it has NOT had a carrier based there.

2) Putting all Atlantic Fleet carrier in one port (Norfolk) is strategically risky. Not that we currently face a Pearl Harbor type event, but still...there are certain military fundamentals that have been shown to be prudent to keep to throughout history.

3) Due to the indention of the FL coastline that culminates at Jacksonville, hurricanes moving up the coast usually stay out to sea and miss the area. The last even close call was David in 1979, and that hit further south at St Augustine. Not all of Florida is equally subjected to hurricanes.

[1monster]

13. David didn't hit St. Augustine. It stayed 20 miles off shore. The biggest damage David did there

was to the pier which was rather old and standing too far out in the ocean (erosion took a huge toll over the years) anyway.

Another pier built in its place lost a huge amount of footage, not long after it was built, to a nor'easter. That area no longer will support a long pier.

[14thColony]

16. That's what I get for posting based on my memory from 12-yrs old

I grew up in Jax and used to spend every summer in St Augustine - I remember by dad saying it had just hit St Augustine, but there wasn't a Weather Channel back then to know if you were really right.

Remember the cut-off section of the old pier still standing out about a hundred yards offshore? It was actually the condemned section (I used to fish off there as a kid til they condemned it), and the 'good' section of the old pier was what collapsed.

Also you could add A1A on Anastasia Island to the damage toll from David - most of old A1A is now the rubble wall used to protect the new stretch of A1A along Anastasia Beach.

Anyway, your correction to my memory serves to further validate the point - the "First Coast" section of Florida rarely takes direct hits from 'canes.

[1monster]

17. Old A1A on Anastasia Beach has been in the ocean for a very long time. There are some parts of it

still in existance between Summer Haven and Marineland, but it is all sand and pretty dicey at that. Any time we have a storm of any magnitude (nor'easters mostly and the tropical storms, of course, it is gravely damaged and the homeowners on that road scream for the taxpayer to fix it.

It boggles the mind the places that people built their huge houses... on a sand bar. At Matanzas Inlet, there is a development of large houses built on a sand bar that was not there thirty years before...

[14thColony]

18. Craziness

I would never buy anything within surge range of the Atlantic, to include along coastal rivers like the Matanzas. Sandbars that weren't on maps from 50 year ago are way out of the question. Who buys those places, out-of-staters who've never been through a hurricane?

[Steelworker In OH]

21. I agree

that having it spread out a bit more is a good strategy, even though I really don't see any nation challenging our ships in port anytime soon, lol. I guess no seaboard is really a safe area anymore, it was just something I think they need to look at. I'm not real familiar with that part of Florida, I spent some time on the gulf side, about 1/2 way down the coast, Clearwater to be exact. If its a good move, they take the necessary precautions, and it'll help the local economy, go for it.

[Dappleganger]

11. They rarely hit Jacksonville...

The odds of a hurricane giving a direct hit to Jacksonville are almost the same as one hitting Norfolk/VA Beach directly. Where the state curves in is a factor, as well as tradewinds. With the way FL is so good w/preparation now they will have plenty of time to take ships out to sea. It's really good news, as many have hoped for Mayport to be built up more and bring new jobs to the area.

[davidinalameda]

14. Jacksonville doesn't get that many hurricanes

as opposed to the rest of the state

[Steelworker In OH]

20. True

My Aunt and Uncle live near Tampa/St Pete, they get missed a lot, but its just kind of a risky area. I just think they need to make sure they take major weather into consideration when upgrading. We have had some strange stuff happening in the last several years weather wise. Just a thought.

[smiley_glad_hands]

7. Why spend the money when there is no need? Sounds like a waste to me. eom

[JCMach1]

15. Mayport hosted our former Diesel carriers- $500m sounds like a VERY HIGH

estimate to upgrade to nuclear facilities.

[bluesmail]

9. Spending spree. Nearing the end. Almost makes me believe they will leave