Decision on carrier base opposed by Virginia lawmakers

[unhappycamper]

Decision on carrier base opposed by Virginia lawmakers
By Kevin Baron, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Saturday, January 17, 2009

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy this week announced it will homeport an aircraft carrier at Naval Station Mayport in Florida, sparking criticism from Virginia lawmakers who vowed to fight the decision.

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., a former secretary of the Navy and member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, blasted the announcement as a politically motivated "forgone conclusion" that the Bush administration wanted to push before the president leaves office next week.

A spokeswoman for Webb told Stars and Stripes they believed Defense Secretary Gates was not strongly behind the nonbinding decision, which the next Navy secretary could reverse.

"I think the Navy still has an uphill battle," the spokeswoman said. "As far as we’re concerned, this is far from a done deal."

The move would put a nuclear-powered aircraft at an East Coast port outside of Norfolk for the first time to diversify the fleet’s location in case calamity struck the Norfolk area, the Navy said.


Rest of article at: http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=60065