The Department of Defense’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2013 calls for two new rounds of base closures — one in 2013 and another in 2015. In a Navy-centric community like Oak Harbor, that has people on Whidbey Island paying close attention.
Ever since Naval Air Station Whidbey Island was on the list of base closures in 1991, the Save NAS Whidbey Island Task Force has worked to make sure the base is never again on such a list. Members of the task force gathered at the Best Western in Oak Harbor Wednesday afternoon for an orientation meeting designed for elected officials and a little background on the group.
“The task force was formed by a group of interested individuals after the base closure list of 1991 was released,” said former Oak Harbor Mayor Jim Slowik, who headed up the meeting in the absence of chairman Al Koetje, who was attending a funeral.
While there are no immediate concerns NAS Whidbey will be placed on any closure list, task force members say it’s important to keep the base — and the vital role it plays locally and nationally — in front of decision-makers in Washington, D.C. The group has an important ally there, retired Rear Adm. James Seely, former commanding officer of NAS Whidbey, who is a paid consultant, providing regular reports to task force members and serving as an escort when groups of local officials venture to Capitol Hill each year.
“He stays close to the issues,” said Slowik.
“Seely has ties to this community,” said Oak Harbor city council member Beth Munns. “He keeps his ear to the ground and has a lot of influence there.”
Another strong political ally in Washington, D.C. is Rep. Rick Larsen.
“I urge whoever’s going back (to Washington, D.C.) to talk with him,” Slowik said. “Larsen is the preeminent electronic warfare guy in Congress and he has definitely taken up the banner.”
In a press conference Tuesday afternoon, Larsen said the future of NAS Whidbey is secure.
“The Navy stands by its record of decision in regard to the P-8A coming to NAS Whidbey,” Larsen said. “In my conversations with Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, he assured me the Navy is sticking with the 2008 record of decision, which will bring the Poseidon to NAS Whidbey by 2017.”
A briefing released Monday by the Department of Defense indicated the DOD was adjusting the number of P-8As ordered. However, Larsen said it’s just a delay, not a cancellation, of the number of Poseidons being purchased.
“The Navy is slowing its purchase of ten planes by one year for the sake of the budget,” said Larsen. “Sec. Mabus said the Navy will still purchase the full complement of P-8As.”
This news should be music to the ears of task force members, who said at last week’s meeting they believe the only thing that could hurt NAS Whidbey at this point would be a change to the record of decision regarding the P-8A. Task force members worried that if NAS Whidbey were to lose the Poseidon platform, it would put the base may be in a more precarious position.
“If we minimize the number of platforms at the base, it puts us at greater risk,” said Island County Commissioner Angie Homola.
Former base commander and state legislator, Barry Sehlin, looks at the issue from a practical standpoint.
“As long as the Navy plans to maintain carrier levels and long range patrol, the P-3s and P-8s have to have a place to park,” he said, adding that many current bases are full, such as NAS Lemoore in California, where all NASWI personnel and aircraft would have been moved to had the base closed in 1991. Lemoore was full then, and it’s full today.
“The Navy is between a rock and a hard place on where to park their jet aircraft,” Sehlin said. “They clearly have to be parked somewhere and NAS Whidbey has to be part of that decision.”
As task force members plan their upcoming, annual trips to Washington, D.C. to meet with members of Congress and officials at the Pentagon, they discussed strategy.
“I hope we can bring all our ideas together,” Slowik said. “In the past we’ve gone in with a plan of what we wanted to discuss and focused on issues relevant to Whidbey.”
“It works better if people are working together,” Homola said. “If we can’t align the trips, at least we can all be on the same page.”
Over the years the task force has gained credibility on Capitol Hill and at the Pentagon. Plus, there are more NAS Whidbey veterans at the Pentagon these days — a depth of experience gained since the air station was saved in 1991.
“There are now people with Whidbey Island experience at much higher levels of the Pentagon,” said Munns, who added there are other factors that also work to Whidbey’s advantage. “What is part of the decision-making process is quality of life. The cost of supporting a sailor is less at Whidbey, so if they’re looking to save money, this seems like the logical choice.”
