Officials Have Doubts About Plan To Close Groton Base

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Officials Have Doubts About Plan To Close Groton Base
BRAC chairman ‘concerned'; Simmons cites Navy objections




‘I find it astounding that the Navy leadership would completely disregard the position of their commander responsible for the readiness, operations and training of this crucial asset. I am hopeful that the BRAC commissioners will now overturn this wrong-headed decision.'
U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn
T
By ROBERT A. HAMILTON
Day Staff Writer,
Navy/Defense/Electric Boat
Published on 7/20/2005

The chairman of the military base closing commission and a key member of Congress expressed doubts Tuesday about plans to shut down the Naval Submarine Base in Groton. During a meeting in Washington, D.C., at which the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission voted to add bases to the list of facilities being considered for closure, Anthony Principi, the chairman of the panel, said New England is being hit hard by the proposals.

“I remain very concerned with the recommendations,” he said.Principi said the Pentagon's plans to close the Groton base, the Otis Air National Guard base on Cape Cod and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Maine could result in the military “virtually abandoning that part of the country.” At the same time, House Armed Services Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., told The Associated Press Tuesday that he believes there is a good chance the commission will decide not to close Naval Submarine Base New London, the official name of the Groton base.

“I think what they see is an increasing importance of undersea warfare and there's a real partnership between the operators of these ships and the constructors of the ships,” said Hunter, referring to submarine builder Electric Boat, which also is in Groton. “It's important to the country, and so I think they now have a better than 50 percent chance of surviving. I hope they do, and I'm going to weigh into that argument.”

Also Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Rob Simmons, R-2nd District, who also is a member of the Armed Services Committee, wrote to Principi about Navy opposition to the proposed closure of the Groton base. Simmons noted that as the Pentagon was preparing its list of recommended base closings, two top Navy admirals warned that the Groton base should not be closed.

They were overruled, however, making Groton the only base they could not save, according to Simmons. Simmons said he was given detailed information about the reasons the two admirals responsible for staffing and equipping the fleet opposed closing Groton.

In part, he said, they believed the move would result in overcrowding at other East Coast submarine bases and require a significant investment to replicate what already exists in Connecticut. “I respectfully ask you to give these expert opinions your full consideration as you prepare your final decision on Naval Submarine Base New London,” Simmons wrote.

The comments by Adm. John B. Nathman, current head of Commander, Fleet Forces Command, or CFFC, in Norfolk, Va., and his predecessor, Adm. William J. Fallon, are expected to carry considerable weight because they have no vested interest in protecting the submarine base. Both are aviators.

“It's definitely good news for the base, and it's important to get these guys on the record,” said Simmons' spokesman, Jonathan Martin. Simmons noted that the Groton base was the only base realignment and closure, or BRAC, recommendation opposed by CFFC that was ultimately approved by the Department of Defense. Gov. M. Jodi Rell launched a broadside at the Pentagon for overruling the admirals.

“The landlocked Defense Department officials ... are making recommendations that are not supported by the Navy officials charged with carrying out the missions,” Rell said. “It shows the Defense Department recommendations are short-sighted, unfair and illogical. The admirals' comments send a loud and clear message that the BRAC commissioners cannot help but hear. ”Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., said he was particularly concerned about the apparent disagreement at the top levels of the Navy over the value of Groton to national security.

And if there is any question about it, Dodd said, the Groton base should be kept open. “U.S. Fleet Forces Command coordinates U.S. operations and training for our Atlantic and Pacific forces, and their opinion should be taken very seriously,” Dodd said. “Their opposition to closing Sub Base New London not only shows a lack of consensus within the Navy, it shows a deep concern that this decision will harm U.S. national security interests and deny the Navy important flexibility to maintain an adequately sized fleet. ”Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, D-Conn., agreed.

“The objection by U.S. Fleet Forces Command to the Navy's decision to close U.S. Submarine Base New London simply reinforces our conclusion that closing this submarine center of excellence is wrong for the submarine force, wrong for the Navy, and wrong for our country,” he said.

“I find it astounding that the Navy leadership would completely disregard the position of their commander responsible for the readiness, operations and training of this crucial asset. I am hopeful that the BRAC commissioners will now overturn this wrong-headed decision. ”Since minutes of the Navy BRAC process were released in June, it's been clear the CFFC opposed closing Groton. At a meeting of the Navy Infrastructure Evaluation Group in September 2004, members considered closing the base, but put it off pending a review by CFFC and the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.

The only other mention came Jan. 27, when the minutes noted that Fallon opposed closing Groton, but the group continued to plan to move two squadrons of submarines from Groton to Norfolk, Va., and the remaining squadron and Naval Submarine School to Kings Bay, Ga.

There is no mention what Adm. Vern Clark, the Chief of Naval Operations, said, but Navy sources observed that he must have supported the plan or the matter would have been dropped. Simmons talked to Vice Adm. Kevin Cosgriff, deputy CFFC, who told him that Fallon and Nathman opposed closing Groton for several reasons. In his letter to the commission, Simmons said the admirals believed closing Groton would:•Limit the flexibility of the submarine force.•Pose “significant readiness, training and operational risks.”

•Make it more difficult to do day-to-day submarine maintenance.
 

•Create problems associated with integrating attack submarine operations at the ballistic missile submarine base in Kings Bay, Ga.
 

•Abandon the “substantial” investment in Naval Submarine Base at Groton, and require “significant military construction investments” at Kings Bay
 

.•Exacerbate significant “waterfront congestion” at Naval Station Norfolk. Other units at the Groton submarine base would be scattered to bases in Maryland, Florida and Texas, disrupting the synergy that exists from having all submarine operations in one location, Simmons said.

Associated Press reports were included in this article. 
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