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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Thursday, October 2, 2003

Commander debating aircraft carrier locations

By William Cole
Advertiser Military Writer

The commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet said he's weighing whether to base an aircraft carrier in Hawai'i or Guam.

"I'm looking at where (one carrier) could better or best be positioned," Adm. Walter F. Doran said.

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If Adm. Walter F. Doran does pick either location — and the betting is on Hawai'i — San Diego is where it may come from.

Michael Pavkovic, director of the diplomacy and military studies program at Hawai'i Pacific University, said politically and practically, San Diego is a logical choice.

Three Pacific Fleet carriers are based in San Diego, two are in Washington state, and one is based in Japan.

Pulling one of the Atlantic Fleet's six carriers would be seen as removing a significant chunk of East Coast firepower, Pavkovic said.

"I imagine there's a certain amount of command cohesion that's at work," Pavkovic said. "The other thing is these carriers train together and if they are going to have to operate together, that (taking a carrier from San Diego) makes a lot of sense as well."

The business community in San Diego is aware it could see one of its carriers go, and has almost resigned itself to the possibility of such a loss.

"The attitude that I sense is just the resolve that that (relocating aircraft carriers) is the way the Navy operates," said Kelly Cunningham, research director for the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce. "I guess maybe we're just happy that the two (carriers) are here. If they took away two and left us one that would seem to be more of an impact."

The USS Ronald Reagan is expected to be based in San Diego when it makes its first deployment in 2005. If the Navy moves a carrier to Hawai'i, one of San Diego's other two carriers may get the call.

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Doran, responsible for all the Navy ships in the Pacific, said in Washington yesterday that it is unclear whether, or if, a carrier would move from the East Coast or the West Coast.

"I'm looking at where (one) could better or best be positioned," Doran said. "Would it be better to move a carrier to Hawai'i? Would it be better to move a carrier to Guam? These are major muscle movements. This is not being done on the back of an envelope."

Hawai'i's location in the middle of the Pacific — and five days faster steaming time to potential trouble spots like the Korean Peninsula — has made it an attractive forward base for a heightened U.S. military emphasis on Asia and the Pacific.

The state is working with the Navy to use the former Barbers Point Naval Air Station as the base for an air wing of 70 to 80 aircraft, but the Navy cautioned yesterday that no carrier re-location decisions have been made.

Pacific Fleet has embarked on a $1.8 million study looking at basing a carrier and air wing in Hawai'i that should be done within a year.

Officials said no such study is under way for Guam.

"The current study is looking only at Hawai'i," said Pacific Fleet spokesman Lt. j.g. Mike Morley. "In the future, studies of other locations may occur. But for now, the focus is on Hawai'i."

Pavkovic said the air wing probably would conduct some of its training in California, "and if there's a question between us and Guam, clearly, if they do have to send stuff back to California for training, it's a lot easier to do it from here than it is from Guam."

San Diego is home to two Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carriers, the Nimitz and the John C. Stennis. The first deployment of San Diego's newest carrier, the Ronald Reagan, is scheduled for 2005.

The chamber of commerce's Cunningham said each 3,200-crew member carrier in San Diego has an annual $270 million economic impact, with $110.6 million in payroll spent locally each year, and $40 million in Navy maintenance contracts.

Cunningham said the loss of a carrier would be softened by increases in military spending including a 12 percent rise in payrolls, and $1 billion in additional ship repair contracts.

"The impact here (of a carrier) could be just amazing," Pavkovic said. As carrier battle groups of more than a half dozen ships pull back into port, "the amount of money that's going to be spent after a six-month or more deployment is going to be incredible.

"Plus, just the amount of work that's going to go to the shipyard to support (those ships). I can see some pretty big money being hurled our way."

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach William Cole at wcole@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-5459.