By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
The first P-3 Orion sub hunter bound for Kaneohe
Marine Corps Base makes its approach, with the Koolaus
in the background.
Barbers Point
squadron moving
to Kaneohe
This is the first of five air
By Gregg K. Kakesako
squadrons to make the move
Star-BulletinIt will be a lot quieter on the Ewa Plain this week as the first of five air squadrons at Barbers Point Naval Air Station moves to the other side of the island.
The gates leading to Barbers Point Naval Air Station will close July 1, and by then, more than 2,200 military personnel and civilian workers in the Navy's anti-submarine warfare program in Hawaii will be in their new quarters at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe.
Last week, two P-3 Orion sub hunter aircraft belonging to Patrol Squadron 9 (VP-9) landed at their new home.
By the end of this week all nine of the aircraft and 350 people belonging to the squadron will move.
By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
"It's great to be here," says Cmdr. Earl Hampton,
following the P-3's landing at its new home.
Navy relocations continue this week.
"It's great to be here," said Cmdr. Earl Hampton, executive officer for the "Golden Eagles," minutes after landing at the Kaneohe base. "It's such a beautiful part of the island."We're used to doing this since we deploy once a year for six months, so we're pretty good at moving."
It was in November 1992 that the "Golden Eagles" moved to Hawaii and Barbers Point Naval Air Station from Moffat Naval Air Station near San Francisco.
Another squadron will move into its new Kaneohe headquarters later this month. The remaining two squadrons will make the move following overseas deployment assignments.
A Navy spokesman said the base's aircraft intermediate maintenance department was transferred to Kaneohe in February along with its only helicopter squadron.
The 1993 Base Closure and Realignment Commission recommended shutting down the 3,700-acre naval air station, which was established in 1942.
About 1,173 acres will be retained by the Navy, 450 acres will be used by other federal agencies such as the Hawaii Army National Guard and the remaining 2,140 acres will be available for other uses.
One of the largest users of the naval air station will be the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which received 586 acres in exchange for the Navy's continued use of land at the Naval Magazine in Lualualei.
The state also hopes to end all general aviation operations at Honolulu Airport next year by moving single-engine plane operations to Barbers Point. The intent is to transfer all of the state's 200 small planes and related general aviation businesses from Keehi Lagoon to Barbers Point.
The Navy will continue to run a 950-unit housing complex, medical center, recreational facilities and golf course at Barbers Point.
