State leaders hopeful
that Pearl will
get carrier group
Hawaii's top two political leaders, Democrat U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye and Republican Gov. Linda Lingle, are united in efforts to home-port an aircraft carrier group at Pearl Harbor.
Lingle and Inouye both expressed hope yesterday that a carrier would be based here but stressed that the final decision rests with the Pentagon.
"It is under very serious discussion. The secretary of the Navy is involved, and he has met with the governor," Inouye said yesterday.
Lingle and Inouye were at a public ceremony together at Kaahumanu Elementary School yesterday.
Lingle said she and Inouye are working on the home-porting issue "in a cooperative way."
"There have been general discussions with the secretary of the Navy, but they have not yet made a decision," Lingle said. "I am hopeful there will be additional military assets moved to Hawaii."
State Sen. Cal Kawamoto said earlier this week that he was in Washington, D.C., last week and was told by Hawaii's congressional delegation that while there was a good chance a carrier group could be relocated in Hawaii, the politics of the situation were unresolved.
Kawamoto (D, Waipahu) said that U.S. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., as chairman of the Armed Services Committee, will have much to say about a possible carrier relocation.
But, Kawamoto said, Warner has not yet discussed it in his district, which now has two carrier battle groups.
The nuclear-powered USS George Washington and the USS Theodore Roosevelt battle group are both home-ported in Norfolk, Va.
Inouye said that a key requirement for the carrier battle group would be use of the Kalaeloa area, formerly known as Barbers Point, which was a 3,700-acre naval air station.
"Barbers Point is an important element if we are to have a carrier, because when the carrier is docked, the planes have to go somewhere and the pilots have to continue to practice and train," Inouye said.
The Navy considered home-porting a carrier battle group at Pearl Harbor in 1998 but ruled it out, saying it would be too expensive.
However, the world situation has changed since then, Inouye said.
"Many of the problems of the world are now located in the Pacific area. The government of the United States has come to the realization that those real trouble spots are within the Pacific Rim," Inouye said.
Lingle agreed, saying basing a carrier group in Hawaii would be "important for both our nation's security and important for Hawaii's security."
But, she cautioned, the discussions regarding use of Kalaeloa would be complicated.
"I think it will be a challenge. ... There will be a lot of state and federal discussions along with discussions with the city," she said.
The benefits would include an increased number of service personnel and added jobs.
Five years ago the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii estimated that Hawaii could pick up $375 million a year from 4,200 new jobs if a carrier was based at Pearl Harbor.