---

Commission gives
logical nod to Pearl
Harbor shipyard

THE ISSUE An independent commission has allowed to stand a Pentagon decision to keep the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard..

PEARL Harbor Naval Shipyard barely survived a vote by an independent commission on a proposal to shut it down and leave in operation a submarine repair facility on the coast of Maine. The feverish lobbying effort by governors and congressional delegations from Maine and New Hampshire that preceded the vote could continue, but the logic of the commission's decision should prevail.

The role of Governor Lingle, Mayor Hannemann and Hawaii's delegation in Congress was instrumental, but the crucial factor in the decision was the Defense Department's insistence that Hawaii's militarily strategic location was overriding. Lingle made the same point in a comprehensive letter to the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, but a strong letter by Gordon England, the acting Navy secretary, and testimony by Rear Adm. Robert Willard, vice chief of naval operations, were paramount.

Willard told the commission that Pearl Harbor not only services ships here and on the West Coast but supports vessels deployed in the Pacific. "Pearl Harbor has distinct advantages because of its location," he said simply.

England said in the letter that the Pearl Harbor shipyard's "critical geographical location, adjacent to a significant portion of the fleet and forward positioned in the central Pacific, combined with its capability to dock a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, provided a higher overall military value to the department" than Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, the Maine facility that the Pentagon has proposed to shut down.

A separate commission has recommended that one of the Navy's 12 aircraft carriers be based in the Pacific and cited Honolulu as "a likely location." An aircraft carrier would bring a crew of 3,000 sailors and an equal number of aviators and support personnel to Hawaii. The carrier's berthing at Pearl has been projected to create 4,200 jobs.

Pearl Harbor already hosts 17 attack submarines and 12 combat ships. The retention of the shipyard will save 4,300 jobs held by civilians working alongside 800 military personnel.

The commission voted 5-4 to add the Pearl shipyard to the Pentagon's list of recommended military base closures. However, seven votes were needed to add the shipyard to the list. Portsmouth remains on the list of installations to be shuttered, although the commission will study the possibility of keeping it open. The commission will have to reaffirm each of its decisions next month under the same seven-vote standard.

Those in charge of the Pearl Harbor shipyard cannot rest easy but should find ways to cut expenses; Portsmouth earned high marks for its efficiency, and the government will continue to look at cost-saving strategies because of its soaring budget deficit.

"The crunch is coming to the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security," U.S. Comptroller David Walker told the commission. "It's a matter of when and not if. We are currently on an imprudent and unsustainable path."

---

---

---