Military Spent $6.5 Billion in San Diego in ’84

San Diego County, home base for 20% of the Navy and of the Marine Corps, will enjoy a steady flow of incoming military dollars during coming years despite Department of Defense budget constraints, according to a forecast by the San Diego Chamber of Commerce.

About $6.5 billion in military spending, or 19% of San Diego’s gross regional product, poured into the county during 1984, according to the chamber report. The military presence accounted for the second-largest sector of the county’s economy, just behind manufacturing.

The military will “remain a major economic force” in San Diego, the chamber predicted, despite “budget constraints on the Department of Defense and growth in other sectors of the local economy.”

Nearly one-fifth of the county’s residents, or 354,000 people, have ties to the military. That figure includes active-duty people and their dependents, retired military people and their families, and civilians who work for the military. There are “thousands of others in the civilian labor force” with livelihoods tied to Pentagon contracts, the Chamber report said.

Defense contracts with 1,200 local businesses totalled $3.3 billion during 1984, according to the Department of Defense figures. General Dynamics received more than $1 billion (its 1984 payment for $3.9 billion in ongoing, multi-year contracts); Cubic Corp. received $464 million, and Science Applications of La Jolla received $391 million.

Navy and Marine Corps payrolls for the county’s 148,000 active-duty military, civilians and retirees exceeded $2.7 billion during 1984, accounting for 42% of total military outlays.

There were nearly 86,000 active-duty personnel assigned to Navy ships and bases around the county. The Marine Corps had more than 34,900 active-duty personnel.

The county’s 38,000 military retirees were paid an estimated $417 million during 1984.

Last year the military spent $285 million on construction projects, including $62 million for the new Navy hospital in Balboa Park. The military estimates that it will spend $326 million on construction this year, including an additional $62 million on the hospital.

Construction “is expected to accelerate” as the Navy and Marine Corps expand housing for their personnel.

The Navy had 106 warships based in San Diego during 1984, the chamber reported. A new Ticonderoga-class cruiser, two Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates and a fleet repair ship are scheduled to arrive this year.

However, two ships based in San Diego will move to a Japanese port and other San Diego-based ships could be shifted to a new base at Everett, Wash.

1984 Military Spending in San Diego County

Allotments (3.2%) $204.3 Million Military Pensions (6.4%) $417 Million Civilian Payrolls (10.2%) $662.7 Million Active Duty Payrolls (25.6%) $1.66 Billion Military Construction Contracts (4.4%) $285 Million Defense Contracts (50.2%) $3.26 Billion

Source: San Diego Chamber of Commerce