Hit List of Bases Sparks Fear, Outrage

If the Defense Department shuts down the Long Beach Naval Shipyard, the closure would not only eliminate the city’s second-largest employer but would tarnish the image of one of the nation’s premier Navy towns, officials and workers said Friday.

The Defense Department has targeted more than 100 military installations for possible closure or consolidation. Included are the 47-year-old Long Beach shipyard, the Army’s Ft. Ord on Monterey Bay and at least four other Northern California military facilities.

But word of the possible closures has already rattled nerves from Long Beach to San Francisco, where an estimated 40,000 workers face possible unemployment, with dimmer prospects for new jobs if the nation’s defense budget shrinks.

Some workers at the Long Beach shipyard, where rumors of reductions have been swirling for days, were near tears Friday.

“Some guys are really choked up,” said Frank Griffin Sr., a sheet metal mechanic at the yard for 25 years. “They are proud to work for their country and they expect a little loyalty from the government in return. For a 45- or 50-year-old guy to find out his job might be annihilated . . . it’s a frightening thing.”

Shipyard workers launched an immediate letter-writing and telephone campaign imploring lawmakers to preserve their jobs.

The shipyard employs 4,100 workers who overhaul and maintain Navy surface ships. It is the only West Coast yard not licensed to perform nuclear work, a factor officials believe has left it ripe for closure.

Without it, the local community stands to lose about $100 million a year. An estimated $250 million would be lost annually in the Southern California region from spinoff jobs and subcontracts the Navy work generates, said Laurie Hunter, vice president of the Long Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

Closure of the shipyard would not effect the Long Beach Naval Base, however.

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney on Monday is scheduled to release the list of possible base closures. After that, a commission must study the proposals and final decisions must be approved by Congress.

The four Northern California installations that face closure or consolidation are the Alameda Naval Depot and the Oakland Naval Supply Center in Alameda County, Moffett Naval Air Station in Santa Clara County and the Sacramento Army Depot.

Also on the list is the naval air facility in El Centro, with 270 military personnel. The base is the winter home of the Navy’s Blue Angels precision flying team and a year-round staging base for desert gunnery ranges.

The Navy warned that it also would consider closing or realigning Treasure Island Naval Station, Oak Knoll Naval Hospital and the Naval Air Station at Alameda if Congress’ budget authorizations are less than what has been requested.

Some elected officials expressed outrage over the threatened closure of the Long Beach shipyard and promised a political backlash.

“If the Administration thinks they can do this (with) impunity, they are sadly mistaken,” Long Beach City Councilman Evan Anderson Braude said. “The popularity of this Administration is going to sink very quickly if they indiscriminately close or try to relocate these facilities.”

Private shipyards have recently become more competitive for government contracts, however. And with political reforms in Eastern Bloc nations, the Navy reasons it could get along with less.

Rep. Glenn M. Anderson (D-San Pedro) called the Navy “dead wrong” for even considering closure of the Long Beach yard, which he said is “a model” of efficiency. He said the facility finished several jobs under cost last year and returned $20 million to the Navy.

“I have said that I do not know why the Navy would even contemplate such a misguided action against the most loyal Navy town in America,” Anderson said. “I simply do not understand the logic behind trying to close down the most productive and efficient yard while keeping those yards losing money open.”

Long Beach grew up as a Navy town and has tried to wean itself in recent years by building an economic base that relies less on naval presence. But the shipyard that remains is second only to McDonnell Douglas Corp. in the number of people it employs.

“This community more than any community in the country is the most supportive of the Navy,” Hunter said.

In sheer numbers, the closures would be felt most in the Bay Area, where the Navy employs 56,000 civilians and military personnel. If all the military bases named Friday were to be shut or realigned, 34,113 jobs would be lost in the Bay Area. But economists said the impact would be worst in the Monterey Bay area, where Ft. Ord accounts for 15,129 military jobs, 3,000 civilian workers and a payroll of $317 million annually.

“If the base closed down, the only thing I could do is pack up the truck and go home to Alabama--and there’s not much there,” said Ronnie Phillips, 25, a forklift operator at the naval supply depot in Alameda County. “All these people with warehouse experience would crowd me out of a job.”

It is the second time in less than a year that the military has threatened doom. Last April, Congress passed a plan calling for the closure of 86 military installations, including Norton Air Force Base and George Air Force Base, both in San Bernardino County.

Hamilton Army Field in Marin County and the Navy’s inactive Salton Sea Test Base were marked for closure, along with the Army’s Presidio in San Francisco and Mather Air Force Base near Sacramento. Two national landmarks, Ft. Sheridan in Illinois and Ft. Dix in New Jersey, were also on the list.

In September, the Senate refused to take action that would have rescued three of the sites, although it did require that a base not be shut down until the General Accounting Office verified that the closing costs would be recouped within six years.

Those closings could begin any time between now and Sept. 30, 1991, and must be completed by Sept. 30, 1995.

Meanwhile, the prospect of more idle bases in California was not upsetting to everyone.

Noting that “peace and prosperity can go hand in hand,” Louise McNeilly, coordinator of the Center for Economic Conversion in the Silicon Valley city of Mountain View, said the closure of the Moffett Naval Air Station could free up land to ease the area’s housing shortage, or become the site of a space museum or garbage dump.

And the lucrative Port of Long Beach, bursting at the seams and hunting for room to grow, could convert the precious shipyard land into container storage space. The port is looking at landfills to expand, at a cost of about half a million dollars an acre, and the shipyard space could represent more than $1 billion worth of property by some estimates.

“That would make one very nice terminal,” Harbor Commissioner Joel Friedland said. “But that is nothing compared to what a shipyard contributes to the community.”

San Diego stands to benefit from any cutbacks at other California bases by picking up manpower and services, legislators there predicted. None of its bases are marked for closure.

“I expect San Diego not only will hold its own but come out a little ahead in the game,” Rep. Jim Bates (D-San Diego) said.

Proponents of disarmament applauded talk of cutbacks they say would only improve the quality of life.

“We are pleased because it means there are less dangers to the citizens of Long Beach and the surrounding area. We have never fought against the Navy, just ships and nuclear weapons,” said Harold Collins, chairman of the Long Beach Area Peace Network, a coalition of 20 organizations for peace.

Fiore reported from Los Angeles and Morain from San Francisco. Also contributing were Times staff writers Kevin Roderick in Los Angeles, Jim Herron-Zamora in San Francisco, Roxana Kopetman in Long Beach, Nora Zamichow in San Diego and Melissa Healy in Washington.

BASES AT A GLANCE

Facts and figures about California military bases among those that could be shut down by the Defense Department. Information from Congress and local elected officials. Alameda Naval Air Station (includes Alameda Naval Depot and 60 military facilities) * 9,276 military personnel * 10,100 civilian personnel * Payroll: $281.3 million * Opened in 1940 * Mission: Support U.S. Pacific fleet Alameda Naval Depot * 60 military personnel * 4,300 civilian personnel * Payroll: unknown * Opened in 1940 * Mission: Repair planes El Centro Naval Air Facility * 270 military personnel * 160 civilian personnel * Mission: Train Navy squadrons at desert gunnery ranges Ft. Ord * 15,129 military personnel * 3,000 civilian personnel * Payroll: $317.3 million * Opened in 1940 * Mission: Rapid deployment force Long Beach Naval Shipyard * 42 military personnel * 4,100 civilian personnel * Payroll: $220 million * Opened in 1943 * Mission: Maintain and overhaul surface ships Moffett Naval Air Station * 5,500 military personnel * 1,500 civilian personnel * Payroll: $52 million * Opened in 1933 * Mission: Support Navy’s long-range maritime mission Oak Knoll Naval Hospital (Oakland) * 1,400 military personnel * 550 civilian personnel * Payroll: $76.4 million * Opened in 1942 * Mission: Provide care for active and retired military personnel Oakland Naval Supply Center * 61 military personnel * 1,726 civilian personnel * Payroll: $41.9 million * Opened in 1941 * Mission: Supply and support U.S. fleet Treasure Island Naval Station * 3,000 military personnel * 1,000 civilian personnel * 1,011 people live in military housing on base (70% of them are attached to Treasure Island military personnel) * Payroll: $100 million * Opened in 1939 * Mission: Training school in damage and fire control

BASES FACING POSSIBLE CLOSURE

These California military installations are among those that could face closure or consolidation under a Defense Department plan.

1. Treasure Island Naval Station

2. Alameda Naval Air Station

3. Oakland Naval Supply Center

4. Oak Knoll Naval Hospital (Oakland)

5. Moffett Naval Air Station

6. Fort Ord

7. Long Beach Naval Shipyard

8. El Centro Naval Air Facility