Constellation Aweigh; 1st of 2 Carriers Leaves

The aircraft carrier Constellation pulled out of San Diego Monday morning, departing for a 29-month overhaul and leaving questions in its wake about the carrier presence at one of the Navy’s major bases.

For the city, the Constellation’s departure means an annual loss of more than $45 million in sailors’ payroll, supplies and services. But the exact price tag of the carrier’s departure is unknown because Navy officials do not calculate how much will be lost when the spouses and families of the 2,500 crew members also depart.

“In the short term, we are not going to feel it,” said Pete Litrenta, vice president of military affairs with the San Diego Chamber of Commerce. “Initially, it will seem like the ship is going out on a deployment.”

The San Diego area is host to 145,000 Navy personnel and benefits from about $9.5 billion in annual military expenditures, so the loss of one aircraft carrier is not significant, Litrenta said. After the Constellation’s $750-million refurbishment at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, the 85,000-ton carrier is scheduled to return to San Diego in early 1993, said Lt. Cmdr. Bob Pritchard, a Navy spokesman.

The Constellation’s refurbishment will include improving the engineering plant, combat systems, and living quarters. As part of the Navy’s Service Life Extension program, workers will also overhaul the aircraft launching and arresting equipment.

The Constellation’s departure leaves San Diego with two aircraft carriers, the Independence and the Ranger. But the situation could easily change. The Independence is slated for a June, 1991, deployment to Japan, where it will replace the aging carrier Midway, high-ranking Navy officers said. The Midway was commissioned in 1945 and is one of the Navy’s oldest carriers. Some say it has outlived its usefulness.

With the Constellation absent for repairs and the Independence in Japan, San Diego would be left with one carrier.

“I am not going to start crying that the sky is falling until I know what the Navy’s plans are,” Litrenta said. “But a million here, a million there--it starts adding up to some real money.”

For San Diego and other Navy hosts, there is considerable uncertainty as President Bush hammers out a new military budget that calls for the closing of bases and the mothballing of ships. Under the latest proposal, two carriers in Northern California--the Carl Vinson and the Enterprise--would need a home port. San Diego, some say, would be a logical choice.

And, while lawmakers haggle over a variety of other military expenses, none yet have questioned the aircraft carriers. But Navy officers are quick to jump to their defense.

“If you want to be able to influence events in the world, then there is no better platform than an aircraft carrier.” said Capt. Tom Slater, commanding officer of the Independence.

Navy pilots who fly and land aboard the 1,079-foot-long Constellation will remain unaffected by the carrier’s new assignment. The aircraft squadrons once assigned to the Constellation are now assigned to the Independence, Pritchard said.