Marines Will Expedite Pullout From El Toro : Military: Some units may begin leaving in early summer. Officials hope to vacate the O.C. base by 1996.

The Marines may begin leaving El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in early summer and hope to be out entirely by 1996, more than three years ahead of the scheduled October, 1999, closure date.

A “migration plan” of Marine units at El Toro shows that three units are to begin moving to Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego by July 1 and be completely in place by Aug. 30.

Marine spokesman Col. Dan Pender Monday declined to provide specific details about the early departure from El Toro, saying only “we want to start moving this summer.”

A federal official confirmed the early departure plan late Monday afternoon in a statement to a meeting of the county’s El Toro Reuse Planning Authority’s executive council. Most people at the meeting--including representatives from the county, various cities and the business community--took the announcement of the stepped up departure plan in stride.

“The Marines and government made an economic decision in the interest of taxpayers to get the process moving,” said Thomas Edwards, president of the Airport Working Group, which favors using El Toro as a commercial airport. “If they hadn’t accelerated it, the departure could have languished, running up the cost of closing El Toro.”

Documents obtained by The Times show there are several hurdles to completing the move to Miramar, including a lack of Marine funding for the relocation, questions about the environmental impact of helicopter operations at the jet base and finding housing for Marines and their families.

In addition, Navy headquarters in Washington is studying the possibility of consolidating Marine and Naval FA-18 squadrons on the West Coast at a base in Northern California.

Pender said relocation “plans change literally from day-to-day.” In an interview last week, he said the Marines planned to be at Miramar “before 1999.”

“The quicker we can move down, the quicker we can close (El Toro), reduce maintenance and save money. Our plan right now is that we need to be gone by 1999. If we can get the funding to accomplish this sooner, we will,” said Pender.

A military source familiar with plans to move the Marine units, mostly FA-18 squadrons, to Miramar said the Marines are also studying the possibility of moving even sooner than July, possibly as early as May. The migration plan obtained by The Times shows that Marines plan to complete the move from El Toro by March 1, 1996. There are approximately 6,300 Marines and 125 aircraft at El Toro.

“There was a meeting at Miramar in January, where the Marines told the Navy they had been instructed by their headquarters in Washington to begin the move to Miramar ASAP,” said the source, who requested anonymity.

The big issue for the Marine departure, Pender said on Monday, is getting funding for the move. The Corps has “absolutely zero” in funding this year to make the move from El Toro.

“There is no approved plan; no funded plan,” he said in the interview at his base office. “Right now headquarters (in Washington) is working on the money issue with the Navy and trying to obtain funding for the move.”

Documents obtained by The Times show that the Navy had planned as early as December, 1993, to turn Miramar completely over to the Marines by 1996.

“Currently, the base (Miramar) is envisioned to be realigned to the USMC in fiscal year 97. At that time the installation will become a Marine Corps Air Station,” said a Dec. 15, 1993, Navy memo. The 1997 fiscal year will begin on Oct. 1, 1996.

The Navy has worried, however, about problems the Marines are having in keeping the schedule. Another Navy memo in December complained that the Marines’ plans to begin moving to Miramar in 1994 “shift with the tide. . . . One week, (it is) execute as quickly as possible . . . next week delay movements until fiscal year 95.”

A source familiar with the memo said the Marines’ “on again, off again approach to the move” is dictated by the uncertainty of the Department of Defense funding to pay for it.

The memo also warned that an environmental impact study being done on the transfer of 138 helicopters from El Toro and the Marine air station in Tustin to Miramar may be a “potential show stopper.”

Pender said the Marine environmental study of Miramar began in October and will take between 18 months and two years to complete.

“Federal law says we have to move from El Toro and Tustin. I don’t know what will happen if the (environmental) study says we can’t do that,” said Pender.

Presently, there are no helicopters at Miramar, which is used exclusively by Navy fixed-wing aircraft, mostly F-14 fighters and a few FA-18 attack fighters.

Another potential problem in the move, is where to house the Marines and their families once they move to Miramar, said Pender. The Marines will give up 2,727 housing units at El Toro, Pender said.

The source, who is familiar with the Navy’s plans to vacate Miramar, said Navy officials informed the Marines the Navy will not give up any of its Miramar housing, most of it new.

“There is no military housing available in San Diego for the Marines,” the source said. “They’ve told the Navy that they want all of the housing at Miramar, but the Navy isn’t budging. They said, ‘We built it with Navy money. You’re getting our base but not our housing.’ ”

Marine and Navy officials have been discussing the housing issue, Pender said, but he refused to elaborate.

The consolidation of FA-18 squadrons is one final complication to the potential move. A memo from the office of the chief of naval operations in Washington raised the issue of how long the Marine FA-18 squadrons would stay at Miramar.

The March 2, 1994, memo said the Navy is studying a cost-cutting proposal that would put all Navy and Marine FA-18s at the same base.

Several Navy pilots said that if the Navy opts to base all FA-18s at the same airfield, the West Coast site will probably be Leemore Naval Air Station, near Fresno, which currently only has FA-18 jets.

“Leemore is the F-18 capital. The base has all of the infrastructure needed to maintain F-18s. The Navy has the F-18 simulator, engine overhaul facilities, maintenance facilities and engine test stands there,” said a Navy aviator familiar with the base.

Pender said he was unaware of such plans, and added that the Marines have similar equipment at El Toro and would be moving it to Miramar.

In other developments Monday, County Administrative Officer Ernie Schneider said the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority board members will ask the federal government for a six-to-eight month extension to review and respond to a proposal from the federal Bureau of Prisons to convert the base to a prison.

Federal agencies, such as the prison bureau, have priority over local governments to develop the base property. So far, the prison bureau, the Air National Guard and the Marine Corp Reserves have made pitches for the land. Prison officials said they would not attempt to force a prison on the county.

The Department of Defense was expected to make a decision on those requests June 1 but will probably delay making a ruling because of the county’s request for a time extension.

The prison issue was a source of concern for the 50 representatives of an advisory council to the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, which met Monday. Several panel members said they opposed the prison plan.

The advisory council decided to meet and discuss organizational issues next month. The reuse planning authority will eventually make three reuse recommendations to the Board of Supervisors, which will decide what the county would do with the site.

El Toro Timetable

The Pentagon plans to move about 6,300 Marines and 125 aircraft at El Toro Marine Corps Air Station to Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego by March 1, 1996. The proposed schedule for their departure: 1994 Unit: Departure date Aircraft Group-46: July 1 Reserve Wing Support Squadron-472: July 1 Reserve Fighter Attack Squadron-134: July 1 Fighter Attack Squadron-242: Sept. 1 Fighter Attack Squadron-121: Sept. 1 Fighter Attack Squadron-212: Oct. 3 Fighter Attack Squadron-314: Oct. 3 Fighter Attack Squadron-235: Oct. 3 1995 Aircraft Group-11: Jan. 2 Air Logistics Squadron-11: Jan. 2 Fighter Attack Squadron-232: Feb. 1 Fighter Attack Squadron-225: March 1 Fighter Attack Squadron-323: May 1 1996 Fighter Attack Training Squadron-101: Jan. 2 Source: El Toro Marine Air Station