On Target

Commemorating 35 years as a premier missile test site and local economic engine, the Port Hueneme Naval Surface Warfare Center on Wednesday kicked off a weeklong celebration.

This is the place, base leaders said, where everything from Cold War-era weapons to high-tech Tomahawk cruise missiles fired in the Persian Gulf have been tested, had bugs worked out and been certified as ready for battle.

And this is the place, they said, where 2,300 people--most of them civilians--earn a living by making sure Navy weapons fire safely and hit their marks.

“It’s going to be an exciting millennium, and we’re going to provide sailors with the ability to work, and work safely,” Navy Capt. James W. Phillips told a crowd of 150 guests outside warfare center headquarters.

The center opened in July 1963 when guided missiles were just being developed. Today, engineers at the center inspect missiles increasingly reliant on computer technology.

“When you take these revolutionary new steps, there are bumps along the way,” Phillips said. “This place helps solve them.”

The center is at the Port Hueneme Naval Construction Battalion Center, where Navy Seabees are stationed.

Its activities may not be as high-profile as that of Seabee construction crews, but they are just as critical, officials said.

For instance, the Surface Warfare Engineering Facility provides Navy officials with crack engineering advice when they run into equipment trouble at sea. If a missile or gun malfunctions, ship commanders contact trouble-shooters in Port Hueneme, who simulate the problem using computers and test equipment.

Much of the work, however, gets done at sea.

At any given time, dozens of civilian engineers from Port Hueneme are traveling about the globe aboard Navy ships, helping train new sailors who will shoot the weapons.

Closer to home, Port Hueneme engineers often take the Self Defense Test Ship on runs near San Nicolas Island, 60 miles south of Point Mugu. The ship, a retired Navy destroyer, is used as a target in missile tests. No missiles are actually gauged to hit it, but they come close during simulations.

Anniversary congratulations Wednesday came from such local officials as Oxnard City Councilman Bedford Pinkard and national leaders including Navy Secretary John H. Dalton, who sent a letter of praise.

Throughout a morning of speeches, officials underscored the low-key, workmanlike nature of working at the warfare center.

“Look around this place,” Phillips said, “it’s not exactly world-class architecture. What’s important are the people inside the buildings.”

Indeed, civilian engineers expressed great pride.

Charles Giacchi, the center’s top civilian employee, said one of his proudest moments came during the Gulf War, when missiles evaluated at the center blasted Iraqi targets.

“All the Tomahawks shot on CNN, we had a lot to do with the support of the missiles, and the testing,” said the Oxnard resident.

With an annual budget of about $400 million, the center is viewed by local leaders as vital to the Ventura County economy. Much of that money is used to hire local defense contractors.

But like other military bases, the warfare center has seen employee cutbacks in recent years and faces pressure to contain costs.

Paul Benfield, a Navy commander and top center official for the past three years, said that such pressure is not likely to lighten.

“It’s a large organization and it’s run like a business,” Benfield said. “There’s a perception the military wastes money, but we’re always frugal.”