The assembly ratified the S.C. Military Preparedness and Enhancement Act (H.4481, S.825) as R 362. The act would create a commission to protect the state's military bases by enhancing community support.
Though told that the retirement of a Navy squadron based in Beaufort has nothing to do with the 2005 round of Base Realignment and Closure process, the news last week sent a mild ripple through the civilian community. This week congressional representatives sought reassurance from the secretary of the Navy that all is as well as it can be. But local and state officials can do more.
The Department of Defense has announced that it will proceed with the BRAC assessment to eliminate an estimated 25 percent excess installation capacity to operate more efficiently. That means the county's three installations -- Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, Naval Hospital Beaufort and Parris Island Marine Corps Recruit Depot -- will be evaluated along with all Defense Department installations.
Rep. Joe Wilson, who represents South Carolina's Second Congressional District, which includes Beaufort, and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who both serve on congressional Armed Services committees, talked with Secretary of the Navy Gordon England about the decommissioning of the 37-year-old Navy squadron, VFA-82 (Marauders). The squadron, formed in May 1967, made its first deployment aboard the USS America to Vietnam in 1968. The squadron came to Beaufort along with Navy Strike Fighter Squadron 86, The Sidewinders. They deployed aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt and flew bombing missions over Afghanistan immediately following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The Navy says that VFA-82 was chosen for decommissioning because of its rotation cycle aboard aircraft carriers, and that this is a move outlined in 2002 to reduce Navy F/A-18 squadrons from 20 to 17 as part of an efficiency process. Wilson says Secretary England has accepted an invitation to visit Beaufort bases this fall. Graham said, "According to Secretary England, Beaufort is a vital and indispensable part of the Navy-Marine Corps tactical aviation capability and they could not be more pleased with the surrounding community."
That is essentially the message England left in October 2002 when he visited Beaufort. He urged the community to continue to do the things that Beaufort does well. The community has thus far avoided the many bars, joints and other establishments that operate just outside military bases across the country. Consequently, military personnel get in less trouble here in Beaufort. Right now the Navy and the Marine Corps like the "environment" in Beaufort. That may not always be the case if we continue to build schools in the wrong place. The governor also could help the situation by speedily signing legislation that would create a commission to coordinate many of the activities associated with trying to keep bases in Beaufort and other S.C. communities.