Lemmings to the Fall
A double whammy has been delivered on the Navy with encroachment by land and encroachment by sea. “In one short day, the Governor and Legislature have delivered a gift wrapped package to the citizens of Florida. First, over the stated objections of the Navy and DoD, they passed the off shore drilling bill. Then, they cut funding for the joint land use program that was part of the concerted effort to retain the master jet base at NAS Oceana and of course the carriers and supporting ships in Norfolk. Way to go Legislature; makes one wonder why we even try here in Hampton Roads when our needs and requirements are simply paid lip service to the Grover Norquist inspired anti tax zealots. This one day was a debacle and will take years to mend, if ever.” – Mike Barrett commenting on recent Virginian-Pilot article.
Adding insult to injury, eight lemmings on the Virginia Beach City Council followed Gov. McDonnell off the cliff. “The Governor made me do it”, is Mayor Sessoms reply. That is so so sad.
Virginia’s offshore wind development better produce a lot of jobs to make up for all the lost jobs caused by the Navy packing up and leaving for Florida. Governor McDonnell is both the Pied Piper and the Emperor with No Clothes, for there are no jobs with drilling off Virginia. It’s a net loss with the Navy saying “Adios, Virginia”.
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February 24th, 2010 at 10:10 am
Why is offshore drilling a blow to the Navy but offshore windfarms are not — just asking?
February 24th, 2010 at 10:47 am
My understanding is that the Navy officially opposes offshore drilling, but they have not taken a position on offshore wind. Maybe Eileen can confirm this, but I believe it is because wind turbines can be placed on barrier islands and in relatively shallow water, while oil drilling would be in deeper water where it would interfere with Navy operations.
By the way, the Navy has set a goal of having half of its power come from renewable sources by 2025.
February 24th, 2010 at 11:21 am
yeah, oil drilling really messes up the Navy. That’s why the military never goes anywhere near the Persian Gulf.
February 24th, 2010 at 11:50 am
Kirwin: Since you’ve never been in the Navy or Persian Gulf, what do you know about the issue except what you’ve been told? Nothing…
February 24th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Hey Brian, nice of you to visit. You are always good for a laugh. The Army has military operations in Iraq, but I’m pretty sure they would oppose the installation of IEDs in the streets of Virginia Beach.
February 24th, 2010 at 1:22 pm
Bailey, Bailey, Bailey. If you had your way, you’d be charging sick and injured people for calling an ambulance. Maybe you’d rather they crawled to ER.
Eileen’s never been anywhere near an oil rig, and she’s the expert telling us what it would be like?
David..thank you for having a sense of humor.
February 24th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
kirwin: LOL Sometimes they would get to the ER quicker if they crawled than waiting for the ambulance to arrive… BTW: I wouldn’t bill them anything close to what the ER’s and doctor are going to charge them. They have costs to provide the ER service and why should the taxpayers in VB pay for free rides when nothing about the ride is “free.” You get the ER to drop the fees and I’ll agree with you.
And on topic, Eileen is not the US Navy or DOD. BTW they have both objected to the “drill baby drill” approach off the coast of Virginia. I support the US Navy and not some dumb “drill baby” theme that isn’t going to reduce our oil dependence, fuel costs or improve our job outlook.
And I find I have a sense of humor. I no longer find your spew funny.
February 24th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
I operated our Navy’s ships in the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Mexico. The oil rigs do not impede our operations, but their presence does take away some of the options that we typically would have for live firing exercises. Depending on where the rigs are placed in the Virginia Capes operating area, we might have to re-draw some of our operating areas, but it really is not much of an issue.
As for the Carrier moving to Mayport/Jacksonville: We should be describing this as a proposed move BACK to Mayport, since the Navy used to have carriers stationed there. Citizens of Norfolk must recall the lessons of Pearl Harbor. It is foolish to have all of our East Coast aircraft carriers in one, easily targeted port. We should spread the carriers out; at least to two ports per coast. The original consolidation plan was intended to save money, but most veterans opposed that idea, since it was a strategic error to have all of our “eggs” placed in one basket (Norfolk for the Atlantic Fleet and San Diego for the Pacific Fleet). Thankfully, the consolidation plan was stopped and our Navy is seeking to spread our Naval assets out a bit more.
February 24th, 2010 at 2:46 pm
The Navy was planning to move that carrier before “drill baby drill” was envisioned.
February 25th, 2010 at 3:17 am
Eileen,
Quoting Barrett as a defender of Oceana? Mike was one of those who wanted to allow developers (like himself) encroach up to it’s gates.
J. Tyler,
That’s how I’ve heard it described in a couple presentations: oil rigs impact on training in the Virginia Capes.
February 25th, 2010 at 4:24 am
Bailey, funny thing is people have said the same thing about you for years. I’ve followed in your footsteps.
February 26th, 2010 at 9:12 pm
Will the Navy join the environmentalists? While quite a few vessels are nuclear powered, most still are fueled by crude oil. In the event of a major war, how much more difficult will it be to defend crude oil supplies that cover large expanses of open ocean compared to the short jaunt from off Virginia’s coasts? Besides, during this future war, we might find many sources of foreign oil unwilling to export to us even if the Navy is capable of defending the open ocean.
I think it is best that as large a portion of our crude oil supplies come from domestic sources as possible in the interests of national security as well our economic interests. If someone in the Navy wants to insist that it is best that as large a percentage as possible of our crude oil needs comes from foreign sources he needs to be asked to retire early so we can get someone else in that position who has a better head on his shoulders.
J. Tyler:
You are a also a Navy Veteran? Seriously, have you thought about SERVING in politics instead of just dabbling in and commenting on it? We need someone to run against Wagner so we can drive him out of office. Hopefully you live in the district. I haven’t heard of people lining up to run against Wagner. Maybe we can start a grass roots campaign. We’ll call it the Coffee Party movement. Real men (and most women) prefer coffee to tea.
Va Beach Democratic Committee: Are you listening? You need a candidate on the ballot and I nominate J. Tyler. Perhaps you can come up with someone better, but last time Wagner ran unopposed. J. Tyler if no one else and J. Tyler over anyone else.
But J. Tyler, you have got to agree. Interested? Let me warn you the pay is not much for all the demands that will be placed on you.
March 5th, 2010 at 8:56 am
Thank-you for the very kind comment. I would love to give Mr. Wagner some healthy competition, but I do not live in that District. I will try to find a motivated candidate to carry the ball for the Democratic team against Mr. Wagner. Does Hank Howell live in that District?
Hampton Roads is bursting at the seams with highly qualified citizens who could carry forth the Democratic banner in every contest. There is no reason to EVER leave a race uncontested. We owe it to our citizens to enjoin the other side in a healthy, constructive debate of the issues, in EVERY election, in every district.
Bill Fleming recently showed us his great courage and dedication to Virginia by running in the, heavily gerrymandered, Eighth District. What Bill did was, fire a shot across the bow of the Republican side, and force them to publicly address many of the issues that they would have rather ignored. Most important, Bill Fleming awakened citizens of Virginia Beach to the fact that we Democrats are going to provide them with good quality candidates, and a better choice than the same old crowd of corporate-owned candidates offered by the Republican side.
I hope to meet many of the VB Democrats at the JJ dinner in Richmond on March 20th and at the training day (FREE!) on Sunday, March 21st. Visit http://www.vademocrats.org and sign-up to attend. We are all going to have a great time!