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SPAWAR consolidation to cause little local impact
Establishment of Norfolk, Va., command to cull commanding officer, some staff
By Matthew French
Staff Writer
When the recent Base Realignment and Closure Commission report was issued in May, most of Charleston breathed a sigh of relief.
But now rumors are once again swirling about the fate of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, located on the Naval Weapons Station in North Charleston.
Included in the BRAC language was a provision to create the SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic and a SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific, essentially consolidating most of the operations in two locations, San Diego, Calif., and Norfolk, Va.
“It is a consolidation of sorts that will be mirrored on the West Coast,” says SPAWAR spokeswoman Marsha Hassell. “But that’s only if the BRAC recommendations are implemented. These were decisions that were made far above us.”
The BRAC list is a list of sites recommended for closure and realignment. Appearing on the list is often a harbinger of doom for the facility; however, there is the possibility of salvation.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld presented the BRAC list to an appointed committee who evaluates each recommendation and will send the altered list to President Bush by Sept. 8.
The president then approves the list or sends it back to the commission for further evaluation. Bush will then send the list to Congress, which either passes the list in its entirety or rejects it outright.
In Charleston, the fear was that one of the area’s Big Three—the Air Force base, the Naval Weapons Station/Nuclear Power School or the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center—could fall under the axe, resulting in the loss of thousands of military jobs for the second time in a decade.
SPAWAR employees nationwide could face a “significant impact,” if the recommendations are implemented, but largely, the Charleston area will feel little effect, Hassell says.
SPAWAR Charleston oversees SPAWAR installations in Norfolk and Yorktown, Va., Jacksonville and Pensacola, Fla., and Washington, D.C.
“The language indicates that, with the exception of the commanding officer and some support staff, almost all of the employees, all of the facilities and all of the equipment will remain in Charleston,” she says.
Construction project still on track
In 1999, SPAWAR submitted a proposal for the construction of a 58,000-square-foot consolidated electronic integration and support facility.
The project is still active, and the command anticipates awarding the contract by the end of the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, Hassell says.
“We have a lot of outlying trailers and old buildings that just aren’t well-suited to our needs,” Hassell says. “We have a lot of property, and the new building will be a mix of administration and engineering facilities. We definitely need more lab space for our people.”
According to the original Navy solicitation, SPAWAR is looking for a single-story building comprised of laboratory, administrative and support spaces. The project also includes the demolition of
10 temporary buildings on the site.
Hassell says she cannot speculate on the cost of the building, as any public disclosure could adversely affect the competitive bidding process.
New Commanding Officer
SPAWAR Charleston also recently received a new commanding officer. Navy Capt. Cloyes “Red” Hoover, the command’s executive officer of military personnel and deputy chief engineer for the past year, assumed command on June 2, replacing outgoing Capt. John Pope.
Pope left SPAWAR to join the Program Executive Office for command, control, communications, computers and intelligence and space in San Diego.
Hoover is a native of Flushing, Mich., and is a graduate of the University of Michigan at Flint where he received a bachelor of science in engineering in 1984.
Hoover was later awarded a master of science in physics in 1991 from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif.
Matthew French is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at mfrench@crbj.com.
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