Sen. Murray visits Navy base, pushes for training site

Published 11:09 pm Monday, July 2, 2007

EVERETT – It may take nearly two years to build, but a new training facility planned for Naval Station Everett will be an important tool in the Navy’s bid to retain qualified sailors, officials said Monday.

The House and a key U.S. Senate committee have approved money to build the educational facility, a move some say will keep sailors at home an extra month each year.

Sen. Patty Murray, who is riding herd on this project, was at the naval station Monday to emphasize how important the training center is to the quality of life of sailors – many of whom already spend months at a time away from home on the nation’s business.

The $10.9 million expenditure is expected to be included in the federal military construction budget that will be approved this fall.

“We have our hands on this one,” said Murray, who will be a member of a conference committee to reconcile any differences between the House and Senate bills. “The more we can do to have our military personnel with their families, the better off we will be.”

Capt. Eddie Gardiner, Naval Station Everett’s commanding officer, said a site not far from the piers and ships has been selected. He expects the facility will be ready in two years or less.

Until now, sailors have been sent to places such as San Diego for training. Murray said the investment will save the Navy about $3 million a year in transportation costs.

Gardiner said he knows about precious time spent with families, and that a training center here is critical to keeping qualified young sailors in the service.

“Every day (at home) counts,” Gardiner said. “Having spent 18 years at sea, I can tell you every day counts.”

A lot of what will be taught will concern the high degree of technology used on modern warships, including the complicated Aegis radar and targeting systems used on the two guided-missile destroyers now assigned to the base, Gardiner said.

Cmdr. Mark Johnson, commanding officer of the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Shoup, said he has as few as two and as many as 40 sailors under his command undergoing training at a given time.

When those folks are away in San Diego, other members of the crew have to do extra work to pick up the slack.

“The bottom line is I’ll have a better team at the end of the day,” Johnson said.

It’s also likely that the facility will be used for off-duty educational purposes such as college classes, Gardiner added.

The training center has been in the Navy plans, but Gardiner and Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson both pressed to bring the facility to the front burner and advance its construction by several years.

Murray pushed the measure through a subcommittee, and the full Senate is expected to vote on the military construction bill this month, she said.

The new facility, to be called the Fleet Regional Readiness Center, will be a 28,000-square-foot building and will provide training for sailors in Everett and throughout the region.

“I’m going to continue to work to keep Naval Station Everett a world-class facility that meets our nation’s needs well into the future,” Murray said.

Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.