Navy may merge two bases

BREMERTON — The Navy is considering merging its Bangor and Bremerton bases to save money, The Sun newspaper reported Saturday.

Rear Adm. Len Hering, commanding officer of the Navy’s Northwest region, told the newspaper the merger could save millions of dollars a year.

The first phase would involve eliminating the 38 command staff positions at Naval Station Bremerton and turning over base operations to Naval Submarine Base Bangor, about eight miles away. Together, the two bases likely would be known as Naval Base Kitsap, with Bremerton and Bangor annexes.

The secretary of the Navy is reviewing the proposal, which would also require Defense Department approval. Hering said layoffs of 15 civilian employees would come next year.

A decision "could move very fast or be slow-balled because of other things that are going on," Hering said. Northwest Navy leaders have been working on the plan for most of this year.

The consolidation of the two commands would follow the Navy’s new business model of regionalizing services for sailors and families and eliminating repetitive services.

The Navy is trying to save $40 billion over the next four years in order to build more ships. The Navy has 295 ships in its fleet, the first time the number has dropped below 300 since before World War II.

"We’re not doing this just to make a change," Hering said. "The reduction of this individual command has very little impact on the way we do business, but will save us $2 million a year. This is just the first step."

The model for combining two bases comes from California, where Naval Air Station Point Mugu and Construction Battalion Center at Port Hueneme were merged in 1998. Now known as Naval Base Ventura County, one command is responsible for basic services at both facilities, such as fire, safety, public affairs, public works, family services and environmental controls.

"It’s been working well," Naval Base Ventura County spokeswoman Teri Reid said. "We had a little bump in the beginning, but it’s been a smooth ride since then."

During its base merger and with the regionalization of base services over the past few years, Naval Base Ventura County has seen 73 positions eliminated with 20 people losing their government jobs. Others were reassigned elsewhere.

If approved, Bangor will be charged with controlling those services at Bremerton as well. Small detachments will likely remain at the naval station.

The merger would not affect Naval Undersea Warfare Center at Keyport, as Subase Bangor is already charged with base operations there.

Naval Station Bremerton has only existed for four years, after the Navy took home-port responsibilities away from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, which had served in that capacity since the early 1900s.

The move in 1999 allowed the shipyard to focus on ship repairs and maintenance and started a new naval station command to control home-port duties, such as sailor and family services.

Capt. T.J. Dargan, who took over as commanding officer of the naval station in July, would not lose his command, Hering said. Instead, Dargan would serve as deputy commander of the naval station until his tour of duty expires in summer 2005. After that, the Navy would not assign a deputy commander to the naval station.