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The Navy's last naval air station in the Hawaiian Islands has been disestablished, closing out 57 years of service. NAS Barbers Point--the "Crossroads of the Pacific," carved out of brush and coral on the leeward side of Oahu early in World War II--has been turned over to the state of Hawaii.

Barbers Point was named for Henry Barber, master of the Arthur, a 100-foot British brigantine that ran aground on the point of Oahu during a storm in 1796. Construction of the airfield began in November 1941, but was temporarily suspended after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor so that construction crews could rapidly complete Marine Corps Air Station Ewa. Barbers Point was still not complete when it was established as a naval air station on 15 April 1942.

The new air station quickly became a busy hub of aviation activity as the Navy amassed forces in Hawaii to carry the war across the Pacific. Base operations centered on working up carrier air groups (CAGs) and squadrons for deployment to combat theaters farther west. By the end of World War II, Barbers Point was home to almost 13,000 personnel. After the Japanese surrender, Barbers Point served as a demobilization
center for more than 6,000 personnel leaving for civilian life.

During the late 1940s the station was the beneficiary of a consolidation of naval aviation facilities on the leeward side of the island. The beginning of the Cold War and the outbreak of the war in Korea in 1950 increased activity at Barbers Point, which became a main base for patrol plane operations and, later, airborne early warning barrier patrols. P-2 and P-3 maritime patrol aircraft assigned to the "Rainbow Fleet" based at Barbers Point tracked Soviet submarines in the Pacific and supported fleet operations during the Vietnam War. In 1981, Barbers Point became the center of Pacific Fleet strategic communications operations when Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron (VQ) 3 moved from NAS Agana, Guam.

The end of the Cold War, in which Barbers Point played a major albeit relatively unpublicized role, eventually brought about its closure. The 1993 Base Closure and Realignment Commission recommended to Congress that Barbers Point be closed, a move that Congress accepted. The Coast Guard Air Station, an NAS tenant, remains at Barbers Point, which now serves general aviation on Oahu and hosts units of the Hawaii National Guard. The Navy has retained 1,100 acres for military housing and family support facilities. The 2,150-acre section ceded to Hawaii is now officially designated the Kalaeloa Community Development District.

Naval aviation still maintains a formidable presence in Hawaii, however. The last five Navy squadrons at Barbers Point--Helicopter Antisubmarine Squadron Light 37, Special Projects Patrol Squadron 2, and Patrol Squadrons 4, 9, and 47--were transferred earlier this year to Marine Corps Air Facility Kaneohe Bay (part of Marine Corps Base Hawaii) located on the lush windward side of Oahu.

The return to Kaneohe is a homecoming of sorts for the patrol squad-rons; Kaneohe was a prominent patrol aviation base before and during World War II.

Environmental Study Supports CVN Basing on West Coast

A Navy environmental study supports the basing of a total of three nuclear-powered aircraft carriers (CVNs) at North Island, a part of Coronado Naval Base near San Diego, Calif., that already serves as home to the Nimitz-class CVN USS John C. Stennis.

The only other carrier now based at North Island--the conventionally powered Kitty Hawk-class carrier USS Constellation--is scheduled for decommissioning in 2003 and will be replaced by the Nimitz-class CVN Ronald Reagan, now under construction.

The USS Nimitz--now going through a three-year refueling and overhaul at Newport News, Va.--also is expected to be based at North Island, beginning in 2002. An additional pier will be required at North Island to accommodate three CVNs.

The study ruled out Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as a carrier homeport, but supported current CVN basing plans for the Puget Sound area of Washington, where the Nimitz-class CVNs USS Carl Vinson and USS Abraham Lincoln are currently based--at Naval Station Bremerton and Naval Station Everett, respectively.

The Department of Defense will make a final decision on the basing plan after consideration of public commentary on the study--which is titled "Final Environmental Impact Statement for Developing Home Port Facilities for Three Nimitz-class Aircraft Carriers in Support of the U.S. Pacific Fleet." Some environmental activists have opposed basing CVNs in the San Diego area.

UAV Chemical Detector Passes Downwind Tests

The Program Executive Office for Cruise Missiles and Joint Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) has conducted tests in Nevada of a chemical agent detector installed in a small UAV.

The Surface Acoustic Wave Chemical Agent Detector (SAWCAD)--developed by Femtometrics in Irvine, Calif.--is a small sensor that was mounted in a Pointer hand-launched UAV coupled with a commercial-off-the-shelf radio modem transmitter. The Navy conducted 11 test flights with the SAWCAD in the Pointer to demonstrate the sensor's ability to detect, identify, and report the presence of a chemical vapor downwind from an emission source. The first six flights collected ambient atmospheric data; the last five flights successfully detected the presence of dimethyl methylphosphonate gas, Navy officials said.

The data collected by the 13-ounce sensor was transmitted by a 10-ounce RS232 transceiver.

Sea Service Notes

The Navy's Atlantic Fleet Hornet squadrons have vacated Naval Air Station (NAS) Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Fla., which is scheduled for closure later this year. Nine strike fighter squadrons (VFAs)--VFAs 34, 37, 81, 83, 86, 105, 106, 131, and 136--have moved to NAS Oceana in Virginia Beach, Va. VFAs 15 and 87 have moved to Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, S.C.

The Navy has broken ground for a new hangar for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at the Webster Field Annex of Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Md. The hangar--slated for completion in November 1999--will be the new home of the RQ-2 Pioneer UAVs operated by Fleet Composite Squadron Six detachments deployed with amphibious ready groups.

Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater has commended the Coast Guard for its role in bringing about a guilty plea by Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines (RCCL) for environmental crimes. The Coast Guard's investigation of an incident--in which the RCCL's Sovereign of the Seas dumped waste oil off the coast of Puerto Rico--resulted in a record $18 million fine against the company.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jay L. Johnson has inaugurated an annual Navy observance of the Battle of Midway, the turning point of World War II in the Pacific. Johnson said in a message to the fleet that twice a year--on 13 October (the Navy's birthday) and, starting in 2000, on 4 June, the opening day of the Battle of Midway--the Navy will pause to reflect on its heroic heritage and to honor those "who served so proudly and gave so much to make our Navy what it is today."

Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater has presented a new battle streamer to the U.S. Coast Guard in recognition of actions taken between 1790 and 1797 by the Coast Guard's predecessor, the Revenue Cutter Service (RCS). The recently authorized streamer--the only battle streamer unique to the Coast Guard--recognizes RCS accomplishments, most notably against French privateers who were seizing British and Spanish ships in U.S. waters, during an era when the RCS was the nation's only maritime defense force.

The Navy Recruiting Command has dedicated its new headquarters at Naval Support Activity Mid-South in Millington, Tenn. The command, which is commanded by Rear Adm. Barbara E. McGann, moved to Millington earlier this year from its previous headquarters in Arlington, Va. Among the special guests at the dedication ceremonies were Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Manpower and Reserve Affairs Carolyn H. Becraft and Chief of Naval Personnel Vice Adm. Daniel T. Oliver.

Capt. Charles T. Creekman, USN (Ret.), has been named as the new executive director of the Naval Historical Foundation (NHF). Creekman, most recently deputy director of the Naval Historical Center, succeeds Capt. Kenneth L. Coskey, USN (Ret.), who served as the foundation's executive director since 1987. The NHF collects documents, artifacts, and oral recollections related to the history of the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine.

 The Iowa-class battleship New Jersey--berthed at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wash.--has been formally transferred to the state of New Jersey for use as a memorial museum. The battleship--a veteran of combat in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam--will be towed to Philadelphia, Pa., later this year, and will remain there until a decision is made whether to berth the ship in Camden or Bayonne.

The Civil War-era sloop Constellation has returned to Baltimore's Inner Harbor after going through a three-year $8 million restoration. The ship--built in 1854 by the Norfolk Naval Shipyard--was the last "all-sail" ship built for the U.S. Navy. The only surviving naval vessel of the Civil War era, the Constellation participated in intercepts of slave-trade ships, fended off Confederate raiders and privateers, and, later in the 19th century, transported food supplies to famished Ireland. 

Rear Adm. Evelyn J. Fields formally assumed command on 27 July of the Office of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Corps Operations and of the NOAA Commissioned Corps. At 233 members, NOAA Corps is the smallest of the nation's seven corps of commissioned officers. Fields rose through the ranks and, according to NOAA, became the first woman to command a U.S. government ship for an extended period of time.

Fields started her NOAA career in 1972 as a cartographer and a year later joined NOAA's uniformed service. During the course of her 27-year career she has seen a great deal of change and has weathered recent attempts to civilianize the NOAA Corps. As the Corps' new director, Fields said she envisions some changes of her own making. "Recent challenges have made NOAA a stronger organization," she said. "The NOAA Corps and the Office of NOAA Corps Operations will remain committed to and continue to improve upon providing high-quality research and survey platforms, and comprehensive scientific, engineering, and technical services in support of missions that lead to a thorough and in-depth understanding of our environment. My vision is that we will be the NOAA experts for air and sea operations and for agencywide technical integration."

The NOAA Corps is now "past the uncertainty of the past several years," Fields said, "[but] we cannot bury our heads in the sand. We have before us fertile grounds for opportunities. While recognizing the realities of a smaller workforce with fewer dollars, it is imperative that we be alert for, and receptive to, new ideas. At a minimum, the NOAA Corps must ensure that our support to NOAA and its programs remains undiminished and of the highest quality. Through innovative corporate thinking, the NOAA Corps can find ways to continue to do its work cost-efficiently while expanding its responsibilities."

Innovative Partnerships With NGS and USMMA

The reduced size of today's Corps, nearly cut in half over the past several years, has placed increasing demands on those who remain, even as the Corps' mission responsibilities continue to expand. "A good example of that expansion is the Sustainable Seas Expeditions, a partnership between NOAA and the National Geographic Society that requires the use of NOAA ships," Fields said. "The reduced number of NOAA Corps officers," she said, "has forced us to think more effectively and efficiently, allowing us to accommodate the increased mission with a reduced workforce."

Fields cited as one example the fact that several old and inefficient ships have been taken out of service and replaced with newer state-of-the-art vessels. Modifications to the NOAA aircraft fleet and the acquisition of additional aircraft, she said, allow the Corps to better meet NOAA's mandated environmental science mission.

The Sustainable Seas Expeditions (SSE) aim to study the ocean with unprecedented scientific rigor, using a one-person submersible called the DeepWorker. The data generated is expected to equip environmentalists and policymakers with the knowledge and understanding they need to protect this vital, and perhaps least understood, part of the global ecosystem. The SSE project will focus on the nation's 12 marine sanctuaries, which are under NOAA's stewardship. The sanctuaries--designated as protected areas--are scattered through the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico. The sites represent some of the most diverse U.S. ecosystems.

"The SSE project kicked off its five-year project line on Earth Day, 22 April 1999, in San Francisco, Calif.," Fields reported. Since that time, she said, the DeepWorker submersible has dived in all of the U.S. marine sanctuaries on the West Coast, and is scheduled to work in East and Gulf Coast sanctuaries in the second half of the year.

Fields also praised NOAA's partnership with the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, which conducts a three-month course for NOAA officer recruits. "The Academy offers one of the most extensive maritime-education programs available in the United States," she said. "The customized curriculum that is in place to meet NOAA's specific needs takes full advantage of the laboratories, simulators, and waterfront vessels co-located on the Academy grounds." JMP

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