First major organizational policy change in seven years calls for home-basing F/A-18 Hornet and Super Hornet tactical fighter aircraft currently assigned to NAS Oceana at another aviation-capable military base on the East Coast.

After many months of consideration and reflection, the CCAJN Board of Directors has voted to call on the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) to “realign” NAS Oceana during the upcoming BRAC round. Under a realignment scenario, the Navy would retain NAS Oceana as an operational Navy facility, but would substitute other, more environmentally benign, mission activities for existing and planned tactical aircraft operations -- which would be relocated out of the Hampton Roads area.

The Virginia Beach/Chesapeake based citizens action organization, in its first major change in policy position in seven years, will advocate its Realignment proposal both to the Pentagon and to the BRAC Commission.

The decision by CCAJN was driven by recent disturbing developments that raise heightened concerns about "quality of life" expectations for residents living in the high noise zones of both cities.

These developments include:

1) A decision by the Virginia Beach Council not to specifically affirm an intention to strictly honor encroachment limitations desired by DOD, which assert that new residential construction in the 65 dB or greater high noise zones surrounding military airfields is incompatible with military operational and training requirements.

2) The disclosure by the Virginian-Pilot that the new Super Hornets -- scheduled to be home-based at NAS Oceana -- are 5-27 decibels (dB) louder than the F-14 Tomcats they will replace. As reported earlier by CCAJN, this decibel increase constitutes a 600% increase in perceived noise experienced during a single aircraft noise event, an experience that CCAJN believes will prove to be an intolerable burden on -- and a severe health hazard to -- affected residents.

3) The serious legal difficulties currently being encountered by the Navy in securing a new Outlying Landing Field (OLF) for NAS Oceana, which has been a long standing CCAJN objective. The Navy is being blocked in its efforts by a Federal District Court in North Carolina. The OLF proposal has drawn widespread criticism in North Carolina, putting that state's elected officials under heavy pressure, and virtually silencing public support for the OLF in that state.

The DOD and the BRAC Commission are responsible for assessing various “realignment” possibilities and for identifying appropriate uses for a realigned NAS Oceana. Inasmuch as these possibilities are quite numerous, no attempt will be made to catalogue them here. CCAJN does, however, strongly suggest that both the DOD and the BRAC Commission credibly examine all reasonable potential realignment possibilities.

They include: Fleet training and education schools; warehousing and supply activities; personnel support activities; non-tactical, non-carrier aircraft activities; other DOD (Air Force, Army, Marine Corps. intelligence) units, Merchant Marine, Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command, Special Warfare activities, and others -- any and all of these, for openers.

Given the reluctance of the Virginia Beach City Council to make sufficient significant concessions on encroachment to the Navy, CCAJN believes that the Realignment position may actually be favored by a majority on the Council; many of whose Members have repeatedly indicated they favor (and, indeed, have actively pursued) future residential development throughout the city, and specifically in the resort area, the transition zone, and in other high noise neighborhoods.

In the absence of the F/A-18 Super Hornets and Hornets (and other tactical fighter aircraft) at NAS Oceana, residential development could occur even right up to Oceana's fence line. Realignment, as a practical matter, would resolve the major encroachment issue -- and the jet noise issue -- in both Hampton Roads cities.

CCAJN believes the realignment of NAS Oceana in the manner described is a win-win plan for all parties concerned: the DOD, the Navy, the cities of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, and especially, for all residents living under the noise umbrella in the high noise zones -- human beings who will become increasingly adversely affected by severe environmental impacts stemming from Oceana and Fentress operations.