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thedrifter
08-27-07, 08:19 AM
Air station aims to train, host pilots of new fighters
Published Monday August 27 2007
By LORI YOUNT
lyount@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531

With new Joint Strike Fighter jets scheduled to land at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort in the next decade, Beaufort County officials are hoping they will bring along a training center for all the hot-shot Marine fighter pilots nationwide -- and the security that a training squadron would mean for the base's future.

As military officials hash out the Joint Strike Fighter program, which includes the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and six foreign nations, the air station is undergoing a thorough evaluation for its abilities to handle F-35 squadrons, as are all Marine bases that now use F/A-18 Hornet jets, and possibly a training center for pilots, according to authorities.

"At some point, Beaufort will get the Joint Strike Fighter," air station spokesman Capt. James Jarvis said. "Whether it'll be a training center is yet to be decided."

Housing a training center may mean the base would receive the jets before the regularly scheduled release date for the Corps, which is tentatively 2013, he said.

Marine officials said the final decision about the base's role in the Joint Strike Fighter program will be up to the Department of the Navy but couldn't say when that decision would be made.

Meanwhile, local officials are working to ensure Beaufort is on the top of the list of bases being considered for the pilot training program.

"It'd be a good fit," said Carlotta Ungaro, president and CEO of the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce, which includes a Military Affairs Committee that works in the interest of Beaufort's three bases. "We heard it wouldn't add a lot of planes."

Since the jet still only exists in prototype models, noise and environmental tests haven't been performed. Specifics of what a training squadron or center would consist of also are in the works.

However, Ungaro sees a training center as an opportunity to bring pilots and military officials from around the world to Beaufort for training.

"They'd be adding to our economy and maybe would come back as a tourist," she said. "It also just secures Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort if BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure Commission) comes to pass. It would make it a stronger base to keep open."

The last BRAC round ended in May 2005, and a new one hasn't been scheduled.

Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., said the air station is "well-equipped" to take on training phase of the Joint Strike Fighter program.

"I have been working closely with Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter and the Marine Corps to ensure the air station and the community of Beaufort would be the proper place for this important mission," he said in a written statement. "As the Navy moves toward a final decision, I am (confident) that the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort will be a strong candidate."

Jarvis said the Navy will look at the base's air space and "strong partnership in the surrounding community."

The air station's strong off-shore tactical command system and a location near several bombing ranges make it ideal for training, he said.

"You can do it all in the same tank of gas," Jarvis said. "If you refuel in the air, it increases the cost of training. It's a very attractive proposition ... basing it here."

All Marine fighter pilots now receive their training on the Hornet jet at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar near San Diego, Calif.

The pilots' training cycle is long enough that they end up finding homes in the community, Miramar spokesman Maj. Jason Johnston said. However, the training squadron itself doesn't take up any more space in equipment or people as do the fighter Hornet squadrons based there.

The pilots in training use the same air space lanes in taking off and landing as the seasoned pilots do, Johnston said, which doesn't cause any more significant noise in the surrounding community.

"To the public here, an F/A-18 taking off is an F/A-18 taking off," he said.

Ellie