Sunday,
August 13, 2006
La Maddalena,
The ANNOTICO
Report
Italian nationals
and politicians have long publicly protested the
34 year
Interestingly,
this will be a small part of a MAJOR shift
of naval forces from
This appears to
be an attempt to redeploy
What will be the
response of the Public and Politicians in Naples to this greater build up ?
Probably
mixed.
Enjoying the Economic Boost, but not appreciating the greater presence of
Nuclear Vessels.
Future
remains uncertain for La Maddalena
Italian media: Navy to close base on
Stars and Stripes
European edition
By Sandra Jontz
Sunday,
August 13, 2006
No official
timeline has been decided on, and this subject remains an ongoing topic of
discussion between the
The words echoed
those of Italian officials. There has been no decision made. We don't know when
it will close, said an Italian Defense Ministry official. Italian media is
saying 2008, not us.
The ministry
hopes to have a firm timeline by the fall of 2007 in order to brief members of
parliament, according to a formal statement.
Since last
November's surprise announcement by U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld the timing of which caught Navy officials in
Europe off guard base officials started piecing together the complicated
puzzle of a lot of details of ending the 34-year U.S. presence on the island,
base commanding officer Capt. Gregory Billy said.
The facility is
home to naval support staff, the submarine tender USS Emory S. Land, and
Submarine Squadron 22 all told, roughly 2,600 Americans: military,
civilians, and their dependents.
No
The eventual
closing of La Maddalena is one part of the Navy's
Europe-wide transformation process, which includes a major shift of naval
forces from
We're taking a
hard look: are these Cold War entities that need to be gotten rid of Capt.
Richard Gonzalez, assistant deputy commander for operations support for Navy
Region Europe, said, referring to
Shutting down a
base isn't as easy as simply handing over a set of keys, Gonzalez said.
There are
political, financial and logistical aspects that dictate the process, which can
be unique with each base closure. Closing bases can cost the military millions
of dollars, from severance packages for employees, to terminated service
contracts, environmental cleanup, and transportation bills to move equipment,
Gonzalez said.
Future employment
remains the biggest concern for
Base staffers are
embroiled in details of the closure, from how many sailors will want to ship
pets back to the States to the status of the more than 30 leases on office
buildings the Navy uses, Billy said.
But until closure
details firm, sailors, employees and their dependents continue with business as
usual, with students, for example, planning on a full school year, he said.
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