PORT HUENEME, POINT MUGU MERGE UNDER ONE COMMAND.Byline: Amy Raisin Staff Writer POINT MUGU - Heralded formally with flags and a brass band, more than a half-century of separate leadership and operations came to an end Wednesday as two naval commands merged into a single military organization: Naval Base A naval base primarily for support of the forces afloat, contiguous to a port or anchorage, consisting of activities or facilities for which the Navy has operating responsibilities, together with interior lines of communications and the minimum surrounding area necessary for local Ventura County. The consolidation of Point Mugu's Naval Air Station A Naval Air Station is an airbase of the United States Navy. Such bases are used to house Naval Aviation squadrons and support commands. List of Functioning US Naval Air Stations
Capt. James McConnell, who commanded the Seabees at Port Hueneme for more than two years, graciously passed his command to Capt. James W. Rainwater in a mission transfer speech. ``It makes sense. If you combine them you're going to save money,'' McConnell said. ``Instead of a single support but two command structures, we have a single support and a single command structure.'' Rear Adm. Frederic Ruehe, commander of the Navy's eight bases in the Southwest region, addressed hundreds of enlisted personnel and guests in an American flag-draped aircraft hangar on the Point Mugu base, citing the importance of the consolidation. ``We're at the end of a 10-year downsizing (1) Converting mainframe and mini-based systems to client/server LANs. (2) To reduce equipment and associated costs by switching to a less-expensive system. (jargon) downsizing - now we're doing our best to level off,'' Ruehe said. ``Our fleet has met every obligation. I think we've proved that we're combat-ready. ``We're striving now to achieve a balance between the funds in our deploying forces and our shore-based infrastructure.'' Officials said the consolidation also strengthens the base's position against another possible round of cost-cutting base closures ordered by the Department of Defense's Base Realignment and Closure Base Realignment and Closure (or BRAC) is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and Congress to close excess military installations and realign committee in the next two years. The only deep-water port between San Diego and the Pacific Northwest, Naval Base Ventura County offers 300 acres of lay-down land, 16 miles of railroad with portside port·side adv. & adj. 1. On the waterfront of a port: taking a stroll portside; a portside restaurant. 2. access, two runways and 36,000 miles of sea range for combat and weapons testing. Rainwater stressed his commitment to utilizing all the resources the consolidation has to offer. ``Our shore stations have been taking the brunt (of budget constraints),'' he said. ``Someone needs to stand up and say we're not going to keep deferring maintenance.'' CAPTION(S): photo Photo: From left, Rear Admiral Frederick R. Ruehe, Capt. James W. Rainwater and Capt. James A. McConnell Jr. shake hands after Wednesday's ceremony merging Naval Air Station (NAS (1) See network access server. (2) (Network Attached Storage) A specialized file server that connects to the network. A NAS device contains a slimmed-down operating system and a file system and processes only I/O requests by supporting the popular ) Point Mugu with Naval Construction Battalion Center (CBC (1) (Cell Broadcast Center) See cell broadcast. (2) (Cipher Block Chaining) In cryptography, a mode of operation that combines the ciphertext of one block with the plaintext of the next block. ) Port Hueneme. Rainwater commands the new organization, Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC NBVC Naval Base Ventura County NBVC Narrow Band Vector Channel ). Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer |
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