May 14, 2004
Foster's Daily Democrat EditorialThe shipyard faces a new threat
A second threat has been tossed in the direction of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Already faced with defending the shipyard from complete closure, shipyard supporters now have to contend with the possibility of a reduction in the nation´s submarine fleet and an eventual reduction in force.
A report in Wednesday´s Boston Globe warns of a one-third reduction in the fleet — the purchase of fewer new submarines and the retirement of older Los Angeles-class attack subs.
It´s the retirement of attack subs that threatens the local shipyard or at least its employment level.
The shipyard´s niche in the fleet is overhaul and repair. Once the builder of underwater attack vessels and nuclear missile submarines, the Maine facility now plays a key role in keeping the fleet afloat.
If reports are correct and the fleet is reduced from 55 submarines to as few as 37, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard will take a hit of some kind.
The local shipyard and its more than 4,700 employees have won repeated praise for the quality of their work and the record-setting pace in which they perform their assigned duties. Most of those employees live in Strafford and Rockingham counties in New Hampshire, York and Cumberland counties in Maine and the northeast corner of Massachusetts.
According to the report in Wednesday´s Globe, "In the last 50 years, Portsmouth has completed 74 major overhauls on attack and ballistic missile submarines, more than any other U.S. shipyard."
If there is follow through on what Navy officials have described as a classified internal study, it means a cutback in Los Angeles-class subs of one-third. And even if the local shipyard survives the 2005 round of base closings, its workload is likely to be reduced in proportion to the size reduction of the fleet.
The people of the Seacoast and other communities in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts are being driven to despair by the machinations of the Defense Department. Just as they gear up for one threat, they are blindsided with another.
The submarine fleet is vital to the defense of our country. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is vital to the maintenance of the fleet. The shipyard is vital to the economy of southeastern New Hampshire. It is vital to the economy of southwestern Maine.
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is not some forgotten storage depot out in the middle of nowhere. It is an important part of our national defense effort. It´s time the Navy stopped treating it as a target for shelling practice.
The Navy´s efforts to cut costs come at a critical time. Huge sums are being spent on the war in Iraq and we are in an era of warfare with which we are completely unfamiliar. No one — neither the Congress nor the president nor the services — know what kind of whirlwind is building up in a corner of the world of which we know so little.
Is this any time to sharply reduce the submarine fleet? We don´t think so. And neither do U.S. Sens. Judd Gregg and Susan Collins .
Gregg, R-N.H., a respected leader in Congress, said this week, "Submarines are a critical part of naval operations and our country´s overall national security strategy. The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard has time and again proven itself a leader in the quality, efficiency and innovation of its submarine overhaul efforts. We will continue to work with the Pentagon to promote the merits and defend the interests of the shipyard ... ."
Collins, R-Maine, was similarly vocal in reaction to the implied threat. She said this week she would "question any proposal to cut the country´s submarine fleet so drastically at a time when our military forces are engaged in war and remain stationed all over the world.
Gregg and Collins are setting a good course through rough waters. They and colleagues from the region and elsewhere have to once more overcome the mindset of Washington, D.C. — the thinking that all knowledge has its genesis within the Beltway.
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is not about numbers. It is about national defense and it is about people.