Navy warships patrol West CoastMilitary jets circle skies in region
 By James W. Crawley September 12, 2001
It was the first time since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 that warships, guns and missiles at the ready, were posted off the American coast. Meanwhile, military jets circled near San Diego -- which has the largest concentration of military facilities in the nation -- and Los Angeles and some unidentified West Coast cities as a further defense, the sources said. Soon after the attacks in New York and at the Pentagon, security was beefed up to the highest level -- Threatcon Delta -- for the U.S. military worldwide, including Navy and Marine Corps bases in San Diego County. So far, no additional local ships or combat units have been deployed. But many of this region's 100,000 military personnel had leaves canceled, and bases restricted access to those with military identification. Heavily armed military police and sailors were posted at base entrances, along with police dogs, throughout the day. "We've gone to a heightened state of alert ... because the safety of our personnel and the security of our bases is our top priority," said Cmdr. Dave Koontz, a San Diego Navy spokesman. Nonessential civilian base workers were told to stay home today. Base exchanges and commissaries also will remain closed today. Mile-long traffic jams clogged streets leading to area bases yesterday as identification and vehicle checks slowed traffic. The Coast Guard also began boarding and inspecting all vessels, from motorboats to cargo vessels, entering San Diego Bay. Meanwhile, the Pacific Command ordered several cruisers, destroyers and frigates already at sea diverted to positions near San Diego, Los Angeles and Seattle, said several military sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. Seattle is militarily important as the home to a nuclear carrier and ballistic-missile submarines. Ships also were on patrol off Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the Pacific Fleet's headquarters. Similar radar pickets were set up off Washington, D.C., and other East Coast cities, sources said. Military fighters also were on alert and circling near major Western cities, military sources said. They were flying in largely empty skies as all commercial and private airplanes were grounded yesterday morning. While military officials were generally close-mouthed, retired senior officers were willing to speak on the record. "We're basically at war, and terrorism is the enemy," said retired Adm. Hugh Webster, a local resident. With the world's most powerful armed forces, much of America's far-flung strength is provided by the Navy, which has substantial ships and units in the Persian Gulf, western Pacific and Indian oceans and the Mediterranean. About a third of the Navy's fleet, 110 warships, were away from their home ports, including 91 ships on overseas deployments. The San Diego-based aircraft carrier Constellation and its escorts are steaming toward San Diego, ending a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf. They will return Saturday and, Navy officials said, there were no plans to immediately redeploy the battle group. The carrier Stennis was conducting flight operations off San Diego yesterday. More than 2,000 Marines and 2,000 sailors aboard the amphibious assault ship Boxer and two other ships are scheduled to return later this week to Camp Pendleton and San Diego after serving in the Persian Gulf. Meanwhile, the aircraft carrier Vinson, based in Bremerton, Wash., is about to enter the Persian Gulf, along with the San Diego-based cruisers Antietam and Princeton, for a three-month stint. Those ships will join the carrier Enterprise, which the Pentagon ordered to stay in the Persian Gulf. Also bound for the gulf are the three-ship Peleliu Amphibious Ready Group from San Diego and a contingent of 2,000 Marines. Already in the Persian Gulf is the local home-ported destroyer John Paul Jones, which has been enforcing United Nations sanctions against Iraq. The cruisers and destroyers carry Tomahawk cruise missiles, which have 1,000-pound warheads and a 1,000-mile range.
Staff writers Lola Sherman and Jeanette Steele and news assistant Victoria Carlborg contributed to this report.
|