Va. vows to fight Navy ship decision

STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS
Published: January 15, 2009

Virginia political leaders are vowing to fight the Navy's decision to homeport a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Florida.

The Navy announced yesterday that Florida's Mayport Naval Station will be the home port for the carrier, bringing 3,190 military jobs with it. The move is expected to pump about $500 million into the north Florida economy.

Currently, all the East Coast aircraft carriers are based at Norfolk Naval Station -- the largest Navy base in the world.

The Navy did not name the carrier, but a possibility is the George H.W. Bush, commissioned Saturday in Norfolk.

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine called the decision "disappointing and fiscally irresponsible."

"The proposal to move a single carrier to a station without current capacity to maintain a nuclear-powered vessel . . . raises serious and troubling questions about the prudence of the Navy's decision," he said.

Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., promised a thorough review in the Congress.