Groundbreaking ceremony held for new P-3C hangar

The new hangar, which will stand at 277,000 sq. ft. once complete, will accommodate approximately 33 P-3C Orions and four C-130 Hercules aircraft from NAS Brunswick, Maine. The project was initiated after the Base Realignment and Closure Committee (BRAC) ordered the closure of NAS Brunswick in 2005.

"This is a great day for NAS Jacksonville, a great day for Northeast Florida and a great day for our country because this event is a symbol of the bright future of NAS Jax," said U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., who spoke at the event. "When this groundbreaking takes place and the hangar is built, this will be the east coast home of all our marine patrolled aircraft, and that's important not only to Jacksonville, but the national security of our country."

Crenshaw elaborated on the monumental task ahead stating, "When this hangar is completed, it will be one of the Navy's largest hangars. It will house 37 aircraft, 1,600 new personnel and that's a big deal for our country. For me, as a member of the appropriations committee and Congress, my job is to make sure we have the funds to build these facilities. This is a $123-million project and I'm proud to be here today to be a part of this groundbreaking."

Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton addresses invited guests at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new P-3C hangar at NAS Jax.

Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton, was next to take the podium. "I'm excited to be a part of this event. This is a real endorsement of the strength and vitality of this base," he said. "I'm excited about the hangar, but I'm more excited about the people who are coming with it because they're great citizens. They're good neighbors, they coach our little leagues, they teach our Sunday schools, they're patriots and they do great things for our workforce when they're done serving here. It's the people in the Navy who make this special relationship."

Peyton closed by saying he looks forward to welcoming the 2,500 families that will come to Jacksonville after the hangar opens in 2009. NAS Jacksonville Commanding Officer Capt. Chip Dobson, mirrored Crenshaw's comments about the future of the Navy. "NAS Jacksonville is almost 67 years old and over the course of that time there have been many celebrations and ceremonies aboard the base. This one is different because usually we're recognizing people and accomplishments, but today we're celebrating the future. This is future capability for NAS Jacksonville, future capability for the maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft community and future capability for the U.S. Navy."

This hangar represents only a portion of what is happening at NAS Jacksonville. According to Dobson, if one were to look down the base's flightline alone, which is just over a mile, there is about $250 million in recapitalization taking place.

Dobson also recognized a few key players who were instrumental in bringing construction of the new hangar to fruition. "This has been a tremendous effort by a great team of people. We're very excited about the team we've put together here. I will take this opportunity to thank a few people," he said. "There are four people who have worked behind the scenes to make this happen who won't get a lot of publicity. The first is the NAS Jax BRAC Coordinator Freddy Byers who has been working on crunching the numbers to make this happen. On the engineering and planning side is Jim Morgan; from Commander, Navy Region Southeast is Doug Mercer, who at least in the Southeast Region is sort of the 'Godfather of BRAC'. He's another guy who makes the trains run on time. And last but not least, is Vick Patton of Commander, Fleet Forces Command in Norfolk, Va. He's been involved in the construction of Navy hangars for a couple of decades."

NAS Jax Commanding Officer Capt. Chip Dobson breaks ground with a 320C Caterpiller during the groundbreaking ceremony.

The contractor for the project is M.A. Mortenson, based in Minneapolis, Minn. Vice President Craig Southorn, also had a chance to say a few words during the ceremony.

"We began design work last fall and we look forward to the partnership we'll have with the Navy and finishing this project safely and on a timely basis," said Southorn. "We've estimated around one and a half million man-hours to be executed on the project. As you can see we've begun some of the site development work, which will continue through the summer. We anticipate going vertical this summer. We will be on time and deliver the hangar for occupancy the first part of 2009."

This is an artist's rendition of the new P-3 hangar being built at NAS Jax.

After the speakers concluded, several officials picked up shovels to take part in the official groundbreaking. The group, along with Dobson and Southorn, included Rear Adm. Mark Boensel, commander, Navy Region Southeast, Rear Adm. B.C. Prindle, commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Group, Capt. Sean Buck, commander, Patrol Reconnaissance Wing-Eleven, Capt. Michael Blount, commanding officer of Naval Facilities Command Southeast, Cmdr. Chuck Lewis, public works officer for NAS Jacksonville, Lt. Cmdr. Mary Ann Andrews, Lt. j.g. Zach Zimchek, Arthur Mosely and Lt. Cmdr. Alexander Kohmen, the master of ceremonies for the event.

To end the ceremony, Dobson manned a construction backhoe and sank the bucket into the ground. To the cheers of those in attendance, he excavated a load of fresh earth, slowly pouring it back onto the ground.