Ander Crenshaw Bashes Obama's Budget for Delaying Mayport Carrier

Florida Republican U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw had harsh words for the fiscal year 2013 budget proposed by President Barack Obama which would delay adding a nuclear aircraft carrier to Mayport on the First Coast. Mayport was expected to serve as the homeport for a carrier in 2019 -- but this may change according to the proposed budget.

The good news is Ive been assured by the chief of naval operations (CNO) that the Navy remains committed to a strategic dispersal of assets and to home-porting a nuclear aircraft carrier at Naval Station Mayport. The bad news is, the move will be delayed due to budget constraints, Crenshaw said in a statement on Monday. This makes no sense. We are already three years into making Mayport nuclear capable. Further delay will only drive costs higher. The Pentagon is making a short-sighted fiscal decision that is not in the best interest of national security.

More positive news [is that the] Navy plans to send additional ships to Mayport as early as this fall. Included are a big-deck amphibious ship and two support ships. That means 2,000 sailors and their families will call Mayport home, added Crenshaw. Navy plans also call for two additional destroyers, three additional patrol crafts, and eight littoral combat ships (LCS) at Mayport. The LCS move marks the beginning of the First Coast as the primary East Coast LCS home port. And, the 2013 budget calls for $12 million for wharf upgrades to accommodate a big-deck amphibious ship and a carrier.

The philosophy that guides my decision-making when it comes to our defense assets is clear: Congress must have an unwavering commitment to national security. Short-sighted budget decisions should not turn back a decades worth of work rebuilding our nations military, Crenshaw said in conclusion. Northeast Florida military bases are an anchor to our national security. The calendar for home-porting a nuclear carrier may have shifted, but the scope of the First Coasts role in our national security mission has not. Our community has lived through almost 10 years of carrier promises, and while the new ships announced today are a welcome addition, my fight is for all parts of the Mayport equation, including the ships needed in the basin today and the carrier of tomorrow.