Escambia, Santa Rosa team up to seek $40M in upgrades for NAS Pensacola, Whiting

Speaking on behalf of the Northwest Florida Defense Coalition at the first Bi-County Military Mission Forum, John Conger, who had spent more than a decade working with the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill, had a little tale to share with Escambia and Santa Rosa county leaders about how military industrial complex bureaucracy works.

It was a story of two communities that were competing against one another during a time the U.S. Army was reducing its troop sizes, with the loser facing the elimination of an entire brigade. At one public event held prior to a decision being made, thousands showed up to express their concerns, while at Fort Knox, Kentucky, no one came to present that base's case.

Fort Knox lost its only brigade.

"Now I'm not going to say that they're not going to the meeting was the deciding factor, but it made a difference. It was noticed," Conger told the 100 or so who gathered in Milton for the forum. "The dynamics we're all working with here is this, showing up matters, but not showing up matters more."

Conger's message for those representing Santa Rosa County's Whiting Field and Escambia's Naval Air Station Pensacola was a simple one.

"No where else in the state of Florida do the military installations have such a large share of the economy and represent such a large percentage of the jobs as they do in this area," he said, adding that the turnout for the forum showed him something important. "It matters that the community cares about the bases, cares about the mission, cares about the Department of Defense."

The Northwest Florida Defense Coalition was established as a nonprofit in the fall of last year. Its mission, according to retired U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Don Quinn, who spoke alongside Conger, is to sell the decision makers in Washington on the benefits of maintaining the robust military presence in the two-county area.

The contributions of NAS Pensacola and Whiting Field to military preparedness cannot be understated. As a brochure handed out at the forum stated, NAS Pensacola produces all Air Force Combat Systems Officers, Naval Flight officers and Navy unmanned aircraft system pilots and Whiting Field, "the busiest aviation complex in the world," produces 1,200 pilots annually and holds the responsibility of training 100% of all military helicopter pilots.

Combined, the two bases also power 54% of the economies of Santa Rosa and Escambia counties.

While both bases seem to be secure in their roles within the Department of Defense infrastructure and do not face the threat of realignment or closure, Quinn said, both also have immediate needs that must be addressed.

At NAS Pensacola one of three Navy hangars, B3260, was condemned following Hurricane Sally due to structural damage. The other two base hangars "have netting in the ceiling so that pieces of concrete don't fall onto aircraft or personnel," according to the forum brochure.

Base leadership needs $20 million to begin the process of repairing Hangar 3260 so that it can be utilized during the time it takes to construct a new, consolidated, hangar.

For Whiting Field, the most pressing need is to construct a new Child Development Center. The existing center is located in a 78-year-old building that served as a package store before being converted to house children in the mid-1990s, the meeting literature said.

Whiting Field leadership is also looking for $20 million from the federal government to fund demolition of the old building and construction of a new, 20,000-square-foot Childcare Center.

Quinn told attendees Wednesday that the money the bases need to accomplish their short term goals is available in the form of $5 billion that has been set aside in Fiscal Year 2024 to utilize for such projects. He and Conger also presented their thoughts on the most productive method with which to lobby for funding.

Conger said that elected local representatives, and not lobbyists, are more likely to leave a lasting impression with the politicians and military officials who make funding decisions.

"The elected representatives are the ones that are going to get things done. You'll do the real work," he said. "They like you better."

According to Quinn not only elected county officials, but any representative from a region like Northwest Florida can prove influential, so long as the message brought to Washington remains frequent, clear and consistent.

"In D.C. a slashing attack doesn't work," he said. "We need to be seen consistently up there, we need to inform our mayors and others what are priorities are, so we are a consistent mission."

Quinn also said that having elected officials from two counties showing up in Washington, as opposed to just one, would also work in the Northwest Florida Defense Coalition's favor.

Whiting Field Commanding Officer Capt. Paul Flores and NAS Pensacola Commanding Officer Capt. Terry Shashaty were also in attendance Wednesday and provided a briefing of their own, accompanied by their community planning and liaison officers, Randy Roy from Whiting and Steve Opalenik from NAS Pensacola.

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The base officials spoke of the importance of establishing strong bonds with the off-base community.

"The base doesn't just run within the fence line, it's with the community," Flores said. "We really do have a great relationship with the community. We've got something special here, as can be seen in that we're having an event like this to talk about our challenges."

Roy spoke of the success of projects undertaken at Whiting Field with Santa Rosa County and its economic development team, to include the creation of the Whiting Aviation Park, at which Leonardo Helicopters, which built the helicopters now being primarily used for training at the base, has located a maintenance facility.

Santa Rosa County Commission Chairman Sam Parker and Escambia County Commission Chairman Steven Barry also spoke at the event. Parker said that the two counties forming a partnership to support the naval bases in each makes good sense, as the economic benefit derived from each are enjoyed region wide.

"To say that we are joined at the hip would be a huge understatement," he said.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia and Santa Rosa create Northwest Florida Defense Coalition