You've struck a nerve with this one. Annapolis, Bethesda, Washington Navy Yard, all atrocious parking. I can remember being instructed to perform parking enforcement, but when surveying the base, there was not one single vacant parking space. At that point, issuing citations is just unduly punishing your faculty, staff and residents. You need to provide ample parking for your sailors, civilians and residents. Why is this so hard to understand?
Saw it over my time at Whidbey. Increasing security had flight line fence built where parking used to be. Then new buildings were constructed in old parkings lots.
I remember getting the old "If the Navy wanted you to have a car they would have issued you one." Parking wasn't that bad at NAS Jax in the mid 80's. We had enough around the barracks and plenty between the Helo hangars on the Seawall. Parking at Mayport was a different matter. Our squadron was on the Forrestal and a few times we kept our spaces between Dets, so we had to have a watch stationed in the ready room. It was a bit over a half mile to get to the Brow.
Yup. And when it’s available, they make public transportation miserable or wholly impractical as part of security theater.
Somehow we made it for decades without 100% ID check. Yet now...not only a look, but a scan. And if you’re on a motorcycle, the possibility of longer delays due to recognition in a helmet.
Not to mention finance customer service that has no customer service hours, DTS, no more TMO to help with moving...
Been a lot longer than "25 years". Thirty-Second Street in the early 80's was miserable. The only real solution in those days was to come in early and eat breakfast aboard. Yay.
While it is not the primary point of this posting, your comment, "...my dislike of these mega-master bases." touches on a significant problem across DOD.
1) These mega bases, e.g. Fort Bragg, Fort Hood, NB Norfolk, NB San Diego, etc. tend to become dens of indiscipline and outright criminality as they take on a big-city atmosphere. As we BRACed a lot of facilities and consolidated in recent years (all hail the mighty Joint Base enterprise), the suburbs/small town feel is gone (including in the places that got bigger and bigger and took on more units and activities) . Once a Soldier or Sailor is off duty, the chain of command and NCO support channel loses touch (in fairness, those leaders are also trying to live a life too). The SMs are lost to the temptations of underbelly of the camp, post, or station in the billets and barracks and the allure of those who would like to take advantage of said SM just outside the gates. Hence you have the drug and murder problems that are raising their heads more and more in our big base areas.
2) While we are supposedly still 20+% oversubscribed in terms of real property across DOD (with the attendant costs to maintain said property), more places equals more dispersion from enemy targeting. In a real big war, CONUS bases will not be the sanctuary they were whether from strikes or special operations direct action, to say nothing of other saboteurs, disruptors, and cyber strikes. Remember the famous picture from a few years back of something like six carriers all in port at once at Norfolk?
3) In a big, long war, we will likely need to expand the force and hence our footprint for mustering, training, staging, and onward movement. Look at all the places we have given up. We try to operate on peacetime efficiency standards, but I can tell you that the GWOT strained the ability of some big Army bases to support the revolving door of Regular Army forces training and deploying while also supporting the mobilization (and demobilization) and deployment (and redeployment) of National Guard and Reserve forces.
4) More bases, in more places, is better for civil-military relations. How many times have we heard in recent years (at least in the Army) that our people don't know about us, hence a part of our current recruting woes? The handful of Recruiters, ROTC cadre, and National Guard advisors or some "weird" lab or office or such isn't the same as having a combat brigade plus all sorts of other support and sustainment forces nearby. The entire Northeast (minus Fort Drum, which might as well be in Canada) is essentially devoid of any major Army and Air Force formations.
I remember the late 1970s in Pearl Harbor during the Carter presidency. There were rumblings about having sailors pay for the privilege of parking on base. There were deeper rumblings at the deck plate level. It never happened, though. It would have been interesting to see how that played out.
The Carter era also saw our parts budget reduced (but not the hollering at the tech or mech for having inop equipment), rabbit replaced roast beef (Gah!! I can't believe we used to complain about too much roast beef) and the purchase of the highly efficient Extruded Potato Machine for the Galley. That machine could make baked potatoes, fries, chips, string potatoes, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, potato puffs, etc. Wow! No more "KP". All that machine needed was to have powdered potatoes and water poured into it. BINGO! It was a happy day much later when the Captain on our FFG had it unbolted and tossed over the side in 1982.
Recently when I was on NAVSTA San Diego, I mentioned the parking to the sailors on ship I was visiting, they said,”The base CO said that San Diego didn’t have a parking problem, personnel on the base have a walking problem. He is talking about sailors. that don’t want to park in the exchange parking lot or on the dry side and have nice 30 minute+ walk to and from. Sailors that live in the barracks have a parking sticker on their car that makes their car ineligible for parking on the wet side.
A really draconian overbearing memo that was sure to rankle many. Where does the base commander park? Yeah, I know. RHIP. But, the memo would be better received if it was accompanied by a tiny vestige of a solution.
I work with Navy and Marine Corps Facility Requirements when includes parking. I also recall walking 3/4 of a mile to pier 12 in Norfolk. I have never understood why the navy doesn't build parking garages. This would alleviate a huge issue with space and parking.
It's a tough decision. You do upkeep and maintenance on the golf course or on the parking situation. There is never enough money for both. And there's that old truism that a bitching sailor is a happy sailor. Most sailors I know/knew never bitched loud enough or within earshot of a Senior lest the Senior start a game of Whack-A-Mole.
The Navy is destroying itself.
I wonder if the PLAN has this problem?
You've struck a nerve with this one. Annapolis, Bethesda, Washington Navy Yard, all atrocious parking. I can remember being instructed to perform parking enforcement, but when surveying the base, there was not one single vacant parking space. At that point, issuing citations is just unduly punishing your faculty, staff and residents. You need to provide ample parking for your sailors, civilians and residents. Why is this so hard to understand?
Because there's no money to be made in parking or amenities for you.
And given unlikely nature of an existential conflict wrt US homeland, why would you bother?
If only Lockheed Martin built parking garages….
Saw it over my time at Whidbey. Increasing security had flight line fence built where parking used to be. Then new buildings were constructed in old parkings lots.
"The beatings will continue until morale improves." Nothing has changed in 30 years I see.
I remember getting the old "If the Navy wanted you to have a car they would have issued you one." Parking wasn't that bad at NAS Jax in the mid 80's. We had enough around the barracks and plenty between the Helo hangars on the Seawall. Parking at Mayport was a different matter. Our squadron was on the Forrestal and a few times we kept our spaces between Dets, so we had to have a watch stationed in the ready room. It was a bit over a half mile to get to the Brow.
Yup. And when it’s available, they make public transportation miserable or wholly impractical as part of security theater.
Somehow we made it for decades without 100% ID check. Yet now...not only a look, but a scan. And if you’re on a motorcycle, the possibility of longer delays due to recognition in a helmet.
Not to mention finance customer service that has no customer service hours, DTS, no more TMO to help with moving...
Good times.
Been a lot longer than "25 years". Thirty-Second Street in the early 80's was miserable. The only real solution in those days was to come in early and eat breakfast aboard. Yay.
While it is not the primary point of this posting, your comment, "...my dislike of these mega-master bases." touches on a significant problem across DOD.
1) These mega bases, e.g. Fort Bragg, Fort Hood, NB Norfolk, NB San Diego, etc. tend to become dens of indiscipline and outright criminality as they take on a big-city atmosphere. As we BRACed a lot of facilities and consolidated in recent years (all hail the mighty Joint Base enterprise), the suburbs/small town feel is gone (including in the places that got bigger and bigger and took on more units and activities) . Once a Soldier or Sailor is off duty, the chain of command and NCO support channel loses touch (in fairness, those leaders are also trying to live a life too). The SMs are lost to the temptations of underbelly of the camp, post, or station in the billets and barracks and the allure of those who would like to take advantage of said SM just outside the gates. Hence you have the drug and murder problems that are raising their heads more and more in our big base areas.
2) While we are supposedly still 20+% oversubscribed in terms of real property across DOD (with the attendant costs to maintain said property), more places equals more dispersion from enemy targeting. In a real big war, CONUS bases will not be the sanctuary they were whether from strikes or special operations direct action, to say nothing of other saboteurs, disruptors, and cyber strikes. Remember the famous picture from a few years back of something like six carriers all in port at once at Norfolk?
3) In a big, long war, we will likely need to expand the force and hence our footprint for mustering, training, staging, and onward movement. Look at all the places we have given up. We try to operate on peacetime efficiency standards, but I can tell you that the GWOT strained the ability of some big Army bases to support the revolving door of Regular Army forces training and deploying while also supporting the mobilization (and demobilization) and deployment (and redeployment) of National Guard and Reserve forces.
4) More bases, in more places, is better for civil-military relations. How many times have we heard in recent years (at least in the Army) that our people don't know about us, hence a part of our current recruting woes? The handful of Recruiters, ROTC cadre, and National Guard advisors or some "weird" lab or office or such isn't the same as having a combat brigade plus all sorts of other support and sustainment forces nearby. The entire Northeast (minus Fort Drum, which might as well be in Canada) is essentially devoid of any major Army and Air Force formations.
I remember the late 1970s in Pearl Harbor during the Carter presidency. There were rumblings about having sailors pay for the privilege of parking on base. There were deeper rumblings at the deck plate level. It never happened, though. It would have been interesting to see how that played out.
The Carter era also saw our parts budget reduced (but not the hollering at the tech or mech for having inop equipment), rabbit replaced roast beef (Gah!! I can't believe we used to complain about too much roast beef) and the purchase of the highly efficient Extruded Potato Machine for the Galley. That machine could make baked potatoes, fries, chips, string potatoes, mashed potatoes, scalloped potatoes, potato puffs, etc. Wow! No more "KP". All that machine needed was to have powdered potatoes and water poured into it. BINGO! It was a happy day much later when the Captain on our FFG had it unbolted and tossed over the side in 1982.
Recently when I was on NAVSTA San Diego, I mentioned the parking to the sailors on ship I was visiting, they said,”The base CO said that San Diego didn’t have a parking problem, personnel on the base have a walking problem. He is talking about sailors. that don’t want to park in the exchange parking lot or on the dry side and have nice 30 minute+ walk to and from. Sailors that live in the barracks have a parking sticker on their car that makes their car ineligible for parking on the wet side.
A really draconian overbearing memo that was sure to rankle many. Where does the base commander park? Yeah, I know. RHIP. But, the memo would be better received if it was accompanied by a tiny vestige of a solution.
Oh how I miss that commuted while stationed at NB Norfolk in the late 80's and living in Va Beach... good times...
I work with Navy and Marine Corps Facility Requirements when includes parking. I also recall walking 3/4 of a mile to pier 12 in Norfolk. I have never understood why the navy doesn't build parking garages. This would alleviate a huge issue with space and parking.
It's a tough decision. You do upkeep and maintenance on the golf course or on the parking situation. There is never enough money for both. And there's that old truism that a bitching sailor is a happy sailor. Most sailors I know/knew never bitched loud enough or within earshot of a Senior lest the Senior start a game of Whack-A-Mole.
Wow. So let’s just make it THAT much more onerous on our sailors.
But hey, tough crap, right? I mean, take it or leave it. Recruiting numbers are WAY up...oh, wait, never mind...
yet, a great article. This can be reprint it in 20 years and I bet it’s still the same problem!!