Military

What Happens If the Federal Government Shuts Down?

September 22, 2023 by Source

If Congress does not resolve the impasse by Sept. 30, federal appropriations will expire, bringing many agencies to a halt and forcing the sprawling U.S. government to operate at a mere shell of itself.

Here are the most immediate effects of a federal government shut down — which may happen in only 8 days:

  • Millions of federal employees will stop receiving paychecks — but many will be forced to report to work anyway.
  • Millions of active military service members will stop receiving paychecks — but many will be forced to report to work anyway.
  • Some national parks may close, museums could shutter
  • airports nationwide might see new disruptions and delays.
  • Federal aid programs including those assisting the victims of the deadly wildfires in Maui — could struggle to provide urgently needed support.
  • mail deliveries would continue and
  • seniors would still receive their Social Security checks,
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10% of Pilots Are Killed in Air Shows or Practices — Join Vets for Peace to Stop Blue Angels from Flying Over Our City — Thurs., Aug.31

August 30, 2023 by Source

Yes, ten percent of the pilots who fly in air shows are killed in either shows or practices.

The San Diego Veterans For Peace, in collaboration with many other local pro-climate groups, are asking the US Marines to stop the Blue Angels from flying over our city. Their proposed September Air Show is an egregious waste of fossil fuel and is contributing to the climate crisis.

The Department of Defense and the US military has long ago identified the climate crisis as our biggest national threat, so we demand that the Marines get on board with that fact and cancel the show. Our 2023 demonstrations against the September Air Show will be on the Carroll Canyon overpass to Interstate 15 from 4 PM to 6 PM on the following days:

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It’s Time to Stop the Military Air Shows at Miramar

August 29, 2023 by Source

By Judi Curry and Gil Field

Has anyone noticed that the San Diego Veterans For Peace, a local veterans organization, has for the last six years been educating local citizens about the dangers and environmental damage inherent in the Miramar Air Show, an annual event at MCAS Miramar each September?

They have mentioned the dangers involved with having high speed jets flying all over our city for at least a week each year, given that 10% of Blue Angels pilots have been killed in practices or shows. They have mentioned the significant expenditures of US taxpayer monies this show requires every year, as we add $1.5 trillion to our mounting Federal debt each year.

They have attended the show themselves and found small children, often under five years old, being shown and admiring terrible weapons of war, as if they were toys. 

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Navy: ‘San Diego Mayor Fully Invested In New NAVWAR Facilities’ — But Not a Word About Affordable Housing

August 23, 2023 by Source

Editordude: This is an official statement about the status of the Navy selection process for the redevelopment of the NAVWAR properties and how Mayor Gloria is all on board. But, fair reader, notice – there’s not one word about affordable housing.

From NAVWAR Public Affairs / 22 August 2023

The Navy revitalization of Naval Base Point Loma, Old Town Campus (OTC) is now progressing to the next stage of the project timeline, with the full support of Todd Gloria, mayor of San Diego.

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Navy Mum as It Evaluates Shortlist of Redevelopment Teams for NAVWAR Property

August 14, 2023 by Staff

Having received proposals from redevelopment teams for the NAVWAR property last week, the Navy is absolutely mum on the number and types of proposals and who are the teams and their financial models and development schedules. It’s the final leg of the eating frenzy to select who will remake this huge prime piece of real estate.

Jennifer van Grove at the U-T reported late last week:

The United States Navy has moved into the final leg of a real estate competition to replace its obsolete NAVWAR facilities and remake the rest of the 70.3-acre military campus that bumps up against Interstate 5 in San Diego’s Midway District.

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‘NTC Centennial’ by OB Historical Society — Thursday, Aug.17

August 14, 2023 by Source

Aug. 17th, OBHS presents “NTC CENTENNIAL”

Join the Ocean Beach Historical Society on August 17, 2023, at 7 PM, for the NTC Centennial program.

The presenter is by Eric DuVall, OBHS prez, at Waters Edge Faith Church at 1984 Sunset Cliffs Blvd.

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History Must Record Trump’s Plan for a Nationwide ‘Kent State’ Massacre

August 10, 2023 by Source

By Thom Hartman / Daily Kos and Economy for All/ August 4, 2023

Although it’s generally only mentioned in passing in the mainstream media, there are two particularly chilling passages in Jack Smith’s indictment of Trump.

Both, to my mind, invoke Kent State, but on a much larger scale.

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‘Spike’ the Sea Lion Learns How to Play Video Games Off the Coast of Point Loma … for the Navy

May 16, 2023 by Source

by Domenick Candelieri / Fox5 / May 12, 2023

“Spike” the sea lion is making waves in the science community, learning how to play video games on the deck of a sea pen in the San Diego Bay off the coast of Point Loma.

The U.S. Navy Marine Mammal Program cares for the branch’s sea lions and dolphins, aiming to keep marine mammals happy and healthy longer. “His (Spike) ability to understand the concept of controlling a cursor on a screen,

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Web Cam Operator Ordered by Navy to Take Point Loma Cameras Down After Filming ‘Warship Chicken’ Incident

May 9, 2023 by Staff

Barry Bahrami, the man whose livestream caught two Navy ships nearly colliding in the San Diego Bay has been ordered to take the cameras down.

It was Bahrami’s video that showed the near collision of two Navy ships at the San Diego Bay back in November 2022, an incident commonly referred to as “Warship Chicken” which now stands at the center of a new controversy. The Navy Criminal Investigative Service says the camera’s livestream shows military activity in the area, but Bahrami calls, “bologna,” and that he has the right to film.

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Was It Spite that Caused Navy to Force Park Service to Close Down Popular Web Cam at Cabrillo Monument?

April 18, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

A popular web cam at Cabrillo Monument that has provided millions of viewers with a look over San Diego Bay has  been closed down by the Park Service after pressure from the Navy. The live web cam has been on for 10 years and last year had more than 6 million views.

The founder of the webcam and YouTube channel, Barry Bahrami, said he was shocked to learn the Navy had concerns and asked the National Park Service to turn it off. He told CBS8 ,

“This was done in spite. “

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Navy Keeps Identity of 4 Development Teams on Shortlist a Secret in Next Round of Competition for NAVWAR Site

April 17, 2023 by Frank Gormlie

On April 11, the Navy disclosed that it had chosen four development teams for the next round of real estate competition to redevelop the 70 plus acres of the NAVWAR site in the Midway District. Yet, the Navy would not identify the teams on their shortlist. It is the largest real estate competition in the federal agency’s history.

This secrecy may not sit well with local residents who were clearly rankled by the initial concept drawings offered to the community by the Navy that showed a wall of skyscrapers towering over I-5. The Navy said it received more than 1,000 letters in response to the models presented. Ironically, the Navy says those letters and the “public’s strong reaction as part of the rationale for undertaking the solicitation process prior to finalizing the environment work,” as reported by the Union-Tribune.

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San Diego Leaders Urged to Set Aside Portion of NAVWAR Property for Affordable Housing

February 1, 2023 by Source

By Ricardo Flores /  Op-Ed San Diego Union-Tribune / Jan. 30, 2023

The Navy wants to redevelop its Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, or NAVWAR, a sprawling 70.3-acre complex in San Diego’s Midway District. According to the Navy, the site can accommodate up to 10,000 housing units, but, no surprise, there is no requirement in its request for qualifications/proposals that any of the units be affordable housing.

This is unfortunate because San Diego is experiencing an affordable housing crisis that has become a homeless crisis.

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La Playa Trail Association Lecture Series: ‘Further Expeditions of Scripps Oceanography & U.S. Navy’ — Tues., Jan.17

January 12, 2023 by Source

La Playa Trail Association Lecture Series is presenting “Further Expeditions of Scripps Oceanography & U.S. Navy – Homeport: Point Loma, Part 2.”

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In Largest Real Estate Competition in US Navy’s History – NAVWAR Is Now Officially on the Block

November 16, 2022 by Source

Edited from BusinessNews, November 16, 2022

It’s official. The United States Navy is officially seeking bids to renovate NAVWAR, the 70.3-acre complex in San Diego’s Midway District, launching the largest real estate competition in the federal agency’s history.

On Tuesday, the Navy released  the RFQ, the request for qualifications for the lease and development of the NAVWAR property, which includes Naval Base Point Loma, and Old Town Complex. The 182-page solicitation published on federal procurement site SAM.gov formally puts the property on the market and invites development teams to respond by February 7, 2023 with their high-level vision for the site and financing plans.

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Midway Planners: Navy’s NAVWAR Plans Still Include Transit Center, a ‘Bike Box’ on Sports Arena, and Group Has No Recommendation on ‘C’

October 27, 2022 by Staff

By Geoff Page

The Navy’s update on the NAVWAR project, a new pot business, and another cycling proposal were the main items of interest at the Midway-Pacific Highway Community Planning Group’s regular monthly meeting on Zoom, October 19.

NAVWAR

The Navy’s spokesperson, Greg Geisen along with Captain Franklin, Naval Base Point Loma Commanding Officer, gave a PowerPoint presentation.  The presentation was titled “Old Town Campus Revitalization,” an amazingly benign title for the massive redevelopment of the Navy’s property.

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Navy’s Project Website for NAVWAR ‘Revitalization’ – Get on Mailing List

October 6, 2022 by Source

From Navy Project Website

Welcome to the Project Website for the revitalization of Naval Information Warfare Systems Command’s (NAVWAR) facilities on the Old Town Campus (OTC) at Naval Base Point Loma, San Diego, California

The project website provides the latest information on the Navy OTC Revitalization project.

What’s next? Navy to Issue Competitive Solicitation in 2022.

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San Diego Vets Call to Cancel Miramar Air Show – Will Protest on Carroll Canyon Overpass – Thurs., Sept.22

September 22, 2022 by Source

The San Diego Veterans For Peace, along with 16 other local environmental, social, and religious groups, will be again demonstrating at the Carroll Canyon Road overpass to the I-15, this Thursday, Sept 22nd between 4 and 6 PM, asking that the upcoming Miramar Air Show be cancelled, as an unnecessarily dangerous and environmental disaster. (Come inside for more.)

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‘Feeding-Frenzy’ About to Begin Over Navy’s NAVWAR Property

September 21, 2022 by Frank Gormlie

If you thought the developers’ feeding frenzy around the Sports Arena was intense, wait until you see what happens when the Navy unleashes its request for proposals for its sprawling NAVWAR properties.

Sometime this fall, the Navy will issue what’s known as a request for qualifications (RfQ) for its area in the Midway District. That will be quickly followed by a request for proposals, which, as the Union-Tribune described, “will kickstart a real estate competition where almost anything goes.”

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Naval Base Relents and Agrees to Make Presentation Pt. Loma Assoc. Meeting on Increased Military Training – Wed., Sept.14

September 12, 2022 by Source

The Navy will hear you now.

From Point Loma Association

Last month, PLA was unsuccessful in arranging a community presentation by the Navy regarding their plans to increase military training at our neighborhood base. And Public comments closed September 1.

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Miramar Air Show Fuels the Climate Crisis – Boycott It!

August 9, 2022 by Source

By Gary Butterfield

As the visible effects of climate change resound throughout the earth, it becomes increasingly important that all of us do our part to responsibly reduce our carbon footprints.  This is especially true in San Diego, since our oceans and our coasts are at high risk of damage by climate change.

San Diegans are asked to modify our behaviors to lessen our carbon usage; we must demand the same commitment from our institutions.  Many local municipalities are revealing actions to help implement a meaningful Climate Action Plan to secure a Zero Carbon Future for their citizens.  So far none of these plans address the military’s contribution to the climate crisis!

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A Good Time to Question the Militarization of Students in Our Schools

August 8, 2022 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

So sad
that law makers,
U.S. Senators,
with all the power
in their possession
to do wonderful things,
knowing
that there are ex-servicemen and women
who have fallen ill
from breathing in poisonous air
in the battles in Iraq and Afghanistan,
chose, instead of lending them a hand,
to play games,

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Bernie Sanders: ‘We Must Do Everything Possible to Avoid an Enormously Destructive War in Ukraine’

February 9, 2022 by Source

By Bernie Sanders / The Guardian UK / Feb. 8, 2022

I’m concerned when I hear familiar drumbeats in Washington demanding we ‘show strength’, when we’re faced with what could be the worst European war in 75 years

Wars have unintended consequences. They rarely turn out the way the experts tell us they will. Just ask the officials who provided rosy scenarios for the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq, only to be proven horribly wrong. Just ask the mothers of the soldiers who were killed or wounded in action during those wars. Just ask the millions of civilians who became “collateral damage”.

That is why we must do everything possible to try and find a diplomatic solution to what could be an enormously destructive war in Ukraine.

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Navy Postpones Coastal Commission Review of NAVWAR Proposals

October 8, 2021 by Source

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Sky Didn’t Fall On U.S. Military After ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ Repealed

September 27, 2021 by Source

By Joseph C. Rocha / Times of San Diego / September 23, 2021

Ten years ago this week, the discriminatory Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy was repealed, finally lifting the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in our armed forces.

From that morning, I most vividly remember two things. First, all the courageous veterans and servicemembers who had shared their stories. And second, that the sky hadn’t fallen.

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The Navy Is Launching a Major Redevelopment Project and Many San Diegans Aren’t Paying Attention

July 14, 2021 by Source

By Phillip Halpern / San Diego Union-Tribune OpEd / July 13, 2021

The U.S. Navy has embraced “stealth” technology with the launch of three Zumwalt class warships. This technology allows the ships to elude radar, sail into enemy territory undetected and conduct surveillance in a clandestine manner. Such stealth strategies are, of course, both necessary and laudable when undertaken in the national interest.

Unfortunately, the Navy has also recently launched a stealthy redevelopment project, which has been flying under the radar of most San Diego residents. This project — which is shamefully supported by the city of San Diego — seeks to modernize the old SPAWAR site

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‘Save San Diego’s Character’ Mobilizes to Downsize Navy Redevelopment Project

June 22, 2021 by Source

By Dave Schwab / San Diego Community News Group / June 16, 2021

An environmental analysis is out on the NAVWAR redevelopment proposal to turn it into a transit hub with housing and airport connections, while pressure is building to downsize the project by a local group calling itself Save San Diego’s Character.

“Recently, the Navy initiated a direct mail campaign to notify residents and business owners of the impending renovation of the NAVWAR facility in Old Town offering five ‘alternatives’ to review and select a viable option,”

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Time to Question the Militarization of Our Children

June 17, 2021 by Ernie McCray

by Ernie McCray

When we say to a veteran or to someone active in the military, “Thank you for your service” what are we thanking them for?

I ask this question for the children’s sake, for the many teenage warriors, fresh out of high school, who find themselves off somewhere in a land, that was never mentioned in their schooling, “making a difference.”

I mean after World War II came to an end, has there been any real reason for our country to be involved in war?

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Todd Gloria Becomes the Main Man Behind the SANDAG-Navy Deal on Former SPAWAR Property in the Midway – One Month Before Election

October 2, 2020 by Frank Gormlie

Today we learned that on the heels of Gov. Gavin Newsom putting his signature on Assembly Bill 2731 just yesterday, Tuesday – which pushes forward the whole SANDAG – Navy deal on the old SPAWAR property -, San Diego mayoral candidate and assemblyman Todd Gloria, is taking over as the lead politician on the project, with Faulconer only around another month or so.

(I know it’s not called SPAWAR officially any more but how can we give up such a great name – Spawars – short for space wars? Besides, I bet there’s only one person on the OB Rag who knows what the current name is.)

The signed bill removes, as the San Diego Union-Tribune touted, “much of the red tape associated with the environmental review process required by the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA.” And there’s more:

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Navy and San Diego Team Up to Tackle Modernizing the ‘Old Town Campus’ in Midway District

July 2, 2020 by Source

 

Editordude: We offer the following without comment as a FYI for our Point Loma and Midway readers.

by Elisha Gamboa / Defense Visual Information Distribution Services / July 1, 2020

To keep Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) ready to meet its critical, high-tech, cybersecurity mission, the Navy is working alongside advocates throughout the San Diego region to create a state-of-the-art facility in support the command’s diverse, high-priority mission and rapidly growing cyber requirements.

Known as the Navy Old Town Campus (OTC) Revitalization Project, this effort centers around NAVWAR Headquarters, which is currently located on 70.5 acres of Navy-owned land, in the Midway-Pacific Highway Community.

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Veterans and G.I. Rights Groups Condemn Use of National Guard in George Floyd Protests as Some G.I’s Refuse to Go

June 5, 2020 by Source

The people who do G.I. hot-line counseling across the country, veterans’ groups and G.I. rights organizations are condemning the use of the National Guard in the George Floyd protests occurring nationwide. Meanwhile, some G.I.s are telling these counselors they will refuse to comply with orders directing them to go to the cities where protests are happening.

Here is the statement by the the Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild:

Statement opposing use of National Guard against anti-racist protests

The Military Law Task Force of the National Lawyers Guild strongly condemns the use of National Guard and active duty troops to police anti-racist protesters. ,

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