Category: Military

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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.”

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.

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!

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,

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.

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.

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