In an unexpected reversal from the late-1990s divestiture of government property, the Dept. of the Navy has announced its intention to purchase Waukegan National Airport for the purpose of creating an inland Navy/Marine Corps pilot training facility. Civilian housing in the area will be purchased and demolished for safety reasons, and two schools close to the airport, H. R. McCall Elementary and Prairie Trail School will become NATTU (Naval Air Technical Training Unit) schools. The Domino’s Pizza at the end of the northeast runway will be preserved and expanded to provide a full 24-hour kitchen for Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard personnel.
The purpose of this move is to provide training facilities lost with the closing of NASGlenview, a pre-World War II Naval Air Station used for training Navy pilots prior to their deployment. Due to an unfortunate lack of foresight, NASGlenview was sold and converted to civilian housing developments during the BRAC. The current residents have angrily refused to even consider giving up their expensive, comfortable homes, regardless of prime offers by the Navy.
In a search for an aviation facility currently in operation, the choice was between Waukegan National Airport at Waukegan, IL, and Kenosha Regional Airport at Kenosha, WI, 30 miles to the north of NSGreat Lakes. Both airports have a 30-foot high elevated embankment at the end of their main runways, meant to avoid impacts with civilian vehicle traffic. According to one enthusiastic light sport pilot who uses the Waukegan airport regularly, it’s “almost like taking off from an aircraft carrier deck.” The Navy settled on Waukegan National because of its 6 mile distance from NSGreat Lakes.
The basic aviation training program for NAVAIRCADs and MARAIRCADs will be held at McCall Elementary and Prairie Trail schools, which will also offer daycare as well as standard K-12 classes for the children of Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard families. The aviation program will include pilot qualifications in rotor and fixed wing aircraft, as well as aviation equipment handling, maintenance, fuels, and aviation engineering classes in “A”, “B” and “C” schools. The US Coast Guard unit currently operating from its Waukegan National Airport and Waukegan Harbor facilities will be expanded, with NASGreat Lakes as its base of operations on the western shores of Lake Michigan.
Expansion of runways and facilities includes future plans to accommodate heavy gunships such as RATO C-130 Hercs, as well as lighter warplanes like the A-10 (Warthog). In addition, plans are on the table for a Lexington-class carrier strike force consisting of an aircraft carrier, two diesel-powered destroyer escorts, one guided missile frigate and a destroyer, to ply the waters of Lake Michigan, as well as installing a SEAL training facility at the former nuclear power generating station at Beach Park, IL. There is also a discussion underway regarding reviving a diesel-powered submarine now in mothballs as a training ship for future submariners.
Comments
48 responses to “Navy to Convert NS Great Lakes to NAS Great Lakes”
Growing the military already … I like it.
This is from the Duffel Blog right? This makes absolutely no effin’ sense whatsoever, especially that last part about a carrier task force.
Same reaction here. I have a real hard time believing that NAS Pensacola and other NAVAIR training facilities are so “tapped out” that they couldn’t handle more students. Or maybe – God forbid – coordinate with the USAF to use some of their existing and underutilized facilities for the excess.
For basic flight training, I see no reason whatsoever why that can’t be accomplished at an inland facility by a Naval unit tenant at a USAF base.
Well, the Navy DID take over Carswell AFB. . .
NAS Kingsville has trained Navy pilots for decades, and a lot less snow and ice. Just sayin
And they could re-open NALF Orange Grove just north of Alice, Texas to do touch-and-goes like they did during the Nam era. That was my last duty station in 1970.
My wife grew up to the sound of NAS Kingsville. But I guess we need to share the joy with the Yankees a little just to be neighborly.
Re-open Brunswick
NAS Albany…
I love it when a plan comes together.
That sounded goofy to me too, but after thinking about it is probably for carrier qualification. I just don’t think we are patrolling the Canadian border yet. There are lots of land bases that would work, but might be too far off for carrier quals. Winter qualifications with nuggets should be fun.
Hit report post by mistake.
Muhahahahahahahaha!
Hmmmm.
*checks calendar*
Nope, not April yet, but there are a couple ah, inconsistencies in your article, Ex.
Like Lexington class aircraft carriers were built in the 1920s…
IF (and that’s a big IF) this article is legit, it may be referring to a WWII ESSEX class carrier like the USS LEXINGTON (CV-16), which served as a training carrier from the late 1960s until decommissioning in 1991…
(Snerrrkkk!) For just a moment, youse guys had some doubts.
You do know about the two carriers that were used for training WWII pilots from Glenview, didn’t you? They used to tie up at Navy Pier.
Oh, you had me until the last paragraph. Well played, ma’am.
Hah! Gotcha! My work here is done.
I feel as though yer yankin’ my lanyard, Ex-PH2.
<3 <3 <3
Bah hah hah!
I fell for it…
CTIC(SS) (Ret)
It was my pleasure!
Crap. Someone must be punished for yankin’ my chain.
<3 <3 <3 to you, Doc!
OK, Ex-PH2, now you’ve really done it.
So now that this has been written and posted on line, how long do you think that it will be before the first poser shows up here claiming to have concurrently earned his Naval Aviator wings and SEAL Trident while going through this training pipeline?
(The poser’s Stolen Valor claims will, of course, be accompanied by an image of the poser’s face ‘Photo-Shopped’ on to a picture of Richard Gere in Navy Dress Whites riding around on a motorcycle from the film ‘An Officer and a Gentleman’.)
My goal is to get someone’s undies in a bunch, as happened with the DB article about Gitmo detainees getting GI Bill bennies. I’m getting there.
Yes you are, Ma’am.
Well played!
Not to mention trying to hijack the stories…”my best friend hung himself when a local girl spurned his marriage proposal, then I challenged the DI to a fight…I was doing well until he kicked me in the nads…then I graduated and told him I would never forget him…I went to my girl’s workplace and carried her out in my arms…”
“Civilian housing in the area will be purchased and demolished for safety reasons”
Heh. In place targets.
The Dominoes part was a bridge too far. You had me until then. No Dominoes goes 24/7. Ever. Not even those located at the end of runways or so I’ve heard.
Well, it’s just that there’s no McDonald’s there. It’s a Dominoes. But if the Navy bought it, it would go 24/7 until replaced by a chow hall.
I’ve been in training all day myself or I might have read this carefully & taken the bait.
Well done, Ex-PH2!
That was mean…you’re a mean lady. 🙂
Love you, too, Atkron.
Actually, if you knew the “backstory” concerning the 1988 and 1991 BRAC changes regarding Forts Devens, Meade, and Huachuca – and what caused the abrupt reversal between the two BRAC rounds – you would NOT find the above “proposal” farfetched whatsoever.
Stupid? Yes. Farfetched? No. DoD periodically does similarly ill-advised things that cost the US taxpayer big bucks for political reasons.
Let’s just say that reputedly someone “reading the fine print” on Fort Meade’s original land deed concerning what happened to the land if Meade ever closed saved DoD from making a $500M mistake during those two BRAC rounds. That was supposedly the reason for the dramatic changes between what the 1988 BRAC round proposed for those 3 installations and the 1991 BRAC round’s proposals. It’s reputedly also why Meade is still open today as an active DoD installation and Devens is now a USAR/ARNG training site. (smile)
Hondo, nothing will surprise me at all. I think the practical reason for selling Glenview to a developer had more to do with housing developments around the air station than anything else. When it was built in the 1920s, there was hardly any housing there at all. Now, it’s so crowded that combat aircraft present a real hazard.
An entire carrier group in Lake Michigan? That lake isn’t that big and what will that do to the commercial shipping?
YOu have to know that with so many Somali refugees pouring in to Chicago, that eventually they will have to deal with Pirates on the great lakes. this is just a really smart move on our part to not only secure American borders, but to also be in a positive position to take on all pirates on the Lakes trying to ransom off captured Canadian Maple Syrup….
Smugglers? Smugglers? Yes, yes, indeed! Not only smuggling Canadian Maple Syrup, but also moose meat and Canadian beer.
Actually, I think the aircraft carrier is going to be there to transport Rosie O’Pumpkinhead to Canada when she finally makes good on her threat to leave
It really is that big. Commercial shipping goes to the Port Authority, southeast of Chicago, or onward to the Seaway transit via Lake Huron, Lake Erie and thence to Lake Ontario and into the Seaway. I used to see barges carrying raw sugar come into the Chicago River and unload at the Hershey plant right at the river side before that closed.
It isn’t so far-fetched, either, because the Navy’s newest ships are being built at Marinette Marina up at Manitowoc, WI. Here’s a list so far:
USS Freedom (LCS-1), launched in 2006 and delivered 2008.
USS Fort Worth (LCS-3), launched 2010 and delivered 2012.
USS Milwaukee (LCS-5), launched December 2013 and delivered November 2015.
USS Detroit (LCS-7), launched October 2014.
USS Little Rock (LCS-9), launched July, 2015.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Manitowoc_Company
Update: Marinette Marine Corporation (MMC) is a shipbuilding firm in Marinette, Wisconsin. MMC was a subsidiary of Manitowoc Marine Group of Wisconsin. MMC was sold to Fincantieri Marine Group in 2009.
lol, I used to pick up at Hershey. The smell of chocolate was everywhere and pretty awesome. I used to go through both Manitowoc and Marinette every few weeks. Always thought it was odd that they built ships there.
If you are going to visit there Ex-PH2 may I suggest a nice tour?
http://www.greatlakesgazette.com/2016/04/01/whale-watching-on-the-great-lakes/
The restaurant where copies are available is out on the highway. If it’s RTC graduation day, the new grads show up there, too.
What? Is this from The Onion? Baffling.
When you have to ask, then I’ve done my job.
It’s too bad they closed Cecil Field outside of Jacksonville, Fla. Better weather, close to Mayport, NAS JAX, and Camp Blanding.
BRAC is also the noise I make when I think about it.