Navy must kill plan for civilian housing

Ithink I am known as a person who tries to see all sides of a story. After almost three decades as a professional journalist, I can state with certainty that there are at least two sides to every story, and usually more than that.

But I do not think there is a second side, or a third side, to a story that has been in the local news for more than a year.

The U.S. Navy's plan to open housing that has heretofore been reserved for military families living at Naval Weapons Station Earle in Colts Neck to the general public is dumb. Just plain dumb.

Whatever happened to common sense?

This plan does not make any sense to me at all and it should be stopped in its tracks before more time, effort and money is spent either bringing it to fruition or fighting to keep it from happening.

Simply put, in this day and age of terrorism on United States soil, with our enemy living among us, we cannot under any circumstances allow civilians to live essentially unrestricted on a military base.

We need look no further than the events at Fort Hood, Texas, last week, when an allegedly deranged military man killed 13 people and wounded 29 others in what may have been an act of terrorism; the same type of terrorism that threatened the lives of soldiers at Fort Dix in a recent plot; and the same type of terrorism that our enemies delivered to us on Sept. 11, 2001.

According to information previously published in newspaper articles, in the late 1980s Navy officials entered into a Section 801 Housing agreement to build 300 privatized homes on Earle in exchange for payment to the developer (estimated now to be $3.5 million a year) regardless of occupancy.

Because the Navy reduced its personnel at Earle since the agreement was signed, there are currently fewer than 10 Navy families who live in what is known as the Laurelwood housing.

Plans now call for the Laurelwood homes to be opened to occupancy to the public. The homes are just off Route 34 in Colts Neck, within the borders of the base, near the entrance to the military installation.

A group called NOPE (Neighbors Opposed to the Privatization of Earle) has been doing yeoman work to convince the Navy to get out of the contract that calls for the Laurelwood homes to be opened to the public.

NOPE is right. Opening the homes to whoever comes up with the rent money is a dangerous idea for military and civilian personnel on the naval base and for the community at large.

Is it likely that a terrorist or terrorists would move into a Laurelwood home and carry out a plot against Earle? I do not know the answer to that question.

Is it possible that scenario could play out? Yes, I think it is possible. For that reason, the plan to open the Laurelwood housing to the public should be put to rest.

Let the Navy negotiate a deal with the developer, pay her off and be done with this housing if it is not needed by the military.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) has said of the situation at NWS Earle, "Making a highly secure military weapons depot accessible to anyone with a month-and-ahalf's rent is a bad idea. This is an egregiously flawed plan that will significantly and adversely impact security on an important military installation that is closed now to the public."

At Fort Hood, President Barack Obama saw firsthand what can happen on a military base when a killer puts his mind to doing damage. We do not need a similar lesson in New Jersey.

President Obama, please, give us some hope for relief and change the Navy's ridiculous plan for civilian occupancy of the Laurelwood housing at NWS Earle.

Mark Rosman is the managing editor of the Tri-Town News. He may be reached by email at gmntnews@gmnews.com.