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68 °F Forecast | Road Cams Tuesday, May 24, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Biz Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 14, 2005 Lt. Cmdr. Dave Quirk, commanding officer of the Naval Reserve Center outside Central Point, approaches reporters to discuss the possible closure of the facility. Mail Tribune / Bob Pennell Marching orders? Central Point training center among base closings poposed by Defense department By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune CENTRAL POINT — The Naval Reserve Center here is one of two military sites in Oregon proposed for closure by the Department of Defense. Although tiny, the leased facility at 3070 Ross Lane adds some $1.5 million annually to the local economy. It houses seven active duty staff, including an officer and six enlisted personnel, and provides training and administration for up to 70 reservists who drill one weekend a month and two weeks a year. Elsewhere in Oregon, the proposal calls for the Umatilla Chemical Depot near Hermiston to close and the Air National Guard base in Portland to be substantially reduced in size. The Umatilla Depot would lose 512 employees while the Guard base at Portland International Airport would lose 564 employees. Advertisement However, Kingsley Field in Klamath Falls, home of an Oregon Air National Guard unit, is not among the bases listed by the Defense Department for closure or reduction in force. The Navy pays about $42,000 a year to lease the building from the Medford school district, said Galen Anderson, district director of business and facilities. Formerly Westside Elementary School, the facility has been leased by the Navy for the past 21 years. Before that, the Navy Reserve shared training space with the Army Reserve in Medford. Four naval reserve units currently train at the Central Point facility, including a hospital unit, a Seabee construction battalion, the USS Frank Cable submarine tender based at Guam and a coastal warfare squadron based in San Diego, said Lt. Cmdr. Dave Quirk, the center’s commanding officer. The facility’s operation costs, including housing, pay and insurance for the seven full-time personnel, is about $560,000, Quirk said. Total reservist pay is around $980,000, not including civilian income, he added. "Our responsibility is training and administering of these folks," said Quirk, who assumed command of the center late last year. "The bottom line is we make sure they are at full readiness," he added, noting the training enables the reservists to hit the ground running when they go on active duty. Before the 2001 terrorist attack on the United States, reservists had 30 days before shipping out after being notified they were activated. "Now they have 72 hours — it’s a quick turnaround," Quirk said. "You keep that sea bag packed." Although he has been fielding calls from the media, Quirk, who joined the Navy in 1984 and became an officer in 1989, hasn’t been officially notified the center may be closed. "We’re really as blind about it as everybody else," he said. "It’s a recommended list at this point. History says about 85 percent are signed off. We shall see." If the center is closed, the active duty personnel will be reassigned and the reservists will report for their monthly and annual training at another military base, he said. While he didn’t offer any comments about whether the local center should be closed, Quirk, a native of Florida, said he enjoys working in the Rogue Valley. "This place is awesome — the people are fantastic," he said. "They are very motivated, very patriotic. They’re a pleasure to work for." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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