The Times Record > Opinion > Editorials > Thanks for the memories!.
The long good-bye is almost completed.
We’ve watched from outside the fence as one by one the last squadrons stationed here departed for their new home port of Jacksonville, Fla., or on deployments that would be followed by “welcome home” celebrations “elsewhere.”
The Tigers of Patrol Squadron 8 were the first to leave, in November 2008. They were followed by the Red Lancers of Patrol Squadron 10 in June 2009, and the Special Projects Squadron Unit 1 and Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 62 the following month. The Tridents of Patrol Squadron 26 were the last to leave, departing in late November 2009.
The base became silent. The engine drone sound of P3 Orions waiting on the tarmac for takeoff, or the propeller roar of a P3 coming in for a landing, are now a sonic memory.
After the squadrons fully departed the BNAS airfield officially closed in January 2010. A fast-dwindling crew of sailors stayed on to finish the job of closing the base for good.
It should be apparent to everyone by now just how fortunate we’ve been in the Navy’s selection of Capt. Will Fitzgerald as the final commanding officer of the air station. His outreach efforts to the civilian community have consistently made the massive job of transitioning the base to its new identity as “Brunswick Landing” far easier and more successful than anyone could have expected. His selection as last year’s Joshua Chamberlain Award recipient was well-deserved, and a fitting reminder of how closely the civilian and Navy communities have worked together over the 60-plus-year history of BNAS.
Capt. Fitzgerald would be the first to acknowledge he didn’t do it alone. He’d be right, of course, so we hereby give thanks to the team of sailors who’ve been working behind the scenes night and day to close the base as scheduled on Tuesday.
We give thanks, too, to all the Navy higher-ups who have facilitated the unprecedented initiatives that have allowed private companies to begin leasing vacated Navy buildings before BNAS was officially closed. While the lobbying efforts of our congressional delegation in Washington, former Gov. John Baldacci, local town officials and the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority certainly helped, the fact remains that the Navy bent over backwards to be a “good neighbor” in its final months of command at BNAS.
In doing so, it gave the Mid-coast region a tremendous head start of rebuilding our local economy over other communities that also lost military bases during the 2005 BRAC closure round.
And so, our Memorial Day parade this year has a double meaning this year.
Its “Never Forget” theme, first and foremost, pays homage to the men and women who gave their lives defending our country. But no one should be faulted for also holding the 60-year history of Brunswick Naval Air Station in their hearts and minds as the parade marchers head down Topsham’s Main Street, cross the Frank J. Wood Bridge over the Androscoggin and then move solemnly down Brunswick’s Maine Street.
We’ll always remember the vigilant P-3 squadrons that patrolled the high seas during the Cold War in search of Soviet submarines — a key link in our country’s defense against a potential nuclear attack.
We’ll always remember the countless ways in which Navy sailors assigned to BNAS, and their families, enriched our communities. They volunteered in our schools, helped build playgrounds, collected bottles for their deposits to raise money for school programs, supported local businesses … in so many ways they’ve been “good neighbors” who’ve helped make the Mid-coast region such a wonderful place to live in and raise a family.
Thanks for the memories!