Navy Lakehurst / Fort Dix / McGuire AFB Complex

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The Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst, the Army's Fort Dix, and McGuire Air Force Base are three contiguous military bases in New Jersey.

[edit] Special conditions

  • Navy Lakehurst occupies 7430 acres (30.1 km²),U.S. government owned, in the 1 million acre (4000 km²) Pinelands National Reserve in central New Jersey. The base is 45 miles (72 km) east of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 50 miles (80 km) south of New York City, 60 miles (100 km) north of Atlantic City and 10 miles (16 km) west of the Atlantic ocean. It abuts Fort Dix to the west, forming a 42,000 acre (170 km²) Fort Dix/McGuire Air Force Base/ Lakehurst complex. The New Jersey Wildlife and Game Refuge is to the north and the Manchester Fish and Wildlife Preserve to the south.
  • The perimeter land areas to the north and south are in the Pinelands Preservation and Forest areas. Virtually all land uses except agricultural, limited recreation, and forestry programs are prohibited in the preservation area. On the eastern boundary, light commercial, industrial, and residential uses are allowed.
  • Local development is severely constrained. For military installations within the Pinelands, proposed development must be consistent with the Plan to the extent that development is compatible with the installation's mission, safety, or other national defense requirements.

[edit] Cooperation

In February 2004, installation commanders from the three installations formed a partnership to generate joint solutions for common problems between the three contiguous bases and their tenant commands. The three installation commanders are already reducing operating costs by consolidating firearms training, radar information for air operations, and contracts for pest control, linen service, and hazardous waste disposal. This is a unique relationship. While each base serves its respective service directly, each base also takes advantage of the other bases’ capabilities as part of a Joint Installation Partnership. For example:

  • The New Jersey Army National Guard's 254th Regiment operates M1A1 tanks out of Navy Lakehurst. As part of their training, they transit via Navy Lakehurst to the live-fire and maneuver ranges at Fort Dix.
  • The Air Force plans to station a squadron of C-17 airlift aircraft at McGuire AFB. The C-17 often is required to take off and land from poorly prepared airfields, often in hostile territory. The airfield conditions at McGuire were not suitable for training for this type of operation. Navy Lakehurst has agreed to let the Air Force construct a practice assault landing strip at their airfield. The C-17s stationed at McGuire will train at Lakehurst and not interfere with normal aircraft operations at McGuire.
  • The 421st Ground Combat Readiness Squadron is headquartered at McGuire AFB and trains at Navy Lakehurst.
  • Navy Lakehurst and McGuire AFB use the live-fire training ranges at Fort Dix eliminating the need for individual ranges.

[edit] Results

At the 15 June House Appropriations Military Construction Subcommittee hearing on the Navy's fiscal year 2005 request, the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), ADM Vern Clark, praised the New Jersey Joint Cooperation on Installation Management at Lakehurst, Dix, and McGuire.