After a hundred days on the job Patuxent River Naval Air Station Commanding Officer Capt. Ted Mills feels he has the best job in the Navy at “the best base in the Navy.” Mills sat down with members of the local media Friday for a roundtable discussion about his job and the base. Topics ranged from the recently announced Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) to wind turbines to the delayed base child care center to the upcoming Exercise Solid Curtain/Citadel Shield.
Base commanding officers at Pax River (and three other Navy bases) get an 18-month on-the-job training as base executive officer (XO). Mills found that to be helpful in learning the ropes for the new job he started in November. Executive officers, Mills said, are in charge of the day-to-day administrative functions. “You get a chance as executive officer to learn the ropes,” he said. Current XO Capt. Ben Shevchul introduced himself before the roundtable.
The Bay Net reported last week that the international development firm, Hines Interests, L. P. had been selected to participate in exclusive negotiations to form a Business & Leasing Plan for development of potentially up to seven sites on base for commercial purposes. The effort is being developed under the Navy’s EUL program.
The St. Mary’s County business community has expressed ongoing concerns that the EUL program would add serious competition to commercial activities outside the base. There is vacant office space throughout the area and they feel adding space on base would exacerbate the situation. The picking of an international firm surely did not alleviate the fears.
“I have no evidence they (Hines) will not use exclusive means that will not be beneficial to St. Mary’s County,” Mills said, but added that it would be up to Hines to embrace the local community. He noted, however, that federal regulations require that to happen. “I suspect there will be local opportunities,” he said.
“The fence line is transparent,” the captain said, insisting that a strong, viable local community and the future of Pax River go hand in hand. He said of the upcoming negotiations, which will involve his command, Naval Facilities Washington and Hines, “That will be in the forefront of my mind.”
The long-anticipated Joint Land Use Study on potential encroachment, involving Southern Maryland, Eastern Shore and Northern Neck of Virginia counties, is about to commence under the leadership of the Tri-County Council. Mills said that while the Navy hasn’t taken a position on the location of wind turbines in the Atlantic Ocean off Maryland, it is expected to be one of the issues included in the study. The defense community in St. Mary’s County has expressed fear that the wind turbines will interfere with testing at Pax River.
Navy officials over the past few years have noted the aging infrastructure at Pax River that in some cases goes back to the base’s opening in 1943. The EUL will
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