Navy Sets Anchor in Middle of Ohio, Again

There are bound to be some chuckles at the possible headlines tomorrow on this one.

A high-profile ribbon cutting at the Aerospace Center today will see workload for the U.S. Navy officially anchored at Heath, Ohio.  Right in the middle of Ohio.

The thought of Navy sub navigator work being done in a place more than 450 miles away from the nearest place to where a sub can navigate could be humorous to some.

Plus, the headlines may mention that the work is being done at a port authority facility.  That mere phrase evokes thoughts of a Norfolk or Long Beach, not Licking County, Ohio where the Port Authority's closest water source is a lazy little creek.

Truth is, the Navy has been here before. 

In 1981, the Newark Air Force Base newspaper, On Target, reported on the study and competition done that resulted in the decision to bring the Electrostatically Supported Gyro Navigator (ESGN) repair workload to Heath the first time.  It stayed until BRAC '93 and base closure caused the Navy to pull anchor in 1994.  So, this is legacy workload.

Truth is, this work on Navy sub navigation systems is old hat to Heath. It's the same type of high-tech, precision work that has been done here in Licking County for 50 years.

Welcome back, Admiral.  Welcome back to port.