GET READY FOR JOHN WAYNE TO GROW AND GROW AND GROW
(photo of Marine training)
Leonard Kranser has a column in the OC REGISTER today about the inevitable clash that is coming between those who want JWA to grow and those who want it to stay as small as possible. LINK
Leonard Kranser has a column in the OC REGISTER today about the inevitable clash that is coming between those who want JWA to grow and those who want it to stay as small as possible. LINK
Although the Costa Mesa and Newport Beach city councils are trying to bring in other cities as allies in their stay-small approach, it's not going to work.
The reason: the only two cities that will really feel the full negative impacts of a larger JWA will be Costa Mesa and Newport Beach. Most other city councils know this. Some may give lip service to keeping JWA small, but their hearts aren't really in it.
The argument for a larger JWA is that the few--the people in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach--will have to give way to the many--all the people in the rest of the county who want convenient air traffic.
The many will win, unless we get serious and demand that a new airport be built that can replace John Wayne.
The goofy alternatives of airports out in the desert to replace JWA aren't going to work, folks. And, the finger in the dike caps on flights won't work for long.
The pressure to expand is constant.
The goofy alternatives of airports out in the desert to replace JWA aren't going to work, folks. And, the finger in the dike caps on flights won't work for long.
The pressure to expand is constant.
A true replacement for JWA is going to have to be on the coast; for the many reasons that we've previously written about.
And, to us, the logical location is on a tiny portion of Camp Pendleton.
Some have said to us that the Marines would never allow that to happen. Baloney. The Marines don't own that base. The citizens of the U.S. own it. If Congress decided that a new international airport should be built on a tiny portion of Camp Pendleton, it would happen.
Look, we have some knowledge of Marine training and base usage, having been in the Marines, and we're here to tell you that a very small northwest portion of Camp Pendleton could be turned into a major international airport--larger than LAX--and the Marines would not only not miss the land but would be able to offer protection to the airport while having a training opportunity for the types of urban conflicts that Marines are likely to find themselves increasingly involved in.
In addition, the Marines could use the new airport for quick deployment around the world. With a couple of commandeered jumbo jets you could land a thousand Marines anyplace in the world in a matter of a few hours.
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Those are our opinions. Thanks for reading them.
