USA: Navy Secretary Visits Jacksonville

Mayor Alvin Brown welcomed Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus to Jacksonville on Tuesday. The secretary visited City Hall and met with 40 JROTC cadets from Mandarin High School. He also attended a luncheon with local business leaders at EverBank Field.

The Navy released its Fiscal Year 2013 budget which allocated more ships and sailors to Naval Station Mayport. An amphibious readiness unit with 2,000 sailors and their families is slated to arrive by 2015. The three ships in the unit would require around $75 million a year in repairs and maintenance, all of which would be done in Jacksonville.

“It’s a vote of confidence in our city,” said Mayor Brown. “And it is going to boost the number of personnel in Jacksonville – that’s good for our economy.”

Mabus said the Navy is now spending $46 million to dredge near the Mayport station which would make it accessible to every single ship in the Navy.

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Dredging Today Staff, February 29, 2012; Image: coj