December 10, 2012

West Virginia Senator Discusses Future of Sugar Grove Naval Base | WHSV

PENDLETON COUNTY, Va. -- Nearly 200 sailors and their families, who are stationed at the Sugar Grove base, will move out within the next three years. Regardless of the move, lawmakers want to make sure the facility will be put to use.

Sen. Joe Manchin said he was planning to meet with some people from the Navy on Tuesday to answer his questions about people leaving Sugar Grove and to find out what is next for the base.

The meeting was canceled because of the weather, but Manchin said he still plans to meet with the Navy. He wants different branches of the military to look at Sugar Grove to see if it could be put to another use.

Manchin said the facility has a lot of value and it would be a loss to just shut it down once the service members leave.

He said the fact that the base is near Washington, D.C. and that it is in a quiet zone, makes it a good location for a base.

"We are fighting very hard,” said Sen. Manchin, “To have a wonderful place such as that and the way that it has fit into the community and the way that it basically has been accepted by the community. It would be a sad, sad scenario for our country to lose our valuable asset."

Manchin said he would meet with representatives of different branches of the military soon. He hopes they would decide what to do with Sugar Grove by next year.