European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 25, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Artic s t a to e s i d a v of a a a Crew members of the Eisenhower seen in the background wait to meet the press and Board the Carrier in March. History making Crew just doing its Jobby Charlotte Grimes St. Louis Post dispatch i n the Calm of Ward room 3, it. Cmdr. Jan Hamby whips her Wallet from the hip pocket of her Khaki trousers and hands around the dining table a rectangular treasure. And As strangers Quot aah Quot and Quot ooh Quot Over the family photo Hamby wears the look worn by generations of men in uniform and away from Home a half Wistful Ness half Pride. That s husband Dale beaming in. The top left Corner. In front All dressed up Are her daughter Marie 11, and her son Allen 8. They came aboard the aircraft Carrier Eisenhower on a night Back in March and helped Hamby Stow her few belongings. Quot we thought it was very important for our kids to see where mom is going to be Quot Hamby explains. Mom is where sailors go at sea aboard a nuclear powered aircraft Carrier the Pride of the Navy on March 9, Hamby stepped aboard the Eisenhower and into history a one of the first 500 women assigned to regular duty aboard an american combat ship. Not just visitors this time but genuine shift pulling Jet fuel smelling family photo carrying members of the ship s Crew and its aircraft squadrons. Her husband and kids Are proud. Quot my daughter has the realization that this is very important for women a not just women in the Navy but women in general Quot Hamby says. For the Nav the change is both More and less than it appears. So far the women and men of the Quot like Quot say they Are weathering it Well. On the huge flight deck of the Carrier a which was conducting a six week training cruise through the Caribbean a tiny figures in red yellow White and Blue shirts Scurry among the firetrucks and hulking Jet fighters. In helmets goggles and protective gear the Crew members Are indistinguishable chunks of humanity. That s just How the women want it. Quot just Doin my Job Quot they say Over my daughter has the realization that this is very important for women a not just women in the Navy but women in general. A it. Cmdr. Jan Hamby of the Eisenhower and Over. The Job is glamorous to backbreaking fighter Pilot. Radar technician. Administrator. Doctor. Firefighter. Torpedo Man. It . Julie Hansen flies an sh-3 sea King helicopter. Her main Mission dropping torpedoes into the Ocean to blow up enemy submarines. But with the end of the cold War there s less Call for that. Most Days Hansen s Squadron flies combat search and Rescue missions for downed Jet pilots. Quot i m just out Here doing my own thing working As part of a Crew Quot Hansen says. She repeats what seems to be the Credo of military women Quot it does t really matter whether i m male or  women have been on . Combat ships offend on since the War of 1812, when Stephen Decatur enrolled two of his officers wives to tend the casualties he expected in breaking out of the British blockade around new York. But the shipboard women were always temporary called on when desperately needed sent ashore when the emergency passed. In 1978 the Navy allowed its women to serve aboard Hospital and Supply ships. They could spend Only 180 Days on fighting ships the destroyers and aircraft carriers but the Culf War put a Femae face on combat. Nearly 40,000 military women shipped out to the Middle East War zone. Eleven died there. Americans grieved for their daughters and sons alike. No one rebelled As some predicted at the thought of women coming Home in body bags. Meanwhile the Tail Hook scandal in which Navy women were mauled by their Drunken male colleagues put pressure on the Navy to change. Last year Congress repealed the world War it la that excluded women from combat jobs. Today about 85 women Are aboard the Eisenhower the first ship to get them. By autumn when the Carrier Heads for six months in the Mediterranean the Ike will have about 500 women a not quite 10 percent of its 6,000-member Crew and aircraft squadrons. Stippa Howard nows Sori Cassort subject closed base to reopen under a new namely Art Pine los Angeles times the b-52 bombers have vacated Carswell fab a sprawling 3,200-acre Complex in Texas that now looks like a military ghost town. Home to much of the nation s now outmoded strategic bomber Force since world War ii Carswell is finally shutting Down one of the victims of the defense departments drive to close unneeded military bases As it seeks to live with a declining budget. But the residents of nearby Westworth Village whose Economy has profited from Carswell a presence Are not As dejected As those in Many military dependent . Communities. That s because defense department officials have found a nifty solution for what to do with this redundant base they Are turning it into a naval air station. On oct. 1, Carswell will reopen As the naval air station fort Worth joint Reserve training base. A sophisticated aviation b-52s Are gone but Carswell survives. Complex with 12,000-foot runways and myriad High tech appurtenances it will serve As a training installation for of Reserve pilots from the Navy Marine corps army and air Force. Carswell is not unique. Elsewhere around the country the Pentagon has converted a naval shipyard into an army Quot debarkation Center and transferred administrative offices to other former military bases. Critics charge that replacing Carswell with a Reserve facility a father than Selling it to local communities or private firms for conversion to commercial use a is Only a ruse and does not accomplish the defense departments major purpose of cutting Back its own expenses. Quot keeping the base open like this Means you still have to foot the Bill for the most expensive part of the base such As eating and training facilities a said Keith Cunningham an analyst with business executives for National Security a de Fise monitoring group. But Carswell s Hometown boosters remain unabashed. Although Derrick a. Curtis executive director of the Carswell redevelopment authority sees the irony in the situation he insists that the reincarnation makes Good sense for the military. White Carswell will not be dismantled Curtis says consolidating the Reserve facilities will enable the military to close parts of other installations a in Dallas Detroit Memphis tenn., and Glenview Iii. The Issue has taken on Broad significance because the White House is toying with the idea of delaying part of the scheduled 1995 round of base closings until after the next presidential election. Monday july 25,1994 the stars and stripes 15