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‘It would have a major impact’: Committees pass bill to keep 5 LCS vessels

By Kristen Rary, Action News Jax
By Kristen Rary, Action News Jax

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — It’s common to see decommissioned ships like the USS Orleck here in Jacksonville, but the JAX Chamber is trying to make sure ships in Mayport don’t turn into museums and continue to bring work to the area.

Action News Jax told you in March that nine ships were set to be decommissioned. However, a new amendment to a bill on Capitol Hill could save five.

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The JAX Chamber has pushed hard to save them, stressing how important they are to our community.

“There was the Navy’s desire to decommission nine littoral combat ships, which would’ve taken nine ships from the Naval Station Mayport,” said Aaron Bowman with JAX Chamber.

The ships need work to continue operation, but chamber members explained that those ships represent a massive part of the community.

“The last of those nine ships would’ve been probably over 2,000 jobs,” Bowman said.

Locals have already seen this happen once. Now, they want to build the naval presence, not take it away.

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“Anything we can do to boost our Navy presence here to keep it in Jacksonville is important,” Jacksonville local Gary Monohan said.

The new amendment added $37 billion, $300 million of which will save five Mayport ships.

“But right now it was good news... but it’s not done yet,” Bowman said.

The hope is that whatever happens to Mayport doesn’t hurt the area.

“It would have a major impact out towards the beaches,” Bowman said.

The final decision won’t come until the final budget is released and adopted. Until then, locals are hoping Mayport stays as large as it is, and will grow, not shrink.

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