Barbers Point - NAS Barbers Point, Today Called Kalaeloa
by John Bond
I am not a Navy veteran, but as a military dependent in the 60's-70's, and later doing some photo-journalism projects in Ewa, I had the chance to see the former naval air station while it was still in operation.
The cover photo for this Barbers Point blog was chosen because it represents my own view of Barbers Point as a civilian and curious local historian of Ewa's history.
It was taken from a Navy diesel engine in the mid 1990's, which during the 1940's through 1960's had hauled ammunition and supplies around the Navy rail yards at places like Pearl Harbor, Lualualei and West Loch. By this point it was being operated by the Hawaiian Railway Society and the reason why I got to ride out front on the catwalk to get some nice pictures.
The photo is a nice memory for me of NAS Barbers Point, or "Barbers," as it was taken when the base was still a well kept and maintained naval air base, but slated for closure under a Federal process called BRAC (Base Realignment And Closure).
BRAC became, unfortunately, as ugly as the acronym sounds...
The train bell in the photo has great symbolism as the Navy uses bells in ceremonies to mark the change of commands and the passing of Navy comrades moving on to serve the "great commander in chief in Heaven" (probably no longer officially permitted to say this anymore...)
The Lockheed P-2 Neptune seen in the background was fortunately saved and taken over to the Kaneohe side and sits out front somewhere near the Marine air base front gate. The Navy now currently operates, for the past several decades, the four engine Lockheed P-3 Orion, (soon to be phased out) which can still be seen doing touch and go landings at what NASBP is now called- Kalaeloa Airport - John Rogers Field.
Today the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has their headquarters offices on the same location where the P-2 Neptune once reposed. They also have an indoor pistol range there as well as a detention area. The street name is still called Enterprise after the famous WW-II aircraft carrier CV-6 USS Enterprise.
But other things about NASBP and BRAC have not quite been so happy... more soon.
