Patuxent River NAS Commanding Officer Capt. Heidi Fleming at the Veterans Day celebration in Leonardtown
Lexington Park, MD — A request to return Patuxent River Naval Air Station’s Gate 2 to 24-hour operation has been denied. The request was made by the St. Mary’s County Commissioners in an Oct. 21 letter to base commanding officer Capt. Heidi Fleming. She responded to the commissioners in a letter dated Nov. 12.
In the letter Capt. Fleming said, “Of the three NAS Patuxent River gates, Gate 1 has the best design and available tools to fulfill 24-hour gate operations. We are currently investigating options to redesign Gate 2 to improve its capabilities, however, this effort will take time and additional resources to execute. In the meantime, I feel it is necessary to stand by the decision to continue having Gate 1 provide 24-hour operations and will not return to the use of Gate 2 during overnight and weekend hours.”
Great Mills Road merchants continue to claim the limited hours at Gate 2 and 3 hurt their businesses. Fleming acknowledged the concerns in her letter: “Let me first say I appreciate the challenges the Great Mills Road corridor and the lower part of the county face with the current operational hours of the NAS Patuxent river gates.”
Capt. Fleming said of her decision, “I want to assure you that any decision about the use and manning of the NAS River gates is made with consideration of many factors, including the possible impact to the local community. One of my primary responsibilities as Commanding Officer is to provide for the safety and security of employees on the installation while ensuring maximum readiness for the research, development, acquisition, test, and evaluation missions performed on the base. I also have an obligation to provide our security personnel, who are manning the gates, with the best available tools and facilities to safely and successfully execute their duties.”