Base newspaper, The Beam, reveals ....‘Huge Program Planned’

Note: This is a reprint of a January 17, 1942, article that was published in the base newspaper, The Beam.

An expansion program that will involve the immediate expenditure of $12,000,000 on the existing outlying fields and improvements at the main station of NAS was announced this week by Capt. Alva D. Bernhard, commanding officer. The program also calls for the establishment of additional outlying fields.

Although Congress has not yet appropriated funds for these fields, suitable sites are being surveyed and engineers are making preparations for construction to begin at an early date. Among the sites surveyed for the additional outlying fields is a large tract of land near Kingsville, approximately 30 miles west of Corpus Christi.

Two fields, similar to Rodd, Cabaniss and Cuddihy are stipulated in this program. Hangars, barracks, cadet quarters and other buildings will be located on a tract between the two proposed fields affecting a considerable saving in construction costs, stated Capt. Bernhard. A substantial amount, approximately $12,000,000, has already been made available for enlarging the facilities on the main station and the existing fields.

Constructed and planned to handle 300 cadets each month, NAS is now receiving more than twice that amount with a gradually increasing number expected in the near future. Although the number of cadets expected at NAS is not obtainable, it is expected that this enlarged training program would be instrumental in securing an early appropriation from Congress.

Capt. Bernhard said that when the additional fields are completed and the other proposed facilities are in operation, the personnel of the entire command would be doubled. Bulk of the construction will consist of training facilities and buildings to accommodate the increased personnel required by the new training program.

“We thought we were about finished,” Capt. Bernhard said, “but apparently we have just started.”