Aircraft Carrier Based in S.D. May Be Decommissioned

SAN DIEGO — Under the proposed federal budget, the San Diego-based aircraft carrier Ranger is slated to be decommissioned in 1993--a move that will mean a $100-million loss to the city in Navy contracts, services and payroll, Navy officials said.

In San Diego, which has traditionally been home port to three carriers, the new budget signaled that the community may have to become accustomed to less. For the ship repair industry, which has suffered tremendous losses in the past decade, the news was sobering. “It’s a shrinking market,” said Art Wardwell, vice president of operations for Service Engineering Industries, the third largest shipyard in San Diego, which cut back its employees from 1,100 last year to 621 this year.