01:00 AM EDT on Monday, May 23, 2005

The Navy's two top officials on Tuesday offered the most detailed defense to date of the Pentagon's proposal to close the submarine base in Groton, Conn., a move that would cost nearly 8,500 military and civilian jobs.

In testimony before the nine-member Base Realignment and Closure commission, Navy Secretary Gordon R. England and Adm. Vern Clark, the chief of naval operations, said the Navy could not afford to operate three submarine bases on the East Coast given that the number of attack submarines has declined to 54 from nearly 100 during the Cold War era, and is expected to drop further, to about 41 boats in the next few years.

Faced with that excess capacity, the officials said they needed to close one of the three East Coast bases. When judged on military requirements such as port quality, environmental factors and operational training requirements, the officials said, Groton ranked well behind the bases at Norfolk, Va., and Kings Bay, Ga.

Navy officials have stated that moving the Groton operations to Virginia and Georgia would also put Groton's 17 submarines closer to the rest of the East Coast fleet.

VFW official decries VA health-care budget Responding to the $990-million increase in next year's congressional budget proposal for the Department of Veterans Affairs health-care system, VFW Cmdr. John Furgess charged, "This is a budget that's headed in the wrong direction."

The VA estimates that it needs annual increases of 12 percent to 14 percent just to keep pace with inflation and other uncontrollable expenses, and the $990-million budget represents an increase of only 3.6 percent over fiscal 2005, according to Furgess.

"This proposal will have virtually no impact in VA health care being provided to those returning from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan, where modern medical care and body armor advances are saving more lives, but often at the cost of limbs and other traumatic injuries," Furgess said.

The budget recommendation now goes to the House and Senate appropriations committees, which will consider actual funding at a later date.

Veterans' benefits panel is taking testimony Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission, established by Congress to review benefits going to disabled veterans and the survivors of deceased veterans, held its first sessions May 9 and 10 in Washington, D.C.

The commission will take testimony at public meetings, oversee studies of the United States disability compensation systems, and receive input from other organizations, including the Institute of Medicine and the Department of Defense.

Veterans or groups interested in presenting oral or written testimony to the commission should phone the panel's acting executive director, Ray Wilburn, at (202) 273-7509, or e-mail him at vetscommission [at] va.gov

Several events planned on Memorial Day Readers are asked to check Thursday's Providence Journal Live section for a complete listing of Memorial Day weekend events, including the various parades scheduled for this area. The following is an abbreviated summary of events related to Memorial Day, which were sent to this column.

Tuesday, 3:30 p.m. -- dedication of the Sgt. Donald Sisson memorial flagpole at Portsmouth High School's baseball field. Sisson, a member of the first graduating class of Portsmouth High School, was killed in the service of his country in Vietnam. American Legion Portsmouth Post 18 is honoring Sisson by presenting the high school with a 35-foot-tall flagpole plus flags in his memory. The ceremony will be followed by a baseball game between Portsmouth and Tiverton at which Sergeant Sisson's father will throw out the first pitch.

Sunday, 9 a.m. -- memorial service at the Rhode Island Veterans Home, Metacom Avenue, Bristol.

Sunday, 11 a.m. -- The Jewish War Veterans, Department of Rhode Island, will hold its annual Memorial Day service at Lincoln Park Cemetery, Post Road, Warwick. The featured speaker will be Cantor Ivan Pearlman, recipient of the Bronze Star for heroism on Iwo Jima during World War II. Names of Jewish veterans who passed away during the past 12 months will be added to the Wall of Honor.

Next Monday, 8:30 a.m. -- a monument to Capt. Matthew August, the first resident of North Kingstown killed in action in Iraq, will be dedicated in Prospect Park, across from Town Hall on Boston Neck Road. The granite marker will be placed near the town's memorial to its residents who made the ultimate sacrifice in World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

Next Monday, 9 a.m. -- Memorial Day ceremonies sponsored by the Pawtucket Veterans Council will begin at the Slater Park Shell and proceed from there to the Hiker Monument at Grove and Underwood streets, the Mineral Spring Avenue cemetery and end at about 11 a.m. at Veterans Memorial Park at Roosevelt Avenue and Exchange Street.

Next Monday, 9:30 a.m. -- the West Warwick Veterans Council will hold its annual Memorial Day observance at the West Warwick Veterans Memorial Park at 2 Legion Way.

Next Monday, noon -- SubVets-Groton Base will hold a memorial service at the National Submarine Memorial East at Thames and Bridge streets in Groton, Conn., to remember the loss of all submariners who gave their lives in the pursuit of their duties. Guest speaker will be Capt. Leo Falardeau, chief engineer of the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman. Fifty-four enlisted students of the Submarine School, Sub Base Groton, will man the lost boat flags of each submarine lost in service for the Tolling of the Boats ceremony.

Next Monday, 1 p.m. -- Governor Carcieri and Jane Hayward, managing director of the Rhode Island Department of Human Services and the Division of Veterans Affairs, will host the 31st annual Memorial Day exercises, at 1 p.m., at the Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 301 South County Trail, Exeter. The traditional observance honoring Rhode Island's war dead will be at the World War II Memorial Monument located off Memorial Drive.

Coventry Veterans Council The council will gather this evening at AMVETS Post 4, Meeting St., Coventry, at 7 p.m., to finalize Memorial Day parade plans.

Veterans of Foreign Wars and Auxiliary Tabor Franchi Post 2396 will install officers tomorrow, at 7 p.m., at the post home, 170 Randall St., Cranston. On Wednesday, Gatchell Auxiliary 306 will host a bingo, at 6:30 p.m., at the VA Medical Center on Chalkstone Avenue in Providence. Gatchell 306 and Auxiliary will have an Italian dinner on Thursday at the post home, 171 Fountain St., Pawtucket, from 4 to 7 p.m.; $6 tickets will be sold at the door. A council of administration dinner and official visit by Pat Theroux, national council member, will be held at Davenports Restaurant, Pawtucket Avenue, East Providence, at 6 p.m., on Thursday; $11 tickets may be ordered from Alice at (401) 438-6154. Poppy day sales will be held on Friday and Saturday by Gatchell Post 306 and Auxiliary at the Stop & Shop on Beverage Hill Avenue, Pawtucket.

Persian Gulf War Information and Relief Commission The commission will meet on Wednesday, at 1 p.m., in the conference room at the Command Readiness Center, 645 New London Ave., Cranston.

Disabled American Veterans Mount Pleasant Chapter 21 will meet on Wednesday, at 7 p.m., at Legion Post 56, 287 Veazie St., Providence.

Italian American War Veterans of the U.S. State Cmdr. John Cianci will conduct the department's monthly meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the VA Medical Center in Providence, in Classroom 3 on the fifth floor. 56th annual state convention, chaired by Cianci and auxiliary president Barbara Munio, will be held June 4 at the Cumberland Farms corporate building, 25 Market St., Swansea. For more details on time and content, phone Bruce Oliver at (401) 253-2613.

Military Order of the Purple Heart Oliver Hazard Perry Chapter 1812 will gather on Thursday at the Rhode Island Veterans Home, 480 Metacom Ave., Bristol, at 2 p.m.

The Military Officers' Association of America The Southeastern New England Chapter will host a Friday luncheon meeting at the Newport Naval Station's Officers' Club, starting with a social hour at 11:30 a.m.

43rd Infantry Division Veterans Association The Rhode Island Winged Victory Division meeting will be held on Saturday, at 2 p.m., at the Arsenal, 176 Benefit St., Providence.

George W. Reilly can be reached at VeteransColumn [at] verizon.net or by writing to The Providence Journal, 75 Fountain St., Providence, RI 02902.