JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The number of ships at Naval Station Mayport is decreasing, and that's by design, according to an $800 billion national defense budget.
Mayport is home to a number of littoral combat ships, but those type of ships are no longer in the Navy's long term plans and have high maintenance costs, so they're being decommissioned.
The life of a littoral combat ship is supposed to be 25 years, but since August, 4 littoral combat ships at Mayport have been decommissioned. All 4 of those ships were in service for less than 8 years.
The Navy's plan to decommission littoral combat ships is a budget decision for the military, but that decision has a major economic impact for businesses on Mayport Road.
Fewer ships means fewer sailors, which means fewer customers for local businesses. Clarence Hill served in the Navy for 24 years and has seen lots of changes in the Mayport area since he first arrived in 1978.
"It depends on how long it takes the Navy to replace the ships for how much of an impact it'll be on the businesses," said Hill outside of American Legion Post 316, "but obviously the businesses will be affected on Mayport road as an entire ship's worth of sailors and their families leave."
One of those businesses is Dano's Diner.
"I need them, I'm very dependent upon them," said Dano's Diner owner Jim Reemsnyder, who estimates that 30% of his business comes from sailors on the base. But it's more than just money for Reemsnyder.
"I'm going to miss the guys, I like the interaction with them," said Reemsnyder, "these are young guys away from home doing a job that we don't do, I'm going to miss that too."
The biggest hit to the area was when the aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy was decommissioned in 2007. Reemsnyder says business has been down over the years, but he has no plans to close.
"I'm not going to close, I got people, I know this sounds dumb, but depend on me and I'll be here," said Reemsnyder.
Despite decommissioning 4 ships, the Navy has commissioned 2 more ships in the last month to be stationed at Mayport.
"Mayport is too important to the Navy and the national security to not have ships here," said Hill.
But how many ships? And how many sailors? Right now the Navy doesn't have that answer.