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Alameda's long, slow divorce from the Navy passed a major milestone Monday when military officials formally turned over the former Naval Air Station to the city.

In a ceremony replete with flags, patriotic songs and a full-scale model of a Navy jet, Alameda Mayor Marie Gilmore and Roger Natsuhara, assistant secretary of the Navy, signed documents that transfer 1,300 acres of the old base to Alameda, in hopes of re-creating the economic engine the base once provided for the East Bay.

"Alameda has been waiting a very long time for this moment. A very long time," said City Manager John Russo. "And now, to use an old Navy quote, we must move with all deliberate speed."