ARLINGTON, Va. — The Navy League of the United States announced Dec. 2 it has opened membership to active-duty service personnel from every branch of the military to join the organization as individual members. 

The Navy League is a nonprofit civilian, educational and advocacy organization that supports America’s sea services: the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and U.S.-flag Merchant Marine.

This historical change in the Navy League’s bylaws, passed by its board of directors, has shifted its membership from an all-civilian organization to a joint civilian and active-duty organization. The Navy League currently has 30,000 members in 200 councils around the globe.  

“This important shift in our membership eligibility will lend to greater diversity and gravitas to the Navy League’s mission of education, advocacy and support to our sea services and its members.” said Navy League National President Dave Reilly. “This change also provides an important growth opportunity for the Navy League as we continue to expand our membership and the Navy League’s impact on our sea services.”  

Navy League councils, located primarily in the United States but also around the world, offer service members important ties to their community and a direct way to continue to serve the country once they transition out of service.   

Navy League member benefits include transition assistance, members-only discounts, council membership and a subscription to Seapower magazine. Active-duty sea service members’ children and grandchildren are also eligible to apply for a Navy League Foundation scholarship to aid in college tuition.  

Members can choose to join for one-, two-, three-, four- or five-year periods or can opt to join as a lifetime member. More information on active-duty membership, including an application, can be found on https://www.navyleague.org/become-a-member/active-duty-membership.   

ARLINGTON, Va. — Top logisticians of the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and the other armed services told a congressional panel Dec. 2 they are exploring the development of deployable, micro nuclear reactors as an energy source for warfighters in remote and austere environments.

“The Marine Corps clearly appreciates the value and potential future benefits of alternative energy sources,” Lt. Gen. Edward Banta, deputy commandant for Installations and Logistics, told a House Armed Services Committee hearing on operational energy and logistics challenges.

“Through our Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, we have been involved in looking at hydrogen fuel as a potential future source, and I would think that combining that with both micro grids as well as potential micro reactors would provide  great benefits to us in the future, but particularly operating in an expeditionary area environment,” Banta added.

Rep. John Garamendi (D-California), the subcommittee chair, noted in his opening statement the Defense Department is the world’s “largest single consumer of petroleum products,” using more than 85 million barrels of fuel in Fiscal 2017 at a cost of nearly $8.2 billion. “Such expensive requirements invite risk,” both to frontline troops who need it and those who provide it, he said.

The Pentagon defines operational energy as the energy required for training, moving and sustaining military forces and weapons platforms for military operations. The term includes energy used by tactical power systems, generators and weapons platforms.

For years, the individual services have been exploring alternative fuels, such as the Navy’s Green Hornet project — an F/A-18 Super Hornet strike fighter jet powered by a 50-50 biofuel blend — to save both money and the environment. However, lessons learned in the austere and isolated distances of Iraq and Afghanistan over the last 20 years showed the need not only for alternative fuels, but innovative ways to transport and store energy. Planners expect that need to grow with widely dispersed, highly mobile ships and ground units operating in contested areas of the vast Indo-Pacific region.

In 2015, Russia announced plans to build up to 30 small transportable nuclear reactors for the Arctic to provide electricity to remote bases under development as part of Russia’s Arctic militarization.

Rep. Doug Lamborn of Colorado, the ranking Republican on the Readiness subcommittee raised the issue of small reactors as a promising solution to frontline forces’ energy needs, such as Project Pele, the Defense Department’s Strategic Capabilities Office project to design, build, and demonstrate a prototype mobile nuclear reactor.

“Anything that allows us the freedom to maneuver, we’re obviously very interested in,” said Vice Adm. Rick Williamson, the deputy chief of Naval Operations for Fleet Readiness and Logistics. To be able “to divorce the operational fleet from the logistics tether gives us maneuverability. Maneuverability equals survivability.”

While the Navy already has very big reactors to power aircraft carriers and submarines, “we have to look at the problem of sustaining the fleet as a whole. That is going to be done both ashore and afloat. So, if there is potential there [in small reactors], obviously it provides tremendous operational advantage for us,” Williamson said.

“I don’t think we can afford to not explore it within the realm of demand reduction,” Air Force Lt. Gen. Sam Barrett, the Joint Staff Director for Logistics, told the subcommittee.

ARLINGTON, Va. — Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III announced Dec. 2 that the President made the following nominations:  

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Keith D. Reventlow for appointment to the rank of major general. Reventlow is currently serving as commander, Defense Logistics Agency Distribution, New Cumberland, Pennsylvania.  

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. William J. Bowers for appointment to the rank of major general. Bowers is currently serving as commanding general, Marine Corps Installations Pacific and Marine Corps Base Camp Butler, Okinawa, Japan.  

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Christian F. Wortman for appointment to the rank of major general. Wortman is currently serving as senior military assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C.  

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Michael J. Borgschulte for appointment to the rank of major general. Borgschulte is currently serving as director of Manpower Management Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Quantico, Virginia.  

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Roberta L. Shea for appointment to the rank of major general. Shea is currently serving as legislative assistant to the Commandant of the Marine Corps, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C.  

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Eric E. Austin for appointment to the rank of major general. Austin is currently serving as director, Capabilities Development Directorate, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Quantico, Virginia.  

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Benjamin T. Watson for appointment to the rank of major general. Watson is currently serving as commanding general, Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Quantico, Virginia.  

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. James H. Adams, III, for appointment to the rank of major general. Adams is currently serving as deputy director, Requirements and Capability Development, J-8, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.  

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Stephen E. Liszewski for appointment to the rank of major general. Liszewski is currently serving as deputy director for Joint Training, J-7, Joint Staff, in Washington, D.C.  

Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Sean M. Salene for appointment to the rank of major general. Salene is currently serving as director, Strategy and Plans Division, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C.  

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Sofar Ocean has launched Wayfinder – The Dynamic Route Optimization Platform, a real-time, data-powered application to radically improve maritime route efficiency and reduce fuel emissions, the company said in a release. 

Sofar’s proprietary open ocean sensor network and weather forecasts, combined with real-time market variables and personalized vessel performance models, deliver high-accuracy weather routing and daily speed and routing guidance to ensure more efficient and safer routes. 

Optimized voyage and speed profiles can produce massive reductions of greenhouse gas emissions according to the International Maritime Organization. According to the IMO, with voyage optimization you can see anywhere from 1-10% reduction in GHG. With today’s optimization solutions there is no concept of continuous weather monitoring and daily updates to ensure that ships are always on the most optimal path. Wayfinder’s unique value is that it’s powered by the best weather data with continuously optimized routing recommendations. This gives fleet operators and captains the most recent weather and routing context they need to maximize voyage profitability, minimize safety risks, and track closer toward carbon neutrality with each transit. 

Several major commercial shipping companies including Singapore-based Berge Bulk, Greece-based Star Bulk and Seaven as well as U.S.-based Class society ABS are leveraging the new technology to streamline fleet efficiency by identifying more direct, cost-effective, and energy-efficient routes. 

As a pioneer in shipping sustainability, Berge Bulk has aggressively pursued decarbonization strategies over the last decade. In support of this initiative, they were one of the first pilot customers of the Wayfinder platform. According to their CEO, James Marshall, “Wayfinder allows us to increase vessel utilization and efficiency, ensuring that we balance profitability with emissions reduction objectives. By using Wayfinder’s data and voyage optimization, we’ve seen 

efficiency gains in the range of 4.5% on dedicated voyages, which translates into as many as 14 additional sailing days per year per vessel.”  

“Wayfinder is the Google Maps or Waze of the ocean. It’s your voyage partner — always looking out for the best options among the trillions of possible routes in the ocean,” said Tim Janssen, CEO and cofounder of Sofar Ocean. “Like navigation apps on land, Wayfinder integrates seamlessly into the captain’s workflow and is easy to use. It constantly updates its recommendations based on the latest weather data powered by thousands of live weather sensors, variations in the bunker and charter market, and vessel performance dynamics. Ocean intelligence is in our team’s DNA, and Wayfinder is a big step toward our mission of building a more connected ocean.” 

ARLINGTON, Va. — Marines from Marine Operational Test & Evaluation Squadron 1 (VMX-1) conducted an operational test and evaluation of the joint air-to-ground missile (JAGM) from an AH-1Z Viper, Nov. 3-7 at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, the Corps announced Dec. 2. 

VMX-1 fired and evaluated the JAGM to determine its suitability and effectiveness to support expeditionary advanced base operations, such as conducting sea denial operations within the littorals and supporting sea control operations.   

Personnel from Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 21 (HX-21), Naval Air Systems Command Direct and Time-Sensitive Strike program office (PMA-242), Army Program Executive Office Missiles and Space, Air Force 780th Test Squadron, as well as industry partners, were on location to observe and analyze the data from the test event. This event can lead to significant improvements in lethality of attack helicopters by arming them with newer munitions equipped with two sensor technologies and optimizes missile performance on maritime targets.    

“Watching these professionals from across the services and industry come together to test the effectiveness and work on improvement for this weapon system is truly a phenomenal experience,” said VMX-1 Commanding Officer Col. Byron Sullivan. “The team is doing everything possible to ensure this capability will be the needed upgrade that enhances our ability to use precision strikes against fast-moving maritime targets.” 

The team observed the test from locations across Eglin Air Force Base, honing in on weather considerations, telemetry and instrumentation, coordinating with the pilots, and observing the impact zone. Ultimately, the data collected will be analyzed to determine overall system effectiveness and develop the tactics, techniques, and procedures for its employment.   

“Executing this type of concept development is very critical to get it right on paper and put more effective systems in the hands of the warfighter,” said Maj. Thomas Hutson, the Assault Support department head at VMX-1 and member of the JAGM test team. 

This test is part of a larger effort to upgrade the AH-1Z and UH-1Y aircraft, in alignment with the Commandant’s vision of force modernization vision to maintain a competitive edge against potential adversaries.    

The mission of VMX-1 is to conduct operational test and evaluation of Marine Corps aviation platforms and systems. 

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Ingalls Shipbuilding division delivered the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer Frank E. Petersen Jr. (DDG 121) to the U.S. Navy during a signing ceremony Nov. 30. This milestone officially transfers custody from HII to the U.S. Navy. 

“I am again very proud of our DDG team today,” said Kari Wilkinson, Ingalls Shipbuilding president. “Not only have they completed another major program milestone, but they have done so in the face of a pandemic. This team, and all of our shipbuilders across our entire portfolio, are what shipbuilding is all about.” 

Delivery of DDG 121 marked the 33rd destroyer Ingalls has built for Navy, with four more currently under construction, including Lenah Sutcliffe Higbee (DDG 123), Jack H. Lucas (DDG 125), Ted Stevens (DDG 128) and Jeremiah Denton (DDG 129). 

Arleigh Burke-class destroyers are highly capable, multi-mission ships and can conduct a variety of operations, from peacetime presence and crisis management to sea control and power projection, all in support of the United States military strategy. Guided missile destroyers are capable of simultaneously fighting air, surface and subsurface battles. The ship contains myriad offensive and defensive weapons designed to support maritime defense needs well into the 21st century. 

DDG 121 is named for Frank E. Petersen Jr., who was the U.S. Marine Corps’ first African-American aviator and general officer. After entering the Naval Aviation Cadet Program in 1950, Petersen would go on to fly more than 350 combat missions during the Korean and Vietnam wars. 

SAN DIEGO — Construction started on the fifth Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB), the future USS Robert E. Simanek (ESB 7), at General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Co. in San Diego during a small ceremony, Dec. 1, Team Ships Public Affairs said in a release. 

The ESB ship class is highly flexible and used across a broad range of military operations supporting multiple operational phases, similar to the Expeditionary Transfer Dock class. Acting as a mobile sea base, they are part of the critical access infrastructure that supports the deployment of forces and supplies to provide prepositioned equipment and sustainment with flexible distribution. 

“ESBs are optimized to support the core capabilities of aviation facilities, berthing, special operations, equipment staging support, and command and control operations,” said Tim Roberts, Strategic and Theater Sealift program manager, Program Executive Office Ships. “The ESBs have demonstrated their ability to enhance the fleet’s flexibility and capability as they operate around the world. The addition of the future USS Robert E. Simanek will help continue to provide critical access in the maritime domain.” 

The ship is named in honor of Marine Corps veteran Robert E. Simanek, who was awarded the Medal of Honor after he threw himself on an enemy grenade shielding his fellow Marines during the Korean War. 

In 2019, the Navy made the decision to commission all Expeditionary Sea Base ships to allow them to conduct a broader and more lethal mission set, compared to original plans for them to operate with a USNS designation. ESBs are commanded by a Navy O-6 with a hybrid-manned crew of military personnel and Military Sealift Command civilian mariners. This designation provides combatant commanders greater operational flexibility as to how the platform is employed. 

GD-NASSCO has delivered three other ESBs and is currently constructing the future USS John L. Canley (ESB 6). 

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HSTCSG) departed Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, and Mayport, Florida for a regularly scheduled deployment, Dec. 1, the USS Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group Public Affairs said in a release. 

Elements of the strike group, commanded by Rear Adm. Curt Renshaw, include flagship USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), commanded by Capt. Gavin Duff; the nine squadrons of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1; staffs of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 8; and the Ticonderoga-class cruiser USS San Jacinto (CG 56). 
 
In addition, the strike group will include the guided-missile destroyers of Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 28 commanded by Capt. Todd Zenner which includes USS Bainbridge (DDG 96), USS Cole (DDG 67), USS Gravely (DDG 107), and USS Jason Dunham (DDG 109). The Royal Norwegian Navy’s frigate HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen (F310) will join the strike group, and operate as part of the strike group throughout the entire deployment. 

The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group will be conducting operations to support maritime security and stability in international waters across the globe. Carrier strike groups have a wide range of capabilities to respond wherever and whenever required through a variety of mission sets. Additionally, strike groups possess the flexibility and sustainability to fight major wars and ensure freedom of the seas. 
 
The deployment follows months of intense training and preparation to include the Board of Inspection and Survey as well as various international maritime exercises such as Group Sail and Composite Training Unit Exercise, an intense multilateral combined exercise that assessed the strike group’s abilities to conduct military operations at sea and project power ashore in late October. 

“The team within the strike group has come together in an impressive manner these last few months,” said Rear Adm. Curt Renshaw, commander, CSG 8. “They have become an integrated, multi-mission team capable of conducting the full spectrum of combat operations to ensure security in the maritime. I have no doubt that we are prepared for any challenge while on this deployment.” 

The strike group units will work alongside allied and partner maritime forces, focusing on theater security cooperation efforts, which help to further regional stability. 
 
“During this training cycle, we have learned how to train and fight side by side whether it is onboard the same ship, in the skies, or across the seas,” Duff said. “While we serve as the flag ship, we are never nearly as capable or as strong as we are when we deploy as a strike group.” 
 
HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen (F310) joined the strike group under the Cooperative Deployment Program, which emphasizes the strengthening of defense partnerships and capabilities between the United States and bilateral or multilateral partners. 
 
“HNoMS Fridtjof Nansen is ready and excited to embark upon this important deployment. The hospitality and professionalism [the] U.S. Navy has provided during our harbor stay and sea periods have been excellent, ensuring that we are an integrated asset of Carrier Strike Group 8. It is truly an honor for us to be the first Norwegian cooperative deployer in history. And this marks yet another milestone in the overall defense cooperation between Norway and our most important ally, USA,” said Commanding Officer Ruben Grepne-Takle. 
 
Squadrons of CVW 1 include Strike Fighter Squadrons (VFA) 11 “Red Rippers;” VFA-211 “Fighting Checkmates;” VFA-34 “Blue Blasters;” VFA-81 “Sunliners;” Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 137 “Rooks;” Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron (VAW) 126 “Seahawks;” Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 11 “Dragon Slayers;” Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM)72 “Proud Warriors;” and a detachment from Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC) 40 “Rawhides.” 

The 122-year-old U.S. Coast Guard Shipyard at Curtis Bay in Baltimore is a full-service shipyard and an integral part of the Coast Guard’s Surface Forces Logistics Center.

Known simply as the yard, it has a growing workload as new classes of cutters and boats come into the service. However, its experienced workers are retiring, creating a potential gap in skilled tradespeople. Although yard in­ternship programs have existed for decades, growing the workforce organically has increasingly become a priority over the past several years.

New workers with high-tech skills are needed to replace the generation that is retiring, but the available pool of qualified shipyard workers near the Curtis Bay yard has decreased dramatically in recent years.

There are challenges to attracting employees. While workers at the yard are government employees with significant benefits and career potential, the salaries for entry-level engineers and naval architects are not always competitive with industry, making it a challenge to attract young professionals. 

And although the yard used to be able to hire experienced workers from local shipyards — there were 40,000 ship­yard jobs in Baltimore 20 years ago — today, apart from the Coast Guard yard, there are only a handful.

So, as the Coast Guard is recapitalizing its fleet, the yard is retooling its workforce.

“A lot of our older generation workers, our experienced personnel, are gone,” said John Bragaw, production manager for the Coast Guard yard. “We’re trying to fill in the gap and create that workforce for the future.”

Bragaw said the yard is intensifying its outreach efforts to acquaint the local area with what it does and the availability of quality employment opportunities. The yard has been very proactive in working with schools, arranging class visits and tours, mentorships and par­ticipation in job fairs. Through partnerships with local vocational schools and community colleges, the Coast Guard has created innovative internship programs that permit students attending classes to also work as government employees.

“We want to be part of the community,” he said. “We have good partnerships with the local vocational-technical schools. Our employees have visited schools, mentored students and shared their excitement of working on boats. We donated old engines to the school so students could take them apart and reassemble them. We want to get the talent out of those schools and get the people who want to be the future supervisors and leaders of our shipyard.”

The yard has a diverse workforce of about 679 personnel in 12 trade shops, with 465 production craftsmen, 120 managers, engineers and support personnel and 80 military personnel.

Elijah Dorsey, 20, started as a painter and is now also a sandblaster. He has been promoted from helper to worker and will soon be a leader. That’s why Bragaw said the yard is also providing leadership training to help those workers who rise into supervisory positions.

“In the military, you get leadership training from day one, but we can have workers who do essentially the same job for years, and suddenly they get promoted to supervisor, and they don’t have the knowledge or skills,” said Bragaw. “We have to fill that gap. Right now, we train leaders once they get into that supervisory role. But we are beginning to start that leadership training process before they become a supervisor.”

Dorsey is a product of the City of Baltimore’s summer “pathways” internship with the yard.

“The interns spend nine weeks working in different departments to get an overview of what the shipyard does,” said Lamont McCloud, supervisor of the sand­blasting and paint shop. “And they get paid. If they decide to enroll in college, or community college, they can continue in that pathways program. Or they can start working full time here when they graduate.”

McCloud said the internships help young people mature.

“When you become an intern and then an employee, you earn trust and can take on assignments that require you to travel,” McCloud said. “You have to know what you’re doing, because there’s limited supervision when you are on the road.”

Although several generations apart in age, McCloud and Dorsey share a lot in common. McCloud said about three quarters of the yard’s employees live within about 7 miles of the gate. McCloud comes from the same inner-city Baltimore neighborhood as Dorsey and went to the same high school. Then, as now, opportunities were limited.

“We’re part of the community. We, as men, have taken advantage of the opportunity to learn and benefit from a good job. And people see that we have good jobs and are taking care of ourselves and our families,” he said. “The Coast Guard benefits, too, because it needs a stable, trained, skilled and motivated workforce.”

And, he said they are making a difference. “Every one of these boats and ships that we’ve worked on has gone back out and is saving lives and stopping bad guys.”

Starting Young

Much of the yard’s outreach effort is aimed at young people in elementary, middle and high school, to make them aware of the types of careers available to them and acquaint them with the Coast Guard and how the yard supports the service and its mission. In fact, many of the yard’s workers started when they were in high school.

Adam Cole grew up right down the road from the yard in Pasadena, Maryland, but wasn’t familiar with it until he started attending the Center of Applied Technology North (CAT North) in Anne Arundel County. “I didn’t know much about the Coast Guard Yard. I knew they had boats. But representatives from the yard came to CAT North and interviewed a few of us and told us about what they offered.”

At age 16, he began in an internship program within the structural shop.

“When I began working, the average age in the structural shop was about 60 years old. I began as a WG1, going to classes and then working here after school. I started as a full-time employee when I graduated at age 18. Today I’m 36, and I’m the shop foreman.” 

For Olivia Wells, working at the yard helped her decide to get her four-year degree. Like Cole, she attended CAT North, and like him, she didn’t know much about the yard beforehand.

“They came to my class, explained what they do and the jobs that were available. They helped us with some mock interviews, and then I did an actual interview. I got accepted, started the process in my junior year of high school, and began working here during the summer before my senior year. I went to school during the day and then came to the yard and worked after classes. Now I’m planning to enter the University of Delaware to get a B.S. in construction engineering and management.”

“We’d like her to come back and work here after she gets her degree,” Cole said.

Tate Stott, Trent Craig and Jack Williams are former interns from CAT. Brandon Mack participated in the summer intern program for three summers with the New Era Academy partnership youthworks In Baltimore. They came into the electrical program but are being taught electronics out of necessity.

“It’s hard for us to find qualified electronics candidates, so we take people who come in as electricians and train them, so they’re learning both the electrician and elec­tronics skills and they have greater promotion poten­tial,” said Ron Viands, supervisor of the electrical and electronics shop. “We’re going to be stretched with the OPC [offshore patrol vessel] post-delivery availability, which includes the installation of the GFE [government furnished equipment], including classified systems that the contractor won’t be installing. Some of those may be done here, or we may send teams to do it at their home­ports. Either way it’s going to be a huge workload.

“These young gentlemen are here to pick up knowledge, display skills and move up. They’re already thinking about their future,” Viands said. “They’re very motivated. They’re here for careers.”

Viands said there are a lot of motivators for people coming to work at the yard.

“When we interview new people, we show them the ships and all the work we’re doing on them, and how the men and women that go out on those ships absolutely depend on the work they will be doing here. We tell them, ‘Crews depend on the work you will do on those ships, the mission support provided here at the yard is vital to operation mission capability.’ They’re either interested in working here right away or not.”

Although they are young, they are already being entrusted with traveling to support work at remote sites. One of Viands’ youngest employees, 20-year-old Tate Stott, recently returned from Alaska where he serviced Rescue 21 system transponder upgrades on remote towers that could only be reached by helicopter. Sometimes the team had to camp for several days, with the ever-present danger of grizzly bears.

Mutually Beneficial

Anne Arundel County’s two career technical schools, CAT North in Severn and CAT South in Edgewater, have a close partnership with the yard.

According to Adam Sheinhorn, the principal at CAT South, the Coast Guard yard provides opportunities for a multitude of students in a number of programs CAT offers.

“Many of our business partners have a very narrow industry that they work in,” he said. “But with the Coast Guard yard, we’re able to involve students in a variety of our construction trades.”

Sheinhorn said CAT has program advisory committees — made up of people from industry, higher education and the community — for each of the curriculum programs, to make sure what the schools are offering the students is up to date and consistent with what the industries need.

“We don’t want to deliver an outdated education for kids,” he said.

The program advisory committees serve as a great connection point to connect students with industry representatives. “The Coast Guard yard is always sending representatives to those meetings that align with their needs,” Sheinhorn said.

CAT North Principal Joe Rose said he agrees.

“The Coast Guard bring our graduates back here to talk to our classes about how our school prepared them for their jobs, and what they’re doing — the work, training and travel — and the professional development opportunities the Coast Guard makes available to them. They have a lot of credibility, because those workers are not much older than the students here, and the kids can relate to them.”

Tom Dickinson, who manages internships and work study programs at both schools, said the teachers at CAT North and South do an amazing job preparing students.

“The young people that the Coast Guard are selecting are qualified to do the job and have the right attitude and work habits,” he said. Dickinson said the relationship is mutually beneficial.

“They participate as guest speakers, come to our open house events, and serve on our program advisory committee. When they have openings, they visit the classrooms and work with the students on getting their profile set up and applying for the position. They come in multiple times during the year. They set up field trips. They help teach classes. During COVID, they created a video featuring many of our former students giving our current students a virtual tour of the yard and the opportunities there,” he said. “They give a lot back.”

ARLINGTON, Va. — Planning is underway for the establishment in Guam of a detachment of the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF), the yard’s assistant project superintendent for Execution Planning said Nov. 30. 

The need for the detachment in Guam is to “close the existing maintenance gaps in executing submarine maintenance in Guam,” said Brandon Wright, the assistant project superintendent. 

The naval base in Apra Harbor, Guam, is the home to five Los Angeles-class attack submarines and two submarine tenders which support U.S. Pacific Fleet operations in the Western Pacific and Indian Ocean. The establishment of a PHNSY & IMF detachment underscores the growing importance of Guam in countering the growing Chinese naval power in the region. 

Wright said in September 2019 “a comprehensive 221-page study, released by Beth Kuanoni and her team, identified the workforce, training, facilities, and equipment requirements needed to provide the capacity and capabilities for a PHNSY & IMF detachment in Guam.” 

The detachment was approved in December 2019, which led to Phase I of the Guam 2025 Plan, Wright said, and the formation of the Guam Implementation Team (GIT). 

“Under the leadership of GIT director Alex Desroches, the team is identifying facility needs that include shop workspaces, administrative and management spaces, equipment, information technology, material spaces and storage. In parallel with the temporary facility build-up, military construction projects are in place for permanent detachment facilities with a target end date of 2028,” Wright said. 

“The biggest challenge is the grand scope of requirements necessary to stand up a shipyard detachment in a remote location,” Desroches said. “This includes everything from an organizational change request and approval through the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations to identifying and securing the resource requirements in the program objective memorandum and budget, to developing strategies to recruit and fill billets in Guam, and developing local processes for material, work execution and work certification.” 

When fully manned, the Guam detachment will include 170 civilian workers and 400 military personnel.  

“Civilian employees will provide management, guidance, training, mentoring and development of Sailors, who will be the primary wrench-turning workforce, Wright said.  

“The Guam Detachment is unique and we can’t use the current templates being used at Fleet Maintenance in Pearl Harbor, Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Detachment in Point Loma or the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Detachment in Yokosuka,” Desroches said. “The primary workforce will consist of active-duty Sailors who have transferred from the ship tenders to the shipyard detachment, as well as expeditionary maintenance support needs and additional issues associated with Guam’s remote location. We are building a new organization from scratch that is at the tip of the spear, supporting five forward-deployed submarines with the highest optempo in the fleet.”