JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii –
The Vice Chief of Naval Operations, Adm Bill Moran, visited Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY & IMF) on Dec. 15.
The visit to the shipyard was part of a multi-day/multi-nation visit to the Pacific area of operations to examine various facets of the fleet, to include readiness and the escalation of work at PHNSY & IMF.
“It’s important for me to get eyes on the fleet and see where we need to focus our attention, and that includes our naval shipyards,” said Moran. “Over the last decade we’ve been running the fleet hard, and because of that we’ve had to defer maintenance. Now some of that maintenance is catching up to us so we need to put money back into the system to ensure we’re getting our ships back out to the fleet on time.”
Moran was joined during his visit by Rear Adm. Stephen Williamson, director of Fleet Maintenance for U.S. Pacific Fleet. During the two-hour visit, Shipyard commander Capt. James Kalowsky offered Moran an overview of the mission and capabilities of the United States’ “No Ka 'Oi” (or “the best”) maintenance provider, including an explanation on how PHNSY & IMF’s Focus Areas are in alignment with the Lines of Effort published by the Chief of Naval Operation in “A Design for Maintaining Maritime Superiority.”
Moran spoke about the critical role that maintenance plays in fleet readiness and the indispensable role of the shipyard’s workforce in this crucial endeavor.
“In my view, and as the XO of the Navy, we need to firm up our foundation by getting our ships maintained, our aircraft through the depot, and our shore readiness back up to a level which is satisfactory for asking our Sailors to do what we ask them to do,” said the VCNO.
Moran’s visit included a tour of PHNSY & IMF facilities and examples of how the principles of high-velocity learning are integrated into day-to-day operations here.
He tried his hand at painting a shipboard tank using a virtual painting training simulator, and saw how PHNSY & IMF has repurposed an out-of-service Advanced SEAL Delivery System into a Multi-Trade Learning Center that gives shipyard workers a realistic platform for hands-on training.
After an action-packed two hours, Moran reflected on the fundamental importance of the shipyard in this region of the world.
“The folks that work here at Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard are an integral part of our Navy team, and without them, our ships would not be forward deployed,” reflected Moran following the tour. “The shipyard at Pearl Harbor is especially critical to our success due to its key location in the Pacific, providing maintenance to ships and submarines as they go forward in support of operations in 7th and 5th Fleets.”
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility is a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command and a one-stop regional maintenance center for the Navy's surface ships and submarines. It is the largest industrial employer in the state of Hawaii with a combined civilian and military workforce of over 5,000. Strategically located in the mid-Pacific, the Navy’s largest ship repair facility between the West Coast and the Far East is about a week of steam time closer to potential regional contingencies in East Asia than sites on the West Coast.
Additional information on PHNSY & IMF can be found on social media sites:
Facebook at www.facebook.com/PearlHarborNavalShipyard
Flickr at www.flickr.com/photos/phnsy/