BREMERTON, Wash. –
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Mike Gilday visited Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility to learn about workforce challenges and planned Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program upgrades.
He also participated in a shipyard tour, which gave him the opportunity to interface with the shipyard’s civilian and military workforce.
Capt. Jip Mosman, commander, PSNS & IMF, and other senior leaders from the shipyard escorted Gilday throughout his visit, which was arranged to ensure COVID-19 protective measures were adhered to. Rear. Adm. Douglas Perry, commander, Submarine Group 9, and Rear Adm. Stephen D. Barnett, commander, Navy Region Northwest, also participated in various parts of the visit.
"Having the CNO visit the shipyard and personally witness how we maintain, modernize and retire the Navy's fleet gave us an opportunity to demonstrate how vital this shipyard is to today's Navy and to the Navy of the future. It also gave an opportunity for our workforce to show their pride, skill and resiliency. The men and women of PSNS & IMF have tirelessly risen to meet every challenge thrown at us over the past year," Mosman said. "We faced the COVID-19 pandemic head on and found many ways to protect the workforce while maximizing our mission. Throughout all of it, we've continued to train, improve processes and produce results."
During the tour the group discussed completed and planned seismic upgrades to dry docks; how PSNS & IMF benefits from the Surgemain program; how PSNS & IMF implements the inactivation of nuclear-powered warships; and how the shipyard trains new employees and works to bring their skills to a level where they can be deployed to the waterfront in significantly abbreviated time frames.
The group also discussed how Dry Dock 3 could be expanded to accommodate Ford-class aircraft carriers, to include a general overview of the timeline for construction and cost.
"One of the many highlights of being shipyard commander is the ability to showcase our people and the great work they do every day," Mosman said. "The CNO departed here with a very clear picture of how impressive our team is and how we can improve our infrastructure to continue to provide the Navy with an excellent level of service well into the future."
Gilday said that he was impressed by the teamwork on display at the shipyard, especially onboard ships and submarines in maintenance and the exceptional shipyard workers. He added that he appreciated the innovation and dedication to keeping maintenance and production lines on track as well as their commitment to readiness, which is critical for the Navy to sustain its Fleet both today and in the future.
This marked Gilday’s first visit to the Pacific Northwest since becoming CNO.