SILVERDALE, Wash. –
Trident Refit Facility, Bangor’s (TRFB) held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the opening of Building 7446 on June 12 at Delta Pier onboard Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor.
The ceremony, officiated by Jose Torres, TRFB’s Weapons Repair Superintendent, represented 10 years of work to give our workforce more of the facilities and capabilities they need to continue our national security mission.
Much of TRFB’s mission is ensuring the nation’s Ohio-Class SSBN submarine fleet is maintained on schedule. To do so, investing in those who work long hours, over weekends and holidays, to make that a reality is of utmost importance.
During the ceremony, Torres spoke on the benefit of the new facility. “Today marks not just the opening of a new building, but the beginning of a new era of efficiency, safety, and security in our submarine maintenance operations. Construction of Building 7446 was first planned in 2014, with construction beginning in approximately 2018,” said Torres.
“Costing approximately 39 million dollars, this building represents a major upgrade to not only our facilities and capabilities but also for our workforce. Despite many challenges and setbacks, the building is finally ready for occupancy, and we are here today to celebrate that fact.”
Before the building existed, shop functions were dispersed across more than two miles, forcing personnel to spend significant time traveling between work sites. This resulted in valuable time lost, hindering the ability to efficiently maintain submarines.
Building 7446 was designed to address these critical challenges and to any increase in workload needed. While a significant investment, modernizing our infrastructure and empowering our workforce will set up TRFB for success for decades to come.
The new facility will house members of the Weapons Repair Department and the Repair Department providing modern facilities close to the Delta Pier Dry Dock.
After the remarks by Torres, U.S. Navy Capt. Mike Eberlein, commanding officer, TRFB, thanked those who attended and those who worked tirelessly to get this project completed.
“There has been a lot of teamwork involved between the lead contractor, [Naval Facilities Engineering Command], [Strategic Weapons Facility, Pacific], TRFB…that’s part of what makes [us] successful, he said. “This is a big step toward a long overdue debt [to our workforce]. I really want to thank everyone.”
The event closed with the ribbon-cutting and tours of the facility.