WEST BETHESDA, Md. –
A team of engineers from Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division’s Platform Integrity Department received the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Technical Authority of the Year Team Award for their contribution in addressing a critical shipbuilding challenge.
Materials and Manufacturing Technology Division Manager Johnnie DeLoach conducted non-destructive evaluations with his team to address welding defects found in fabricated missile tubes. With the help of the NAVSEA technical warrant community, DeLoach and his missile-tube team were able to create a “get-well plan” that was successfully executed.
“There were some unexpected defects in the missile tubes that had already been inspected and were believed to be acceptable,” DeLoach said. “Our group came in and evaluated all the welding procedures used by the sub vendors to help determine the cause of the defects and help determine why the initial inspections were inaccurate.”
The team began the shipbuilding challenge one year ago and completed their mission between six to eight weeks. Since then, DeLoach, Program Manager Paul Young, Physical Metallurgy and Fire Branch Head Charles Roe and a team of engineers including Maria Posada, Jeffrey Farren, Nathan Livesey, Kevin Mendala, Matthew Sinfield, Nathan Korinchak and Michael Swormstedt have provided follow-ups to assure the product’s quality and function.
Commanding Officer Capt. Cedric McNeal and Technical Director Larry Tarasek congratulated the missile tube team and presented them with a command coin in the rotunda of building two on Dec. 6.
“I cannot say enough how proud we are of this achievement and the team’s exceptional service toward the security and defense of our nation,” McNeal said. “Tech authority is what sets the standards as it pertains to the performance of our platforms at sea. It is about making sure you reach the technical ability, but also are ready to fight when called upon.”
The NAVSEA Technical Authority of the Year Team Award was a collective first for the missile-tube team, and Deloach said it was special.
“Technical authority is what we depend on, that whole concept of what we depend on to make sure we’re being sound and disciplined from an engineering standpoint,” he said. “To get this award is pretty special and to have the folks at headquarters nominate us – really thankful for that – shows a lot of appreciation for what we do.”