Source: United States Navy
PORTSMOUTH NAVAL SHIPYARD, Maine – Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Gilday traveled to Bath, and Kittery, Maine, where he and congressional leaders visited General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW) and Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNS), April 24.
In Bath, Gilday met with Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, and together they visited shipyard facilities, toured the Orion Training Academy, and met with Sailors aboard the future USS Carl M. Levin (DDG 120).
“Our partnership with industry is critical to our Navy and our national security… we must continue to build ships, submarines and aircraft to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow,” said Gilday. “I’m grateful for the work and the improvements being made at Bath Iron Works to ensure our warfighters continue to receive cutting edge capabilities and extraordinary ships.”
At the shipyard, Gilday and the congressional delegation met with Bath Iron Works President Mr. Chuck Krugh and other BIW executives. The leaders discussed challenges of the shipyard, as well as workforce and programmatic improvements across the company.
Aboard Levin, Gilday met with the ship’s command triad and presented awards to Sailors.
“It is a great opportunity to visit the crew of the future USS Carl M. Levin for a second time, and see how far the ship has come in a year,” said Gilday. “A ship is nothing without the crew, and I am confident the USS Carl M. Levin will do great things for our nation because of these incredible Sailors.”
Following his visit to BIW, Gilday traveled to Kittery to visit Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and was accompanied by Collins and Sen. Maggie Hassan. Throughout the visit, they spoke with personnel and toured one of the facilities the Navy uses to overhaul, repair, and modernize its submarine fleet.
CNO was met by PNS leadership, who accompanied him as he met with Sailors, received a Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program (SIOP) overview, and toured the yard.
“SIOP is critically important to the future success of our shipyards and force; this once-in-a-century effort is essential to Navy readiness and our budget request reflects that,” said Gilday. “Everyone here at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is a part of the Navy team and has an important role in making sure our nation maintains the strongest Navy in the world.”
After his briefs, CNO toured PNS’s reactor servicing complex and dry dock areas.
The visit marked Gilday’s third trip to Bath Iron Works and his second to Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.