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A weekly publication of Newport News Shipbuilding
Photo by Ashley Cowan
NNS Launches New Jersey (SSN 796) Virginia-class submarine New Jersey (SSN 796) was recently launched into the James River at Newport News Shipbuilding. The 7,800-ton submarine, which had been in a floating dry dock since being transferred from the Modular Outfitting Facility (MOF) in March, was submerged and moved by tugboats to a pier for final outfitting, testing and crew certification. “Achieving this construction milestone is a very rewarding event to our shipbuilding team,” said Jason Ward, vice president of Virginia-Class Submarine Construction. “Our shipbuilders
and suppliers have dedicated years of hard work to this critical capability that will maintain our customer’s undersea superiority. We now look forward to executing our waterborne test program, and working toward sea trials so we can deliver to the Navy.” Through the teaming agreement with General Dynamics Electric Boat, approximately 10,000 shipbuilders, as well as suppliers from 50 states, have participated in New Jersey’s construction since the work began in 2016. New Jersey is approximately 92% complete. Watch a time-lapse video on MyNNS to see SSN 796 moving to the Floating Dry Dock, being launched and being transported to a pier.
Benefits Annual Enrollment Ends Friday, May 6 Benefits annual enrollment is underway through Friday, May 6. Annual enrollment is a great time to review benefits and make changes. This year, United Steelworkers must enroll in the medical plan by Friday, May 6, to have coverage for the 2022-2023 plan year. Current medical elections will not roll over. All non-represented and salaried employees, United Steelworkers and guards must update their tobacco-use status to “tobacco free” during annual enrollment if they do not use tobacco. Those who are tobacco-free but do not update their status will lose the $660 medical premium discount on July 1. Employees enrolled in the health care and/or dependent care
flexible spending account (FSA) must reenroll to continue coverage. Visit hiibenefits.com to review the annual enrollment guide and other resources on UPoint. Shipbuilders can visit hii.vfairs.com to attend the virtual benefits fair through May 28. For help choosing the right benefits, employees can visit ALEX at myalex.com/hii/2022. Benefit elections will take effect July 1. To enroll in benefits, log on to UPoint from hiibenefits.com. Select “Make Your Annual Enrollment Choices” and then select “Research and Enroll.” Then, review benefits and make selections. Once finished, click “Confirm Choices.” To enroll by phone, call the HII Benefits Center at 1-877-216-3222.
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5 | 2 | 2022 the Heart of Giving warehouse at the Peninsula Rescue Mission Thrift Store and at the Hampton Roads Urban Agriculture community garden. Volunteers also helped clean up the Hampton Elmerton Cemetery, helped tear down sheds for an elderly neighbor and dug a water line trench for a neighbor. Although this is a BT&T-led initiative, any NNS employee is invited to join. Almost every event so far has included participants from multiple departments.
Newport News Shipbuilding employees volunteer for a Serve the City cleanup effort.
Shipbuilders “Serve the City” Serve the City (STC) is an international movement mobilizing volunteers to serve in simple ways. Newport News Shipbuilding’s Business Transformation & Technology Division (BT&T) has committed to support the community through STC. During the past six months, BT&T shipbuilders have volunteered to support a variety of efforts, including food delivery for the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank and working in
“By performing these acts of service, we are giving back to the community and allowing employees to build relationships with coworkers outside of the office,” said Cathy Zimeras. “We are also making new friends with the others who volunteer, and we have even met a few retired ‘Yard Birds’ along the way.” Every month, new opportunities are listed at nns.yourcause.com, and emails are sent to shipbuilders in the BT&T community. Contact Cathy Zimeras via email for more information.
BeWell For Life 5K is May 14-15 The BeWell for Life 5K, formerly the NNS 5K, will have in-person and virtual options this year, and it is not too late to register. The inperson event is at 9 a.m. Saturday, May 14, at Victory Landing Park in Newport News. The virtual event is May 14 and 15. Shipbuilders can bring family and friends to walk, jog or run to the finish line of this 3.1 mile race. Kids activities and a vendor expo
will be available before the event. Registration for the in-person event is $15 for adults and $10 for youth and includes a T-shirt. There is no registration fee for the virtual event, which does not include a T-shirt. Learn more and register at myquadmed.com/BeWell5K.
PEER Program Can Accelerate Career Development Newport News Shipbuilding’s Professional Engagement and Enrichment Rotation (PEER) Program is accepting nominations for the July 2022 on-boarding. The deadline to apply is May 11. The PEER Program is a two-year rotation program for full-time, salaried individual contributors. Participants rotate through four different departments over the two-year period. A curriculum of workshops and formal mentoring enable accelerated career development for all participants. Two recent graduates, X51 Manager Josh Buchanan and E82 Manager Sam Addison
now serve as PEER host managers and new members of the PEER Advisory Board. “The PEER Program permanently changed my career for the better. Participation allowed me the opportunity to explore different aspects of our business, reinforce my love for shipbuilding and build a vast professional network I continue to rely on today,” Buchanan said. “I recommend joining the PEER Program to anyone who is ready to take charge of their own career development.” Addison also is grateful for the positive impact the program had on her career. “The PEER program presented an
opportunity for me to support the digital vision for nuclear work. Today, I am the manager 3 responsible for leading an amazing team of folks who have been given the charter to go paperless for NNS nuclear work,” he said. “PEER led me to this ‘sweet spot’ in the Nuclear Propulsion Division where I have a passionate determination to make a difference. I recommend the PEER Program for individuals seeking structured career development.” For more information about the PEER Program, contact Gary Figg via email or at 688-4495.
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AROUND THE YARD Celebrating National Asian & Pacific American Heritage Month As Newport News Shipbuilding and HII celebrate National Asian & Pacific American Heritage Month in May, take time to recognize the great achievements and innovations of Asian and Pacific Americans throughout our nation’s history and their significant impact on the company’s success. The 2022 theme for Asian & Pacific American Heritage Month is “Advancing Leaders Through Collaboration.” Learn more by visiting AsianPacificHeritage.gov and at the HII Diversity and Inclusion website HII.com/employees/diversity.
ISO 9001:2015 Surveillance Audit Planned May 10-12
Stay Surveys to Begin This Week
Newport News Shipbuilding will undergo a surveillance audit of its Quality Management System (QMS) May 10-12. The American Bureau of Shipbuilding Quality Evaluations (ABS-QE) will conduct these audits.
To better Enable Our Workforce, the Human Resources and Administration team is establishing ways Newport News Shipbuilding can be more intentional with employee retention and attracting new talent.
Quality Management System Audit: The audit team will review work documents associated with many of the areas of the shipyard, including records for equipment calibration, training, production control, product testing, internal audits, and corrective and preventive actions. Auditors may also request to randomly interview employees in both nuclear and non-nuclear work areas about work procedures to evaluate their work practices, overall awareness of NNS’ quality
management policies and the knowledge of the impact their work has. Employees should answer questions about how they normally accomplish their work. During previous audits, several people and departments were asked about their work processes. Managers, general foremen and supervisors should emphasize to employees the importance of having knowledge of their work procedures and working to authorized procedures and drawings. A successful audit will maintain the shipyard’s ISO 9001 certificate for the Quality Management System. The shipyard was first certified to ISO 9001 in 1993 and has renewed the certification every three years since. For more information, contact Brent Ruffy (O04) at 688-1439.
COVID-19 Reporting Update Newport News Shipbuilding has reported low COVID-19 case rates for the last several weeks and Hampton Roads remains in the lowest category for COVID-19 transmission. As a result, we will continue to report cases weekly in Currents, but we will discontinue the weekly COVID-19 update email.
Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 Active cases: 2 See updates at nns.huntingtoningalls.com/411
To help guide this process, stay surveys will be sent to all employees starting with the salaried workforce. Salaried employees will receive a message from Gallup with a link to the survey this week. Feedback will help create a work environment that inspires our people to be their best as we work to retain current employees and attract new talent. Once dates for hourly survey are determined, information will be cascaded to employees.
Guidance on OSHA Paint Strip Rule The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) now requires Newport News Shipbuilding to strip back all toxic preservative coatings at least 4 inches from an area of heat application before beginning any hot work. The previous standard was 2 inches, per a longstanding agreement between OSHA and NNS. NNS has developed a website on MyNNS with frequently asked questions that offers guidance on how the changes will affect shipyard operations. Although the OSHA rule only covers toxic coatings, NNS is stripping back all coatings to a minimum of 4 inches for now, out of an abundance of caution. Going forward, NNS will specifically assess where the 4-inch rule applies and communicate updates via the website and other channels.
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DATEBOOK MAY 3
The Builders baseball team will face Thomas Nelson May 3 at War Memorial Stadium. Currently enrolled apprentices and active AAA and AAC members are welcome to attend the Builders Baseball Social at 4 p.m. The game starts at 5 p.m. RSVP on Eventbrite. For more information, contact Tamieka Williams. See you at the ballgame!
MAY 12
The Project Management Shipbuilder Association (PMSA) will host a lunchtime presentation on Earned Value Management with Jennifer Miller, director of Business Management (O79), from noon until 1 p.m. via WebEx. The event is open to all employees by reservation only. Sign up on the PMSA website. For questions, contact Sandra Valentine or email PMSA@hii-nns.com. No charge is provided.
MAY 12
The ASIAN employee resource group will host its annual Asian Pacific American Heritage Month event, “Leveraging Asian Values in Your Career,” from 4:30 until 5:30 p.m. in Bldg. 520-6 (James River Room). Panelists Sonia Gopal, Leah Colvin and Jonathan Calma will share how their cultural upbringings have influenced their careers. A catered reception with snacks and refreshments will follow the event. Registration for the event is available on MyNNS. Email ASIAN_ERG@hii-nns.com for more information. This event is open to all shipbuilders. No charge will be provided.
MAY 17
Women in Shipbuilding Enterprise (WiSE) will host a Leadership – Improvement through Empowerment Event from 12 until 12:30 p.m. Dr. Latitia McCane, director of Education at The Apprentice School, will be the speaker. This WebEx event is open to all NNS employees. No charge will be provided. Register for this event on MyNNS. Email WiSEhamptonroads@hii-nns.com for more information.
MAY 28
The Veterans Employee Resource Group (VERG) is teaming up with the local American Legion Post 25 and other local organizations to place American flags on the tombstones of our veterans at Peninsula Memorial Park, located at 12750 Warwick Blvd. in Newport News, from 7 a.m. until noon. If you and your family can spare one to two hours, please come out and show your support. Register for a shift at nns.yourcause.com. Volunteers can also sign up to help remove flags from 7 a.m. until noon on May 31. Contact Michael Altrogge via email for further details.
JUNE 10
The 17th annual F. Farrell Sanders Apprentice Athletic Club Golf Tournament will be held at Ford’s Colony Country Club. Look for more information about costs and how to register in upcoming editions of Currents.
SEEKING SHIPBUILDERS Job Title Req Number Dept. Engineer Electrical 3 13545 E63 Engineer Electrical 4 11346 E70 Engineer Electromechanical 4 11087 E44 Fitter (Trainee, Entry-level & 18811, 18810, X11 Experienced) 18808, 18809 HII-Mechanical Valve Tech – 20306 N960 Mech Tech O 3 Welder (Trainee, Entry-level & 18846, 18845, X18 Experienced) 18844, 18841
New Challenge Coins Available The Company Store, located in the lobby of The Apprentice School, now has new challenge coins commemorating Enterprise (CVN 80) and Doris Miller (CVN 81). Coins are $7 each. The store is open from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. and 2:30 until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday.
MyHR Mentoring Modules The NNS Mentoring Program is launching the 2022 MyHR Mentoring modules. Signups for the manager module will open this month. This is an excellent opportunity to seek guidance and partner with an experienced shipbuilder. The enrollment timeline for the manager module is May 9-23 for mentors and May 23-June 6 for mentees.
Visit www.buildyourcareer.com to search for the latest NNS job openings.
Employee Referral Cash Bonus Eligible Eligible Eligible Eligible
Remote Work Considered No Yes No No
Not Eligible
No
Eligible
No
All positions are located in Newport News unless otherwise noted.
Employees are encouraged to use MyHR or the "Current HII Employees Job Search" button at www.buildyourcareer.com to apply. Visit www.huntingtoningalls.com/careers/refer-a-friend to learn more about the cash bonus awards for referrals to select positions.
BLOOD DRIVES
Newport News Shipbuilding is hosting blood drives in support of the American Red Cross. A time charge is provided for employees who donate. Blood drives will be held from 7:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. in Bldg. 520-6 (James River Room) on the following dates: •
May 3
•
June 1
•
May 24
•
June 2
To schedule an appointment, contact Natasha Eck or Topaz Artis via email.
LONG SERVICE Master Shipbuilders with 40 years of dedicated service FEBRUARY • MARCH • 2022
Bob Brunner Bruce Cashwell Steve Hayes Sally Jones Sarah Lewis
Michele Lynn Sharon Nicholas Michael Owen Kevin Richmond Charles Truitt
Joe Winfrey
FEBRUARY • MARCH • LONG SERVICE 45 YEARS David Barnes Jr. O45 Thomas Bellamy X36 Janet Bland X24 Weldon Bolden X31 Carl Bunch T54 Angelina Chale O43 John Clark X36 Stewart Crocker E27 Alfred Dunston X32 James Elliott Jr. X24 Brenda Evans E18 Tony Fowler K48 Shelby Gibson X22 George Howard X11 Paul Layne X31 Lavern Listol II T56 Russell Minter O19 Tommy Pelfrey X36 Marshall Ray III E92 Robert Stephens X36 John Taylor Jr. X36 Charles Walters X18 Harald Weber X36 Geoffrey Wilson O39
40 YEARS Robert Brunner E25 Bruce Cashwell O59 Roy Davidson O43 Leroy Hansen X82 Steven Hayes X55 Sally Jones X73 Sarah Lewis T54 Michele Lynn E83 Steven Meyerson O87 Sharon Nicholas X24 Kevin Richmond X69 Charles Truitt E85 35 YEARS Michael Carpenter X32 Cesar Castro Jr. O68 Dwayne Harris X43 Glenn Robertson E85 Darrell Smith X82 Jerry Tice E84 Joseph Tillett E84 30 YEARS Jesse Burgess E27
Obadiah Claud E51 Kwang Lee E83 Steven Mcdade E92 Damon Saetre O11 25 YEARS Jackie Arnett Jr. E83 John Askew X76 Kenneth Banks X22 Ervin Blake Jr. O26 Christopher Brown O35 Nathan Carter X23 Rodney Crockett X35 William Darden E82 Jennifer Dunn O11 Marvin Echols E18 Gregory Egnot X75 Robert Ford II K47 Darrell Goodrich O04 Wendell Hunt II X24 Coy Jones III K47 Paul Jordan E11 Samuel Jordan Jr. E26 Paul Labbe E70 Don Lehman E26
Michelle Lloyd X67 Brian Reed E26 David Rockey X23 Stacy Schrier O53 Richard Schroeder E84 Ralf Smith E46 Christopher Sumpter M53 Kimberly Thompson X75 Cenise Waites T56 Robert Walker X24 Thomas West Jr. K47 20 YEARS John Adams X18 Peter Apostoles O12 Bernard Arrington Jr. O67 Katrina Lynn Arsenault N910 Robert Artis O53 William Ballard O53 David Barnes Jr. X18 Lekendra Bell X21 Howard Blume Jr. X18 Yvonne Boone O53 Hoby Bradfield E85 Daniel Bryant Jr. E70
Thomas Buehrle E82 Cameron Calloway M10 Michael Caltagarone O58 Kenneth Cossett O53 Antonio Covington X18 Wade Crosby E70 Harold Cryderman Jr. X75 Leaveil Dabney E49 Anne Degrace E44 James Dorwart T56 Kevin Eure O38 Linda Foster X73 Mae Sue Garrett X33 John Gilbertson X35 Phelan Gonzalez O52 Jerry Gregory O52 Michael Halleen O40 Benita Harris N910 John Harris Jr. X15 Christopher Hoehn X40 Jeffrey Hogge E81 Tod Huggins N352 Derrick Johnson O46 Broderick Kea O53 Jeffrey Keefer O38
Joseph Keene E63 Daniel Kennedy T55 Clinton Klink K48 Lisa Kujawski X73 Paul Lindgren O40 Emil Meadors X09 Charles Phelps Jr. X11 Desmond Pierce X43 Earl Pierce Jr. O64 Joseph Piland X73 Sean Quirk E84 Christopher Robinson O14 Clarence Rountree Jr. X11 Michael Shaffer E25 Christopher Simons O46 Phillip Skrypski E25 Ezekiel Stallings O43 Lisa Strickler O53 Wanda Taylor O53 Regina Thomas E68 Marvin Thompson O53 Christopher Wilcox O15 Earl Wimberly Jr. O43 Ronald Woody E25
Willard Paul O22 Patricia Pauquette X57 Lorrie Peckham E68 David Peterman E21 Alma Price O58 Teresa Price E13 Robert Raitto X36 James Revere E14 George Riefler O27 Karl Ruhlin X74 Barry Russell X73 Angela Salas-Arreazola K48 Lawrence Sanders E18 William Sauter O58 Kevin Scherrer O67 Cheryl Scull T54 Genie Self E25 Clinton Sharpe O55 Rufus Sipple O46 Randy Skeeter O67 Stephen Smith N357
Gary Spivey E84 Frankie Taylor K46 Linda Taylor E86 Richard Taylor E15 William Topping E51 Ferdinand Torres O39 Marianne Tully O53 Barry Vigneau X09 John Walters X44 Valerie Ward E25 Gordon Ware O31 Marvin Watson N910 James Wei E68 Johnnie Welch O05 Brian West O43 Edward Wightman X11 Andrew Williams X36 Arthur Williams X15 Brian Williams O04 James Williams O26 Raymond Williams X42
RETIREMENTS Alandis Aaron X18 Raymond Anderson X42 Jean Armstrong O51 Michael Austin X23 Audrey Bailey X18 Bruce Bailey O43 Christopher Baker E70 Kent Baldwin E25 Glenn Banks K46 Brent Bartley X18 Leon Birchette X33 Dwayne Blake N356 Michael Bonelli K47 Gary Boyle O79 Drucilla Branche O50 Hugh Byrd O27 Karen Cassell X47 Allen Cathey X11 Lynne Cave X46 William Cleary K45 Tyrone Clemons X42
Stephanie Conover O50 William Cundiff X22 Darryl Decker X36 Frank Delar T56 Michael Deuell E85 Susan Dewing T54 Wilton Dixson O43 Robert Dunbar X31 Jeffrey Elmore X24 Jackie Evans X18 Larry Evans X31 James Fairley E63 Henry Famularo O85 John Firgau E84 Kimberly Fitzpatrick E83 Mark Fox N359 Robert Goforth X83 Randall Gonse K46 Alexander Greene O59 Mark Gresik E37 Greg Guilford E14
Thomas Hardy X32 Christopher Harris X11 Betty Hazelwood X42 Gary Hendrick E83 Edmond Hill A572 Terry Hill O53 Mckinley Holloway K45 Robert Hull O45 William Inge O39 Leonard Jackson X21 Derek Jenkins N357 Craig Jones E21 Peter Jones E24 Ralph Jones X33 Benjamin Joyner O39 Thomas Kacensky X31 Shenna Kates X33 David King E37 Joseph Kramer E37 Cleveland Latimer O41 Ronald Lee E26
Robert Leonard K72 Wesley Long X33 Carlton Luster O26 Shretta Luton O14 John Marshall O43 Andrew Maslaney O46 Robert Mc Donald X32 Kenneth Mcconkey X43 William Michaelis X33 Gary Musselwhite O36 Stephen Myers E26 Mary Nealy O19 Mark Nelson E70 Robert Nichols E63 Mark Noble E59 Bruce Norman T51 James Olmsted E85 Robert Owen X36 Larry Parham X36 Roy Parker X18 Derrick Patterson X33