Chief of Naval Operations Thanks Shipbuilders 11 l 23 l 2020
A weekly publication of Newport News Shipbuilding
Newport News Shipbuilding President Jennifer Boykin shared with shipbuilders a letter she received last week from Adm. Michael Gilday, Chief of Naval Operations. In the letter, Gilday thanked shipbuilders for their continued support of the Navy and for their innovation and dedication to keeping maintenance and production work on track. “Over the past year, I have had the opportunity to visit with many of you and have seen firsthand the work you are doing to assist our Navy in building the most ready and lethal fleet in the world,” he wrote. “Without a doubt, shipbuilding and maintenance are the backbone of our Navy. And each and every one of you has played an important role to help us adapt, change and rethink how to keep readiness levels high during COVID.”
Rob Gies, left, hands out a certification during a drive-thru graduation. Photo by Nicholas Langhorne
Graduation on the Go The inaugural group of 21 Newport News Shipbuilding employees to complete the Engineering Systems and Industrial Engineering Certification Program was recognized last week. However, restrictions in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 meant a traditional ceremony wasn’t possible. So program leaders Rob Gies (E02) and Old Dominion University professor Dr. Resit Unal held a drive-thru ceremony outside Bldg. 902 on Nov. 18. “While masked, Dr. Unal and I handed each person their certification, and a pen from Old Dominion, through the passenger side window of their car,” Gies said. “It was not the kind of graduation that we had hoped for and even planned for, but it was the best graduation alternative that we could come up with.” To receive their certification, the shipbuilders completed an intensive six-course program from March 2019 to May 2020. The program, developed jointly by NNS and ODU, is targeted
toward six key shipbuilding areas – cost engineering, quality, systems engineering, project management, decision making, and advanced manufacturing. Functional areas throughout NNS met with ODU to tailor each course to the company’s needs. The NNS employees who completed the certification are: MB Abdussalaam (E16), Michael Altrogge (E84), Shannon Blevins (K49), Janice Boone (E68), Robert Cuffe (X01), Felicia Farmer (X44), Jose Gonzalez Nieves (E44), Adam Hedrick (X51), Matthew Marquand (X46), Karen Meyer (O19), Gershom Obeng (X51), Justin Paulson (E06), Jennifer Ramirez Araguas (E44), Sean Rhodes (E70), Lisa Robinson (O19), Walter Rose (E44), Brian Tapajna (X51), Anthony Ugoletti (X51), Kyle Winfield (K93), Eric Wishon (O19) and Todd Wobig (X47). For more information about the Engineering Systems and Industrial Engineering Certification Program, contact Rob Gies (E02) via email.
Read Gilday’s full letter on the NNS website (nns.huntingtoningalls.com/411).
Holiday Food Drive Ends Nov. 30 Newport News Shipbuilding’s annual food drive ends Nov. 30. There are three easy ways to donate to the food drive: • Visit yougivegoods.com/nnsholidayfooddrive for tangible food donations that will be delivered directly to the Foodbank. The platform will gift back an additional 5% of the value of each purchase to the Foodbank. • One-time monetary donations can be made directly to the Virginia Peninsula Foodbank. • One-time or reoccurring monetary donations through NNS Payroll can be made through the Newport News Shipbuilding Gives website. Fundraising protocols are available on MyNNS, and all three giving sites allow donors to designate departments and employee resource groups for purposes of competitions. For requests for reports, fundraising approvals and questions, email CorporateCitizenship@hii-nns.com.