Senator Webb: Ship Maintenace Shortfall and CVN Move
May 01, 2009
Webb: Ship Maintenance Shortfall, Billions in Unfunded Priorities
Compel Retention of Aircraft Carrier in Norfolk
Warns of Adverse Impacts that Backlog could have on
Fleet Readiness & Shipyard Workers
Washington, DC—Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) told the Department of Defense (DoD) said today that the Navy’s $417-million shortfall in fiscal year 2009 funding for ship maintenance, coupled with unfunded budget requirements of $4.6 billion, provides a “compelling argument for the DoD to disapprove any Navy funding request for homeporting a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Mayport, Florida.”
In a letter to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michèle Flournoy, Webb said the level of unfunded maintenance could have “significant adverse impacts on near-term fleet readiness and employment levels” in multiple homeports on the East and West Coasts. Webb also asked that early action be taken on the homeporting proposal.
“Given today’s extraordinary financial crisis, the Obama administration’s expressed call to reduce non-critical federal spending, and the compelling requirement to fund higher-priority Navy budget requirements, the Navy’s homeporting proposal for Mayport is fiscally irresponsible,” Webb said.
Last year, the Navy identified $4.6 billion in fiscal year 2009 unfunded budget requirements. The service’s unfunded requirements for fiscal year 2010 will be made known when the Obama administration submits its defense budget request to Congress later this year.
During their Senate confirmation hearings in January, Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn and Under Secretary Flournoy committed to Senator Webb to review the Navy’s homeporting decision for Mayport. “From a policy or strategy perspective, taking a look at our global posture including our homeporting and basing structure is certainly going to be on the table and will be a part of the QDR [Quadrennial Defense Review] as we move forward,” said Flournoy.
The Navy’s current ship maintenance funding shortfall resulted from the service’s reliance on so-called emergency defense supplemental appropriations to fund its predictable, scheduled requirements. If required funding is not provided, fleet readiness will suffer and private ship-repair companies will be obliged to send workers home.
Said Webb: “During the economic crisis at hand, such an approach is unconscionable.”
Senator Webb stressed in his letter that funding for routine ship maintenance should be included in the core budget: “The Navy’s reliance on emergency defense supplemental appropriations to fund routine ship maintenance in recent years begs for your re-examination.”
A full copy of the letter from Senator Webb to Under Secretary Flournoy follows:
March 17, 2009
The Honorable Michèle Flournoy
Under Secretary of Defense for Policy
The Department of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301
Dear Secretary Flournoy:
My purpose in writing is to bring to your attention a $417 million shortfall in the Navy’s fiscal year 2009 funding for ship maintenance on both the East and West Coasts. Should the final increment of the FY-2009 emergency defense supplemental not fund this requirement adequately, significant adverse impacts on near-term fleet readiness and employment levels at private ship-repair companies in multiple homeports will likely occur later this year.
For these reasons, there is an even more compelling argument for the Department of Defense (DoD) to disapprove any Navy request to include funding in its FY-2010 budget request for homeporting a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Mayport, Fla. The Navy currently estimates this relocation would cost in excess of $600 million, but I am confident - based on extensive past experience - that the total cost would eventually exceed $1 billion. At a time when the Navy is not funding many high-priority operational, military construction, and fleet-support requirements, it is unconscionable to waste taxpayer dollars on such a strategically unnecessary and fiscally irresponsible homeporting project.
I have enclosed a commentary written by Everett Pyatt that was published in the Virginian Pilot newspaper this month. Mr. Pyatt, a senior Navy acquisition official in both the Carter and Reagan administrations, said that he was “shocked” to learn of the Navy’s homeporting proposal. “This proposal does not pass the common-sense test,” he wrote, “and is not worth the minimum $671 million to implement it.” He identifies more affordable and strategically sound homeporting options for Mayport.
During your confirmation hearing in January, both you and Deputy Secretary of Defense Lynn committed to review the Navy’s homeporting proposal at the OSD level. I appreciated your stated intention to do so. I would suggest that, in the face of the Navy’s many major 2009 and 2010 unfunded requirements, an early decision is advisable.
On a relevant and equally important note, the Navy’s reliance on emergency defense supplemental appropriations to fund routine ship maintenance in recent years begs for your re-examination. Predictable ship maintenance should not be funded through emergency supplementals. Such funding should be included in the core budget, and it should be protected. Should the Navy not receive necessary funding in the remaining FY-2009 supplemental, numerous ship-maintenance availabilities could be descoped or deferred until next year. Fleet readiness will suffer, and our private ship-repair companies will be obliged to send workers home. During the economic crisis at hand, such prospects are unconscionable.
I am mindful of the many pressing issues you face during the early months of the new administration, but I believe the extraordinary costs associated with the Navy’s carrier homeporting proposal mandate early DoD action. Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Jim Webb
United States Senator
Senator Webb Addresses Ship Repair Industry
May 01, 2009
Senator Jim Webb on the Future of Navy Ship Repair & the Need for Improved Defense Acquisition Process
On Wednesday, March 11, Senator Webb met with approximately 70 industry members of the Shipbuilders Council of America and regional ship repair associations during their annual two-day Ship Repair Industry Conference. His remarks focused on the importance of building and maintaining appropriately sized naval forces to meet the strategic requirements of our maritime nation.
He cited two elements, in particular, that must be addressed properly to ensure the United States gets the most out of its investments to protect historic U.S. maritime interests—a properly funded ship maintenance plan for near-term readiness and improvements to the defense acquisition process and Navy shipbuilding.
Regarding ship maintenance, he described how the Navy has in recent years been funding its annual ship-maintenance plan through the “emergency” supplemental defense appropriations. “I don’t think that’s the way that you should be doing business,” he said.
Noting that his staff had engaged the Navy on this issue, he said the service’s current shortfall in fiscal year 2009 ship maintenance is $417 million. “This could affect regularly scheduled maintenance availabilities in the Hampton Roads/Norfolk area and other locations,” he said. “Ship maintenance is not something you should fund in an emergency supplemental. That’s not the way to run your budget—it should be in the core budget, and it should be protected.”
The scope and possible impacts associated with the Navy’s current funding shortfall for the remainder of this fiscal year will not be known until the final increment of the FY-09 defense supplemental is forwarded to Congress. The Navy also is said to be reviewing its other operations and maintenance accounts for opportunities to reduce the shortfall.
Senator Webb also discussed the need for an improved defense acquisition process. “The two things that I see historically about developing good systems are, first of all, to have very disciplined, talented people as program managers. It’s a perennial challenge,” he said, noting on the one hand that officers become program managers who, in many cases, have not had business experience.
On the other hand, many business people coming into government do not have experience in the Department of Defense or with its complicated defense acquisition process. By way of the best example, Webb cited former Commandant of the Marine Corps Gen. Al Gray and the role he played earlier in his career in the design and development of the Light Armored Vehicle (LAV) for the Marine Corps. “The idea was to introduce maneuver forces into the infantry regiment that could change their positions on an open plain. Al Gray knew what he wanted, stayed with it, ran the program through the Congress, and it was hardly a year before the program was producing LAVs. That to me is a real key.”
The second factor Webb cited as important to the development of a well-designed weapons system is a platform with the potential for progressive technological upgrades over the course of its service life—citing the examples of the C-130 aircraft and the Polaris nuclear-powered submarine—as opposed to designing new platforms repeatedly. “With the Polaris submarine,” he said, “the Navy took the frame and, over time, upgraded the technology and kept the frame until its lifecycle ran out. Then they moved into new submarine technology.”
Seantor Webb’s full remarks to the National Ship Repair Industry Conference 2009 follow:
“There are two nuts and bolts elements to making sure we get the most out of our money with respect to protecting our maritime interests. One of them is that the Navy is going to have to start being a lot smarter about how it builds its platforms and how it addresses issue like ship maintenance. My staff picked up on this issue of the way the Navy’s been funding its regular maintenance programs through supplementals and we’ve been working with that. I don’t think that’s the way that you should be doing business.
“We have a $415 million ship maintenance package that we were informed not long ago would not be met unless it was addressed in a supplemental. This package affected as many as nine regularly scheduled ship maintenance visits in the Hampton Roads/Norfolk area. We started asking questions. It’s part and parcel of a lot of things I have seen coming out of the Pentagon since I have been back in the government. That [ship maintenance] is not something you should fund in an emergency supplemental. That’s not the way to do really run your budget and yourports. That should be in the core of a budget and it should be protected. These are items that go hand in glove, as all of you know, with how you keep your Navy going.
“The second issue is how we address ship-building programs, acquisition programs, and how we develop weapons systems. We had a hearing about a week ago on the Armed Services Committee where we were talking about the need for more streamlined acquisition and weapons development programs. For me, I’ve been in the Senate a little more than two years but I’ve been doing this one way or another since I was probably about 18. I was sitting there listening and it occurred to me just how many cycles we have been through in terms of this issue.
“We have a situation where on the one hand, this is the challenge and it’s the perennial challenge. On the one hand we have. Then we have business people coming into the government who really do not understand the nature of the animal, when we talk about how weapons systems are developed inside the complicated formula of government itself.
“During the hearing, it was mentioned in the panel that we created the first defense acquisition executive in 1986 to try to solve this problem. I remarked afterwards that I was actually in the Pentagon on Casper Weinberger’s staff as Assistant Secretary of Defense when that position was created. We got a very talented individual to fill that position and he was, quite frankly, thoroughly bewildered for about a year. He was used to normal business practices where you get a product, you get it on a line, and away you go. As all of you know, when you’re developing a weapons system or a platform here in government, it goes along with the old saying that ‘a camel is a horse created by a committee.’ Different hands stir the pot; you have to know how to maneuver these programs first through the Pentagon process from your service to the inter-service environment, then over through the hill with people with their constituency groups and their own interests, and then get product out there that will actually do the job. A lot of times you end up with something you didn’t plan for, and a lot of times that’s negative.
“I was just sitting at the hearing, thinking “Alright, let’s start with the M-16.” I don’t know if you remember when they were developing the M-16 back in the 1960s they originally decided this was going to be a derivation of the AR-15 which they had experimented with in jungle warfare and then there were people who said “oh wait a minute what if you have to use they M-16 over in a desert environment, what if you have to hit someone at 800meters, what if you have to do this or that. So by the time the M-16 got through the system, they had a rifle that was firing a much more potent bullet than it was designed for. It carboned up the chambers when they actually sent it over to Vietnam. There were people dying over there because the chambers were so carboned up from the way that they had defined this thing that their weapons were jammed. They eventually fixed the problem.
“I can remember the Bradley fighting vehicle; it was the same thing. It was supposed to be moving troops from one spot to another, getting some mobility, and then it got tied up in the House, I believe it was Congressman Dickinson at the time who was a former Army soldier and a very fine Veteran who was concerned there wasn’t enough armor on it.
…..
“The best example I can give you ont hat is Al Gray, who later on became Commandant of the Marine Corps, when he was a Brigadier General, he ran the development center. He had an idea for the LAV.
“The other is getting platforms that you can add your technology on, rather than constantly changing the platform itself. Good examples of that: the C130. the C130’s been around a long time, they can upgrade the technology on it. Another good example: Polaris submarines. They took the frame and over the decade could upgrade the technology and keep the frame until the lifecycle ran out of the frame and they moved into new submarine technology.”
2009 SSRAC Meeting Information - July 21-24, 2009
April 28, 2009
1. The 2009 SSRAC meeting will be held 21-24 July 2009, at the Marriott Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida (about 9 miles south of Atlantic Beach down A1A). Our agreement with the hotel requires that all out-of-area attendees stay at the Marriott where we have reserved a block of rooms at current per diem rate per night (single).
2. Attendees must be trade oriented and familiar with the Standardization Program and SSRAC objectives. Those who meet the requirements should submit a request to attend, using the 2009 SSRAC Registration Request Form (also available on the SSRAC web site at http://www.sermc.surfor.navy.mil/ssrac1/jul09mtg/jul09mtg.htm). E-mail completed forms to ssrac@navy.mil (preferred), or FAX to Linda Mayle at (904) 270-5729 NLT 22 May 2009. WE ARE UNABLE TO ACCEPT REGISTRATION REQUESTS IN ANY OTHER FORM.
3. Each participating private industry partner is requested to limit attendees to one per subcommittee. The seven subcommittees of the SSRAC are:
Environmental/Safety/Health
Hull/Preservation
Machinery/QA
Piping/Boiler
Electrical/Electronics
4-E/Phraseology
General (non-trade-specific issues)
The subcommittees review proposals on issues relating to their technical/trade specialties and provide recommendations to the Steering Committee with supporting rationale. The Steering Committee acts on the recommendations of the subcommittees and handles issues that either cannot be resolved by the subcommittee or are beyond the scope of any one subcommittee.
4. Here is the Marriott Sawgrass Golf Resort information and directions from the airport to the hotel. No conference fee will be charged.
5. Milestone dates for the meeting are as follows:
a. 22 MAY 09: Final registration deadline.
b. 22 MAY 09: Final submission of proposed agenda items to SSRAC Coordinator utilizing an Official 2009 SSRAC Proposal Form (also available on the SSRAC web site at www.sermc.surfor.navy.mil/ssrac1/meetings.htm). Please be sure to indicate whether the proposal is considered to be "Major" or "Minor" and whether or not there is a cost or schedule impact.
Submissions should be e-mailed to linda.mayle@navy.mil but may be FAX'd to (904) 270-5729 in the event the use of e-mail is unavailable. The SSRAC Coordinator will take action on minor administrative changes, but all "major" proposals will be given a SSRAC Number and will be referred to the appropriate subcommittee for action.
The milestone for proposal submission must be strictly adhered to. No submissions will be accepted at the meeting except in the case of safety/health related issues.
c. 19 JUN 09: SSRAC Coordinator will provide draft agenda to scheduled attendees, identify subcommittees, designate subcommittee chairmen, and provide proposed changes and back up data via e-mail attachments.
d. 21 JUL 09: Convene SSRAC meeting.
Joey Cartwright
NAVSEA SSRAC Coordinator
SERMC ESH Director Code 106
Ph: (904) 270-5722
joey.c.cartwright@navy.mil
Linda D. Mayle
Asst NAVSEA SSRAC Coordinator
SERMC SSRAC Program Director
Ph: (904) 270-5593
linda.mayle@navy.mil
VSRF Junior and Senior Tradesman of the Year Nominations due April 17th!
April 15, 2009
UPDATE - SUBMISSION DEADLINE DELAYED ONE WEEK !
The Ship Repair industry, the best of more than 30,000 workers in Hampton Roads who work every day towards one mission: Keeping the Fleet on line. They are truly the “The Strength Behind the Fleet.”
Please nominate top Junior and Senior Tradesman for our 2009 VSRF Tradesman of the Year Award. Many of the companies who have participated use this award as a way to recognize their top performers and communicate the pride we all have in the work our trades people do all year long.
The award honors one trade worker from each of two categories. The categories are: Junior with less than five years of experience, and Senior with more than five years of experience. Winners will be judged on their level of expertise, leadership qualities, safety records and quality of work.
The two winners will be recognized at the National Maritime Day Celebration at the Half Moone Cruise and Celebration Center on Friday, May 22nd. The winners will be posted on the VSRA website following the National Maritme Day celebration. They will also be recognized at our monthly luncheon meeting on June 16th.
DON'T DELAY - DEADLINE IS APRIL 17TH. Download and complete the Nomination Form by clicking here http://www.virginiashiprepair.org/committee.asp?CommitteeID=10
You may submit a completed nomination form in one of 3 ways:
2. Fax 757.233.7035
3. Mail to VSRA, 150 Boush Street, Suite 802, Norfolk, Virginia 23510
If you have any questions, please contact the Nomination Review Coordinator, Michelle Carrera at mcarrera@VirginiaShipRepair.org or by calling (757) 810-8607.
NAVSEA Standard Item 009-32 Changes
March 16, 2009
1. The purpose of this e-mail is to issue FY-10 Change One to NAVSEA Standard Item 009-32 and FY-09 Change Three to NAVSEA Standard Item 009-32. These changes affect 009-32, Cleaning and Painting Requirements. The Summary of Changes will help with both documents.
2. Activity SSRAC Coordinators are responsible for advising contractors under their cognizance of these changes.
3. FY-09 NAVSEA Standard Item Index and FY-10 NAVSEA Standard Item Index, along with changes, are available on the SSRAC web site at http://www.sermc.surfor.navy.mil/ssrac1/standard.htm.
4. The requirements of this e-mail do not authorize any change in terms, conditions, delivery schedule, price, or amount of any existing Governmentcontract. In the event you consider the requirements represent a change forwhich an equitable adjustment is in order, you are to advise the Contracting Officer of the particular technical or contractual requirements regarded as changed, and take no action with regard to such changed requirements until notified in writing of the Contracting Officer's response.
Joey Cartwright
Code 106
NAVSEA SSRAC Coordinator
Office (904) 270-5722
joey.c.cartwright@navy.mil
Linda D. Mayle
Asst NAVSEA SSRAC Coordinator
SERMC Standards Program Director
Ph: (904) 270-5593
linda.mayle@navy.mil
MACOSH Meeting Announced - 3/24
March 13, 2009
OSHA has published a Federal Register Notice announcing the next MACOSH meeting scheduled for March 2009.
The Committee will meet on March 24, 2009, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ADDRESSES: The Committee will meet at the U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20210. On Tuesday, March 24, 2009, the committee will meet in conference room N-3437.
NOTE: All MACOSH meetings are open to the public. All interested persons are invited to attend the MACOSH meeting at the time and location listed above. The MACOSH agenda will include: A presentation on the Federal Advisory Committee Act, and committee ethics training; an OSHA activities update; introduction of the new and returning MACOSH committee members; a review of the accomplishments from the previous meetings during the last charter; and goals for the next two years, including establishment of the MACOSH workgroups.
Engineering Unplugged at Old Dominion University
March 12, 2009
On March 17th, 2009, Old Dominion University will be hosting a Green conference (on St. Patrick’s Day appropriately!) entitled “Engineering Unplugged”. We will have representatives from education, industry and government. In addition to having several speakers we will be offering breakout educational sessions that will entitle our registrants to continuing education credits. See our website below for subject matter:
The conference will have three educational tracks: LEED, Energy Conservation and Future Green. Nationally recognized speakers as well as those from Virginia’s Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, Virginia’s Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Energy will be in attendance to make presentations. This first annual Green Conference is slated to be the premier Green Event in Hampton Roads!
To register or for a full schedule of speakers and activities please visit:
For additional information including group discounts or opportunities to be an exhibitor at the event please feel free to contact me.
Thank you,
Patti Ball
Program Manager
Professional Development Center
Old Dominion University
4111 Monarch Way, Ste 106, Norfolk, VA 23508
National Ship Repair Industry Conference 2009 UPDATE
March 05, 2009
The 2009 National Ship Repair Industry Conference will be held March 9-11, 2009 at the Embassy Suites, Crystal City. This year, the organizing ship repair associations, in partnership with the Shipbuilders Council of America, have decided to modify the format of the conference. Attendees will meet with Navy leaders meeting with members of congress. The basic agenda is:
- Monday, March 9th Travel / Opening Evening Reception sponsored by Port of San Diego Ship Repair Association
- Tuesday, March 10th Navy Day at Embassy Suites
- Wednesday, March 11th Hill Day / Evening Hill Reception sponsored by VSRA
- Thursday, March 12th Individual visits to the Hill / Travel Home
NSRIC09 Agenda (Updated 3/5/09) gives all the specifics of the conference as of Thursday, March 5th. As you will see, an impressive array of both military leaders and congressional representatives will be addressing the conference.
You should not miss this opportunity.
For the Hill Day and Hill reception (hosted by VSRA), the following have accepted: Senator Cochran, Senator Vitter, Congressman Taylor, and Congressman Forbes. Numerous other have been invited, so there will be more.
NSRIC 09 Registration Form should be completed and sent to SCA, along with your registration fee. Please note that VSRA members fee is $300 (down from $320 last year). Attendees who are not members of one of the partner SRA's or SCA will be charged a $350 registration fee.
Rooms are still available at the Embassy Suites. To make your reservations, call 1-800-EMBASSY or log on to www.embassysuites.com .
WR Systems Wins National Recognition for Work Environment
March 03, 2009
NORFOLK
It starts the first day on the job: New employees get a candy bar imprinted with the company's logo and a handwritten welcome note from the boss.
Later, they can win a $100 bonus for a thumbs- up from a client. Their ideas are welcome at monthly staff meetings. Their work schedules are easily molded around personal needs.
WRSystems is a great place to work, according to the American Psychological Association. On Sunday, the association named WRSystems the most "psychologically healthy workplace" in North America in the small, for-profit category.
"A lot of times, people giggle at you and say, 'That's cute, but how does that affect business?' " said Dave Edwards, senior vice president of the information technologies and engineering firm. "This is a real validation that doing good things for employees and trying to take care of them is OK."
WRSystems has its headquarters in Fairfax, but the award went to its Engineering Services Division, based in Norfolk Commerce Park. The Norfolk office has 213 employees - the bulk of the company's work force.
Based on employee feedback, the 26-year-old company has added mirrors in hallways and bought a defibrillator. Every piece of advice gets a response, Edwards said. "The worst thing you can do is to just blow off the suggestion."
Last year, WRSystems spent nearly $13,000 on the $100 bonuses, Edwards said. It also offered 116 "on-the-spot" rewards, from $50 to $100 each, when a manager spotted an employee doing good work.
David Hale is due to receive a $100 bonus after a client commended his work.
"It's good for morale," said Hale, a senior systems analyst. "You walk down the hallways here, and the walls are lined with these certificates."
Hale also appreciates the elastic schedules. He works a 7-to-4 shift, but "you've got crews coming in from 6 till 10 o'clock in the morning."
Hale has been with WRSystems for 10 years. Edwards said most employees have spent at least five years there.
Philip Walzer, (757) 222-3864, phil.walzer@pilotonline.com
Colonna's Shipyard Plans Major Expansion, New Jobs
March 03, 2009
By
Josh Brown
The Virginian-Pilot
© February 28, 2009
NORFOLK
Colonna's Shipyard Inc., a small, private ship-repair company in Norfolk, is planning a $14 million expansion, its chief executive said Friday.
The company submitted plans to the Army Corps of Engineers last month for the project, which includes a 550-foot bulkhead, a 257-foot pier and a 433-foot pier to be added at the shipyard along the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River.
Thomas Godfrey Jr., the ship-repair company's president and chief executive, said construction on the expansion would begin during the second half of this year and take two years to complete.
"We're really excited about it," Godfrey said. "This area has been underutilized for a very long time. It had not been developed to handle ship repair of any category."
The company, which employs between 400 and 500 workers, operates two floating dry docks and two marine railways at its repair facility.
The expansion also would require the dredging of 69,450 cubic yards from the basin just west of Pescara Creek, according to the application. The dredging will allow what the company is calling its West Yard to accommodate vessels and a 1,000-ton boat lift. Godfrey said the boat lift would be the largest of its kind in the country and enable the business to repair a variety of private and government vessels.
The dredged sediment would be transferred to the Craney Island Rehandling Basin in Portsmouth, according to the application. The corps review process ends March 30.
Godfrey said plans for the expansion have been in the works for the past year and would eventually result in the company expanding its work force by between 10 and 15 percent.
The company does ship repair work for both the military and private companies. Last year, Colonna's received $21.6 million under federal contracts, according to the federal Web site USAspending.gov.
Founded in 1875, Colonna's says it is the nation's oldest private ship-repair company. The firm cut its teeth repairing all types of wooden commercial sailing ships. In the 1920s, the yard branched into boat building as well. By the 1950s, Colonna's became strictly a ship repairer again.
Josh Brown, (757) 446-2318, josh.brown@pilotonline.com