On June 29th, the Virginia Ship Repair Association had the honor of hosting members of the Hampton Roads Workforce Council and 17 mentors and youth leaders from the Hampton Roads area on a two-part tour of General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk and Fairbanks Morse Defense. It was geared to be an informative tour to familiarize them with what exactly it entails to be part of the ship repair industry. In turn, these mentors and youth leaders can go back to their communities and educate the students on what opportunities are available in the maritime industry.
The first stop in the tour was at General Dynamics NASSCO-Norfolk. They were greeted by Ali Broemeling, Learning & Development Supervisor for Production; Christian Stanco, Director of Production; Nicole Ibinson, Trade Superintendent; and Candace Winslow, Production Associate. The group was led to the dry dock where the trades workers were hard at work with the Iwo Jima. They were met by Kyle Pins, Production Associate, and AJ Evans, Dry Dock Supervisor, who explained how the process begins when a ship comes in for repair and all the steps that are required just to get a ship into the dry dock.
Next, the group continued on to the Electric Shop where they were met by Scott Stinebiser, who explained the differences between electrical to run your home and electrical to run a ship. Then they moved on to the Pipe Shop where they met Jeff “Wiz” Davis, who provided an explanation of all the different types of materials, metals, and welding rods used to fabricate each pipe. Next, they met with Rigging Foreman, Jamale McClain, who explained how the cranes work, emphasizing the importance of safety, such as moving heavy product from hundreds of feet in the air and safely putting it down on the deck of a ship without causing damage. The group continued on to meet John Miser and Al Harper of the Inside Machine Shop. They both emphasized the need for machinists in the industry, and that it is a great opportunity for the youth of the future. Lastly, the group visited the structural shop where they were greeted by Matte Jette, who explained how steel is used on the ships.
The group had the opportunity to see the USS New York. Nicole Ibinson explained to the mentors in the group the symbolism of the ship. It was manufactured with the steel that came from the World Trade Center buildings in New York after 9-11. She explained NASSCO undocked the USS New York on the 20th Anniversary of 9-11, and it is due to return to Naval Station Norfolk at the end of the summer now that the repair work is almost complete.
The last stop in our tour was at Fairbanks Morse Defense. The group was greeted by Jarrett Washington, Service Director of the Eastern Region, who shared the history of Fairbanks Morse Defense. The company has been around for 150 years. They are currently moving to a new, larger facility in the Hampton Roads area to accommodate their growing business, so their need for workers will be increasing as well.
Mr. Washington led the group on a tour of their warehouse where they had engines being repaired and put back together again. The size of one of the cylinders was the size of a large man. They also showed the group an engine that was almost as big as the tour bus they had arrived on.
The entire experience of touring the facilities of these two industry partners was captivating. There are a lot of moving parts and work that goes into repairing ships. The Virginia Ship Repair Association is grateful to have had the opportunity to work with our partners hosting the Hampton Roads Workforce Council on this tour. The value of information these partners provided the youth leaders and mentors will be passed on to the youth of Hampton Roads to encourage the growth of the ship repair industry.
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