(Via Ho’okele News)
Story and photo by Sean Hughes
Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard Public Affairs
Adm. Scott Swift, commander of U.S. Pacific Fleet, and Pacific Fleet Master Chief Susan Whitman visited Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY&IMF), Nov. 2,to learn details of the command’s mission, workload and innovation initiatives.
“Between Pearl Harbor maintenance of home-ported ships, Guam support and AOR voyage repairs and emergency response, the visit really drove the point of the command’s importance home,” said Swift. The command’s submarine and surface fleet-maintenance mission is centered at Pearl Harbor and extends across the Asia- Pacific region.
Swift and Whitman toured drydocks and industrial facilities to learn from shipyard leaders and workers about how they keep up with increased fleet nuclear and non-nuclear workload, improve Virginia-class submarine maintenance, train new apprentices, partner with the private-sector repair industry and academia, and maintain steward-ship responsibilities in facilities and historic preservation.
“It’s all so amazing, from the historic and heritage perspective to the education connections, along with the nature of the work itself in routine and emergent repairs,” Swift said.
While visiting a submarine project in drydock, Swift, Whitman and the project team discussed new waterfront technology initiatives, such as waterfront wireless connectivity and implementation of electronic tablets, the need for accelerated development of new maintenance personnel to manage fleet workload, and in caring for the submarine crew’s quality of life.
“All the levels of maintenance you’re responsible for, and what you’re doing in finding—and making— opportunities to innovate is remarkable,” Swift told Capt. Jamie Kalowsky, shipyard commander.
“It’s good to see the command taking these opportunities,” Swift said.
