ELECTRIC BOAT NEWS | EMPLOYEE NEWSLETTER EB NEWS PLATFORM GUESTS LISTEN TO SPEAKER REMARKS DURING THE KEEL LAYING CEREMONY OF SSN 795 PCU HYMAN G. RICKOVER HYMAN G. RICKOVER, THE 22ND SHIP OF THE VIRGINIA CLASS, FROM LEFT ADM. FRANK CALDWELL, DAVID BURNS (KEEL WELDER), ELEONORE RICKOVER, JOE WALSH AND SHIP SPONSOR DARLEEN GREENERT. SSN 795 IS THE SECOND SUBMARINE TO BE NAMED AFTER ADM. RICKOVER, THE PIONEER OF THE NUCLEAR NAVY. THE FIRST WAS THE LOS ANGELES-CLASS SUBMARINE USS KEEL LAYING HYMAN G. RICKOVER (SSN 709), WHICH SERVED FROM STORY ON PAGE 2 1984 TO 2006. SECOND QUARTER 2018 PLATFORM GUESTS LOOK ON AS DAVE BURNS WELDS MRS. GREENERTS INITIALS ON THE KEEL PLATE ELECTRIC BOAT HOSTS KEEL LAYING CEREMONY FOR SUBMARINE HYMAN G. RICKOVER n May 11, Ship Sponsor Darleen Greenert EB President Jeff Geiger recounted that authenticated the keel of the nuclear sub- EB’s relationship with Admiral Rickover started marine Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 795), her with a phone call. “While Westinghouse was O initials welded onto a steel plate that will developing a compact and practical nuclear reac- be permanently affixed to the submarine. Mrs. tor in 1950, then-Captain Rickover telephoned Greenert is the wife of former Chief of Naval O.P. Robinson Jr., EB’s general manager and a Operations Admiral Jonathan Greenert (retired). man he had never met. ‘Can you build a hull for EB hosted the ceremony at its Quonset Point an atomic submarine?’ Rickover asked. ‘Why, facility with more than 500 people in attendance sure,’ Robinson replied. ‘But what do we have to including local and Congressional dignitaries, do?’ ‘I don’t know myself,’ Rickover replied. Navy officials, employees and special guest Mrs. ‘But we’ll work it out.’ And work it out they Eleonore Rickover, widow of Admiral Rickover. did,” said Geiger. 2 | ELECTRIC BOAT NEWS | SECOND QUARTER 2018 Adm. Frank Caldwell, Jr., Director of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, stated, “Admiral Rickover’s gift to our nation’s defense — safe, reliable, and militarily superi- or naval nuclear propulsion — is as vital to our war-fighting edge today as it was at the beginning of the Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program 70 years ago. The U.S. Navy and our nation are proud to honor his achievements and legacy with this submarine.” Joe Walsh, who recently retired from EB as vice president of the Virginia and Moored Training Ship programs following a 32-year career in the Navy, was a former commanding officer of SSN 709, the first subma- rine Hyman G. Rickover, a Los Angeles-class sub- marine which served EB from 1984 to 2006. “Admiral Rickover is NEWS referred to as the father of the nuclear Navy, but he was much more than that. CONTENTS He defined the culture of the nuclear Navy — 2-5 Electric Boat Hosts Keel Laying Ceremony excellence is standard,” For Submarine Hyman G. Rickover said Walsh. “When you 6 Senator Murphy Visits EB To Talk Workforce Development perform a drill or an evo- 7 Huntington Ingalls Industries Authenticates lution flawlessly in the Keel Of Submarine Montana (SSN 794) nuclear Navy, you don’t SHIP SPONSOR DARLEEN GREENERT TRACES HER INITIALS ON THE KEEL 8-9 Connecicut And Rhode Island Invest In get a ‘great job’ or a EB’s Growth PLATE FOR PCU SSN 795. ‘well done.’ You get ‘no 9 Employee’s Life Changed By EB - deficiencies were noted’ Rhode Island Jobs Partnership because you didn’t 10-11 Marine Group Roundup exceed the standard, you 11 What EB Means To Me merely met it. 12-13 Resist The Seduction Of The Future Through Mindfullness “The new Hyman G. 13 Health Fairs Draw More Than XXX Rickover could not have Employees been more fortunate 14 EB Named Premier Partner Of The Decade than to be blessed with 2017 By American Red Cross Mrs. Darleen Greenert, 15 ‘Tis The Season For Scholarships who will serve her ship 16 QP Building Groundbreaking with the same level of Retirees love, dedication and 17 energy that Eleonore 18-19 Service Awards provided to SSN 709.” 19 EB Ethics The future Hyman G. 20 The 2018 Employee Incentive Program Rickover began con- struction on September MRS. ELEONORE RICKOVER AND THE CREW OF THE FUTURE SSN 795. 30, 2015 and is nearly 47% complete. ELECTRIC BOAT NEWS is published In her moving, emotional remarks, Mrs. Greenert thanked the shipbuilders in the by the Public Affairs Dept. audience. “When someone comes up to you or your family, and asks if what you do 75 Eastern Point Road • Groton, CT 06340 matters, I want to tell you it does. Now we have the 795, and I’ve seen her beautiful LYNN HENDY, Editor parts. You’re building her strong and safe. The families of the crew — their children, SYDNEY DAVIES, Contributing Editor their moms and dads, their brothers and sisters — they’re going to say goodbye to their submariners, and then they’re going to say hello again a few months later, BOB GALLO, GARY SLATER, because of what you do. Photography “Yes. It matters.” Phone (860) 433-4683 Fax (860) 433-8054 Email [email protected] ELECTRIC BOAT NEWS | SECOND QUARTER 2018 | 3 David Burns, the keel-plate welder for SSN 795, is a 38-year Quonset Point veteran and an X-ray welder with an acceptance rate of more than 99 percent. Last December, David was one of two EB welders who participated in a six-day sea trial aboard USS North Dakota. He also recently helped assemble the “Quad Pack,” a missile compartment section that will be installed on both the U.S. Navy’s Columbia Class and the Royal Navy’s Dreadnought Class strategic deterrent submarines. “It was an honor to represent Electric Boat and weld Mrs. Greenert’s initials on the keel plate,” said Burns. “I’m grateful for the opportunity – it was just a phenomenal experience.” X-RAY WELDER DAVE BURNS POSES WITH THE PRACTICE KEEL PLATES HE MADE PRIOR TO THE KEEL LAYING. THE FINAL KEEL PLATE FOR THE FUTURE SSN 795. REMARKS FROM ADM. FRANK CALDWELL, JR., DIRECTOR OF THE NAVAL NUCLEAR PROPULSION PROGRAM “I feel especially honored to speak here today having grown up as a submarine family member. My dad was interviewed by Adm. Rickover and in our house Adm. Rickover was extremely well known and well respected. “Today, we celebrate an American hero whose contributions have continued and will do so for many decades. Adm. Rickover once said, ‘good ideas and innovations must be driven into existence by courageous patience.’ These are the words he lived by...seventy years ago, Adm. Rickover developed the propulsion program to meet the Navy’s needs. At the same time, he was determined to cre- ate a nuclear power program that would propel the nation forward in innovation. “He brought that same determination to the development of a pro- ADM. FRANK CALDWELL, JR., DIRECTOR OF THE NAVAL NUCLEAR fessional submarine corps, and the pace of activity in the early years PROPULSION PROGRAM. of the program was unbelievable. Nautilus (designed and construct- ed by EB) was authorized in 1951, the keel was laid in 1952, the ship “While all of this was going on, three other nuclear sub- was commissioned in 1954 and in 1955 she went down the river marines were under construction: Seawolf, Skate and underway on nuclear power. Only three years later, Nautilus made Swordfish. The first ballistic missile submarine USS the historic transit from Pearl Harbor over the North Pole and into George Washington went on patrol in 1960, and right the Atlantic. behind that was the construction of the USS Enterprise that 4 | ELECTRIC BOAT NEWS | SECOND QUARTER 2018 “Today, we celebrate an American hero whose contributions have continued and will do so for many decades. Adm. Rickover once said, ‘good ideas and innovations must be driven into existence by ADMIRAL AND MRS. RICKOVER AT ADM. RICKOVER’S NAVAL ACADEMY THE CEREMONY FOR THE LAUNCH OF YEARBOOK PHOTO. courageous patience.’ THE FIRST SUBMARINE HYMAN G. RICKOVER (SSN 709) IN AUGUST 1983. — Adm. Frank Caldwell, Jr., THE FATHER OF THE NUCLEAR NAVY was commissioned in 1962. Today it’s BY SYDNEY DAVIES very difficult to comprehend the pace of this activity. yman G. Rickover was born in 1900 in Makow, Poland, which “Making this more impressive and at the time was under strict Russian rule. To escape the anti- remarkable was the fact that Adm. Rick- Semitic environment, in 1906 Rickover and his family moved to over had to overcome incredible odds to H New York, where they would reside temporarily before moving get this done, carving out new authorities, to Chicago. After high school, Rickover applied to the United States learning about the sciences, materials, Naval Academy of Annapolis, Maryland, and was accepted in 1918. thermodynamics, reactor plant physics Following graduation from the academy in 1922, Rickover was and much, much more. All while building ordered to his first ship, the La Vallette destroyer. Once aboard, Rick- a strong liaison and support on the hill as over was made engineering officer, becoming the youngest one in the well as strong partners in industry and squadron. From there, he would take on a multitude of roles aboard creating the phenomenally talented and several ships. devoted team at naval reactors. After applying for postgraduate training, Rickover spent a year at the “The results speak for themselves: the Naval Post Graduate School, the Naval Academy and earned a bachelor’s development of the first true submersibles degree in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University. He later with virtually unlimited power supplies attended the Navy’s Submarine School in New London, Connecticut.