News

The 29th annual ASNE-Sika Ultimate Build-A-Boat Challenge was held at Freemason Harbor during the Norfolk Harborfest June 7-8, 2025. Many thanks to the boatbuilders, sponsors, and volunteers for another successful event!

Thunderstorms that threatened to wipe out the weekend held off until 6pm Sunday, just minutes after cleaning up the build site. Six of twenty teams had to back out in the last week but promised to be back next year. The 14 teams remaining were awesome! 

The Sunday Race event featured the largest crowd of Harborfest weekend, as told by Harborfest organizers. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the comradery was fantastic. 

Most importantly, ASNE raised $17,611.00 in total sponsorships and donations, with a NET of $10,382.00 for our Scholarship & STEM programs!

Please see the links below containing many photos of the event.

2025 BUILD-A-BOAT "ALL PICS" GALLERY (435 photos)

Favorites_2025 Build A Boat (updated link) (38 Photos)

Until next year... Paddle On 

ASNE’s grant-funded Promoting Electric Propulsion (PEP) Workforce Development program/competition returned to Virginia Beach April 15-17 for another exciting event. The ASNE Tidewater Section was thrilled to join forces with the PEP team by combining the Section's April dinner/meeting program with PEP25's industry reception.

The reception was a great opportunity for industry representatives to connect with the young engineers from various universities around the country. The students were outgoing, engaging, and eager to connect with industry reps. The students heard from several speakers discussing career paths in our industry. They also heard from ASNE Tidewater’s special guest speaker, Capt. Joseph E. Klopfer, USN, AIRLANT N43.

Thank you to Captain Megan Thomas, Force Materiel Officer (N4), Naval Surface Force Atlantic, who kicked off our technical dinner program in October with an informative and engaging discussion. The video presentation depicting the Navy's operations in the Red Sea and readiness discussions in general are at the forefront of industry and Navy priorities. 

Matthew A. Zirkle, Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy (Retired), Regional Director, Submarine Industrial Base delivered an engaging presentation to ASNE Tidewater members on March 20th. He highlighted Submarine Industrial Base activities across the nation in support of Virginia and Columbia Class submarine construction, emphasizing maritime workforce development for the future. A lively Q&A session followed. 

We were very pleased to have NAVIFOR Deputy Director, Ms. Elizabeth Nashold, speak at ASNE Tidewater Section’s February 21st dinner/meeting. Ms. Nashold provided an overview of NAVIFOR Type Commander responsibilities managing the manpower, training, modernization, and maintenance needs of the Information Warfare community.

NNSY Commander, CAPT “Jip” Mosman, USN, was ASNE Tidewater Section’s guest speaker in January. CAPT Mosman’s presentation addressed current operations at NNSY and provided an update for the Section members and guests on the Navy’s Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program. That, along with other improvements, will enable NNSY to accommodate the Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) carrier class. CAPT Mosman also addressed training the shipyard workforce of the future. 

At the November dinner/meeting, ASNE Tidewater members and guests had the pleasure of hearing from Mr. Matthew Swartz, Executive Director and Chief of Staff, U.S. Fleet Forces Command.  Mr. Swartz provided great insight on the operational challenges the fleet faces and how the maintenance community can help mitigate and support the greatest Navy in the world, even though China is nipping at our heals.

At the October dinner/meeting, ASNE Tidewater Section had the pleasure of having CAPT Stephen Sarar join us to discuss how SURFMEPP excelled during his 3-year tour (which included COVID), giving us some interesting insight into the importance of SURFMEPP in availability planning and funding, and addressing recent work with new organizations. With his three-year tour coming to a close, CAPT Sarar was able to give the attendees a valuable overview of the process which has proven to show success in surface ship maintenance planning. 

On March 15th, the ASNE Tidewater Section was privileged to have Virginia USCG Sector Commander CAPT Jennifer Stockwell join us as our guest speaker for the monthly dinner.  CAPT Stockwell addressed her authorities and responsibilities as the Captain of the Port and as Sector Commander, and highlighted her priorities and biggest challenges. 

Additionally, CDR Jeff Zamarin, USCG, who came with CAPT Stockwell, was able to provide details behind the engineering challenges that the USCG Virginia sector had to overcome and provided an overview of the USCG's newest shipbuilding plan.

The Captain's presentation is available to view HERE. 

For February's monthly dinner, CAPT Jay Young, the Commanding Officer of Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center (MARMC), discussed specific examples of MARMC work performed on Atlantic Fleet ships, emphasized the importance of TSRAs in assessing ships, and highlighted that USS GETTYSBURG was finally underway the week of the dinner, for the first time in 8 years. 

On a more sobering note, CAPT Young addressed the recent rash of MARMC suicides and the efforts his command and the Navy are making to bolster in-house counseling.  It was a great opportunity for attendees involved in ship repair to hear from our local RMC leadership.

The Captain's presentation is linked here.