News

The Tidewater ASNE Section was pleased to have RADM James P. Downey, USN, Program Executive Officer for Aircraft Carriers speak at our March 16 dinner/meeting. The Admiral updated the Section on the post construction and operational testing of the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier - USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78). Admiral Downey also talked about follow on construction of CVN-79 and CVN-80 as well maintenance and operational updates on the existing carrier fleet.

The meeting was well attended with almost 70 members and guests joining us in person or on-line.  The Admiral's presentation is available to view here.

ASNE Tidewater's February Dinner/Meeting program featured Mr. Glen Sturtevant (SES), Director for Science & Technology at PEO Ships and NAVSEA’s Surface Ship Maintenance & Modernization Directorate SEA-21. Glen focused his presentation on the Surface Navy Warship Arctic Operability; the challenges and opportunities to extend the frequency and duration of U.S. Navy surface ship operations in this new frontier of critical strategic importance to the United States. His presentation is available here.

Glen has been a staunch supporter of ASNE and has addressed the Tidewater Section before.  We always welcome his unique insight into the development and fielding of critical S&T programs. Thanks Glen!

Our January 19th Dinner/Meeting program featured tag team presentations by Doug Smith, President & CEO of the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance, and Matt Smith (no relation), Alliance’s Director for Offshore Wind.

With 40% of Virginia’s electricity to be sourced from renewable energy by 2030, a federal target to deploy 30GW by 2030, and active OSW projects already in 11 states, the demand signal for Offshore Wind is finally becoming real and coming fast. And the state of Virginia, with its port infrastructure, skilled maritime workforce, terminal facilities and waterfront acreage in Hampton Roads / Tidewater, is well positioned to become a major supply chain hub for this emerging industry.

This topic was requested by and of great interest to our ASNE-Tidewater member companies looking to listen, learn and ultimately diversify their future business. We anticipate encore presentations at future ASNE dinner meetings as the OSW market unfolds.

If you were unable to attend the January program, here is a link to the presentation.

ASNE's Northern New England (NNE) Section held their first virtual meeting on December 9, 2021.  The meeting featured guest speaker Joe Satterfield, SUPSHIP, Bath, ME who spoke about the Constellation Class Frigate (FFG 62) Program.  The Constellation (FFG 62) class guided missile frigates will be a highly capable and survivable multi-mission asset designed for operations in blue water and littoral environments. 

Linked here is a copy of the Constellation (FFG 62) program overview presentation.

Our December dinner/meeting program featured naval fiction author David Poyer as our guest speaker. David was a US Naval Academy graduate, served 30 years in the Navy, and worked in industry for  several years including as a naval engineer at Newport News Shipbuilding, among other interesting positions. He has published over 50 books, including his latest publication Arctic Sea.  Poyer discussed how his education and experience in naval engineering, defense analysis, and advanced technology both contributed to, and gained from, his work in naval fiction. 

At our November dinner/meeting program, RADM Bill Greene, USN, USFFC Fleet Maintenance Officer, spoke at length about the Sailor Self Sufficiency Campaign and the Future of Sailor Maintenance.  Adm. Greene emphasized the career learning continuum of sailors and the application of IT resources.

Following his remarks, the Admiral took many questions from the dinner attendees, from both in-person attendees and those attending virtually.

We appreciate RADM Greene's continued support of ASNE and the Tidewater Section.

The ASNE Tidewater Section kicked off their Sept 2021—May 2022 dinner schedule with ASNE President Mark Hugel as guest speaker. Mark provided an update on Society priorities and challenges in light of the pandemic impacts over the past 18 months. Dinner/meetings are now in-person with a virtual option available. 

It was also exciting to see Chief Warrant Officer 3, Travis Otte, accept ASNE Tidewater’s Engineer of the Quarter award for 3rd quarter 2021!  The CWO’s Commanding Officer, Joseph P. Thompson, USS Mesa Verde, provided the Letter of Recommendation. He acknowledged the Warrant Officer's knowledge and professionalism along with his "tireless devotion to duty" as the ship's Main Propulsion Assistant and Ship Maintenance Management Officer. Congratulations!

Welcome Back!  The Tidewater Section is so pleased to announce that we were able to host live and in-person dinner events in April and May. After a year of cancellations and virtual forums, yes it felt as fresh and welcoming as Spring.

On April 20^th, Captain Steve Sarar (CO, SURFMEPP) addressed an audience that was limited by CDC and State guidelines to just 25 in-person attendees, plus we had another 30 guests on-line. Capt. Sarar was terrific, and even with limited capacity, this gathering felt like we had finally turned a corner. In early May restrictions were relaxed again to a maximum of 100 indoors, and on May 19^th VADM Bill Galinis (NAVSEA) spoke to an audience of 60 in-person plus 38 virtual guests from as far away as Bahrain.

Thank you ASNE members for your patience and flexibility during this pandemic, and to Admiral Galinis for helping us close out our Fall – Spring program year in high style. 

Many thanks to those who were able to join us in-person at our dinner/meeting program on April 21.  It is wonderful to be able to meet face-to-face once again after so many months.  We also greatly appreciate those members and guests who joined us virtually! 

ASNE Chairman Andy Vasquez recognized Guy Zanti and Kathleen Murray who served numerous positions within the ASNE Tidewater Section over the last several years.  Guy, Kathleen and family will be leaving the Hampton Roads area and we wish them all the best.  We are very grateful for their service and support of ASNE.  Thank you Guy and Kathleen!

Captain Stephen Sarar, Commanding Officer, Surface Maintenance Engineering Planning Program (SURFMEPP), was our guest speaker for the evening.  The Captain presented SURFMEPP’s mission and vision (what they do), footprint (where they are), Product Value Stream (how they do it), Directive Maintenance (what they’re focused on), and Life Cycle Investment Trends: Surface Ship Engineered Operating Cycle (SSEOC) & Life Cycle Health Assessment (LCHA) (how they grade their work). 

 Here is a link to CAPT Sarar's presentation.

Students Neil St. Clair and Daniel Erdogan with ASNE TW's Old Dominion University Chapter provided a recap of their recent tour of VMASC:

“On March 23, the ASNE Tidewater Old Dominion University Student chapter had the privilege to tour the Virginia Modeling Analysis & Simulation Center (VMASC) in Suffolk. The tour began with a brief history lesson of VMASC, which transitioned into a conversation about their various projects. Some of these projects include providing assistance on building the highway that leads into Busch Gardens and STEM fairs for children on the autism spectrum to stimulate development and cognitive function.

Students had an opportunity to experience some of the simulations hands-on. First, the students got to fly a Cessna plane around a virtual Hampton Roads with a flight simulator. Second, the students were introduced to a virtual reality simulation that simulated a bat's life and how echolocation works. Students were tasked with using echolocation to find and eat mosquitoes while avoiding obstacles such as trees and mountains. It was a fascinating look into the technology being developed by the simulation and  modeling industry.

The final stop was a look into the digital shipbuilding lab; the students were presented a boat that VMASC had previously brought to competition. The students also got an insight into how AR (Augmented Reality) was used in the shipbuilding industry to place and fit pipes, doors, and other various components a ship would have. Overall it was a very enlightening experience. We hope to continue our work on the ASNE Promoting Electric Propulsion (PEP) competition at this facility and  other projects.

A special thank you to Mr. Mike Barkan and Mr. Joe Kosteczko for giving us the opportunity to tour this extraordinary facility.”