Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Gilday, travelled to Bath, Maine, May 10 to visit Bath Iron Works with Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Angus King.
Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Mike Gilday, travelled to Bath, Maine, May 10 to visit Bath Iron Works with Sen. Susan Collins and Sen. Angus King.
"One of the most important reasons I am in Maine today is to ensure every person here knows their work is critically important to our Navy," said Gilday. "DDGs are the workhorse of our Fleet, and simply put, you can't get to the fight if you don't have ships to sail there. To the entire workforce here at Bath Iron Works who are responsible for helping us generate warfighting readiness, you have my profound thanks."
During the trip, Gilday and the Senators saw Bath Iron Works' shipyard facilities, toured and met with Sailors aboard USS Daniel Inouye (DDG 118).
"It was a pleasure to host Admiral Gilday in Maine to tour Bath Iron Works," said Senator Collins. "I am proud of the highly skilled employees at BIW who build the best ships in the world. Today's visit provided Adm. Gilday with the opportunity to see firsthand the impressive work that they do to provide our sailors with high quality and technologically advanced destroyers. As a senior member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, I will continue to be a strong advocate for the shipyard, and I look forward to working with the Navy to increase the size and capabilities of our fleet."
During the tour they also visited the Bath Iron Works Training Academy, which teaches new workers to become pipefitters, welders, tinsmiths, and other tradespeople.
"I've long believed that 'one day of seeing is better than one hundred days of reading.' Today, the CNO lived by that mantra by coming to get a firsthand look at the important work being done at Bath Iron Works," said King. "The ships being built at BIW are the workhorses of the Navy, playing an outsized role in our national defense - and they're all the product of the skill and dedication of Maine's shipbuilders. I'm grateful to the CNO for taking the time to visit BIW, which is an essential part of our national defense infrastructure and a major economic engine for the State of Maine. In the months ahead, I will continue collaborating with Navy leaders and my colleagues on the Senate Armed Services Committee to ensure that this shipyard has the tools it need to continue bolstering our national defense and supporting thousands of good-paying jobs for families throughout Maine."
The visit marked CNO's first trip to Bath Iron Works.
