By Larry Favinger
Staff Columnist
KITTERY—
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus got a first hand look at the work and workers of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Monday and was suitably impressed by both.
“This has been a terrific day for me,” Secretary Mabus said, during a short meeting with the press at the shipyard’s pass office following his tour.
Turning his attention to the workforce he said, “I want to brag on them” for doing the kind of work they do because there is “zero tolerance” for defects where submarines are concerned.
“I want to thank the people here for being so welcoming and for doing such a good job for the Navy and the country,” he said.
He said the work on submarines at the yard is being done well, under cost and ahead of schedule, meaning that more of the submarines can be kept at sea.
He cited the cooperation between all parties involved at the shipyard for accomplishing this, and noted that what happens at Portsmouth happens other places as well. “This is one shipyard,” he said of the Navy facilities, “and one Navy.”
During the briefing Secretary Mabus was flanked by U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee, and U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud.
Pingree said it was “wonderful to have you (Secretary Mabus) here” to see the fine work being done in the state of Maine. Earlier in the day Secretary Mabus toured Bath Iron Works with Rep. Pingree and Michaud and U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe.
Rep. Michaud also thanked the secretary for visiting the shipyard because “the work they do here is vital.” He said the work at Portsmouth is “the gold standard” for the Navy.
Secretary Mabus is the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy, sworn into office May 19. In his position he leads the Navy and Marine Corps and is responsible for an annual budget in excess of $150 billion and nearly 900,000 men and women.
The Secretary of the Navy is responsible for conducting all the affairs of the Department of the Navy, including recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, training, and mobilizing along with overseeing the construction, outfitting, and repair of naval ships, equipment and facilities.
Prior to joining the administration of President Barack Obama, Secretary Mabus served in many government positions and in the private sector.
A former governor of Mississippi, he worked for the enactment of the Better Education for Success Tomorrow program, considered to be one of the most comprehensive education reform programs in America.
He is a former Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Clinton Administration in 1994. Prior to becoming Governor he was elected State Auditor of Mississippi and served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy aboard the cruiser USS Little Rock.
Secretary Mabus is a native of Ackerman, Miss., and received a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Mississippi, a Master’s Degree from Johns Hopkins University, and a Law Degree from Harvard Law School.
He has been awarded the U.S. Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award, the U.S. Army’s Distinguished Civilian Service Award, the Martin Luther King Social Responsibility Award from the King Center in Atlanta, the National Wildlife Federation Conservation Achievement Award, the King Abdul Aziz Award from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Mississippi Association of Educators’ Friend of Education Award.
Photo caption: Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. (Wikipedia.org photo)
Staff Columnist
KITTERY—
Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus got a first hand look at the work and workers of the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard Monday and was suitably impressed by both.
“This has been a terrific day for me,” Secretary Mabus said, during a short meeting with the press at the shipyard’s pass office following his tour.
Turning his attention to the workforce he said, “I want to brag on them” for doing the kind of work they do because there is “zero tolerance” for defects where submarines are concerned.
“I want to thank the people here for being so welcoming and for doing such a good job for the Navy and the country,” he said.
He said the work on submarines at the yard is being done well, under cost and ahead of schedule, meaning that more of the submarines can be kept at sea.
He cited the cooperation between all parties involved at the shipyard for accomplishing this, and noted that what happens at Portsmouth happens other places as well. “This is one shipyard,” he said of the Navy facilities, “and one Navy.”
During the briefing Secretary Mabus was flanked by U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a member of the House Armed Services Committee and the Seapower and Expeditionary Forces Subcommittee, and U.S. Rep. Michael Michaud.
Pingree said it was “wonderful to have you (Secretary Mabus) here” to see the fine work being done in the state of Maine. Earlier in the day Secretary Mabus toured Bath Iron Works with Rep. Pingree and Michaud and U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe.
Rep. Michaud also thanked the secretary for visiting the shipyard because “the work they do here is vital.” He said the work at Portsmouth is “the gold standard” for the Navy.
Secretary Mabus is the 75th United States Secretary of the Navy, sworn into office May 19. In his position he leads the Navy and Marine Corps and is responsible for an annual budget in excess of $150 billion and nearly 900,000 men and women.
The Secretary of the Navy is responsible for conducting all the affairs of the Department of the Navy, including recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, training, and mobilizing along with overseeing the construction, outfitting, and repair of naval ships, equipment and facilities.
Prior to joining the administration of President Barack Obama, Secretary Mabus served in many government positions and in the private sector.
A former governor of Mississippi, he worked for the enactment of the Better Education for Success Tomorrow program, considered to be one of the most comprehensive education reform programs in America.
He is a former Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Clinton Administration in 1994. Prior to becoming Governor he was elected State Auditor of Mississippi and served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy aboard the cruiser USS Little Rock.
Secretary Mabus is a native of Ackerman, Miss., and received a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Mississippi, a Master’s Degree from Johns Hopkins University, and a Law Degree from Harvard Law School.
He has been awarded the U.S. Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Award, the U.S. Army’s Distinguished Civilian Service Award, the Martin Luther King Social Responsibility Award from the King Center in Atlanta, the National Wildlife Federation Conservation Achievement Award, the King Abdul Aziz Award from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Mississippi Association of Educators’ Friend of Education Award.
Photo caption: Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. (Wikipedia.org photo)
