CNO Visits NAS Brunswick
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS080110-14
Release Date: 1/10/2008 7:58:00 PM
By Mass Communication Specialist (SW/A) Christopher Thien, Naval Air Station Brunswick Public Affairs
BRUNSWICK, Maine (NNS) -- Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) Adm. Gary Roughead, arrived at Naval Air Station Brunswick (NASB), Jan. 8 on the first leg of his trip visiting public and private ship yards around the country.
His first stop after landing at NASB was General Dynamics' Bath Iron Works shipyard located in Bath, Maine. Roughead, along with U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine and Susan Collins, R-Maine received briefs and went on a tour of the yard.
"I was really impressed with what I saw at Bath Iron Works," Roughead said.
The group also toured the Pre-Commissioning Unit Sterett which was one day away from its final sea trial, obviously bringing back memories for the CNO.
"The first ship I served in was a Bath-built ship, and their reputation for quality is superb. It's a great shipyard. It always has been," said Roughead.
Bath Iron Works is one of the oldest shipyards in the country and has provided hundreds of ships for the Navy since World War I.
"They are building great ships that give us incredible capabilities," Roughead said.
Before the CNO departed NASB, he held an All Hands brief inside Hangar 5 where over 800 Sailors of all ranks and rates listened to his initial comments and then asked questions. The first question concerned Sailors' increasing roles in individual augmentee (IA) assignments.
"I think we are doing the right thing with IAs that we have deployed. The individual augmentees are doing great work in the Central Command area of operations. They are saving lives and supporting the ground troops in ways that we can't," Roughead said.
The numbers of IAs are steady and look as though they will stay that way. IA procedures such as notifications and support, especially for family members, are getting better.
"We are changing the ordering process. We are making the IA's part of the permanent change of station process. We put in more structure to better assign, order, train, and support IAs who are going forward," Roughead said.
Roughead, who recently returned from Iraq and speaking to Sailors there, seems to have grasped many of the concerns that average Sailors have about being away from their commands.
"The work they are doing is greatly appreciated and they are making a difference. I am often asked the question, 'If I go on an IA, am I hurting my chances of promotion?' That is not the case, in promotion, advancement and selection boards. IA's are a valuable asset to any Sailor's career," said Roughead.
One of Roughead's priorities as CNO is to build the Navy of tomorrow. The recently published Maritime Strategy calls for future Navy forces being deployed in more areas throughout the world. In order to achieve
this vision, Roughead reiterated the Navy's need for more ships, referring to 313 as "the floor," said Roughead.
While visiting the last active-duty military airfield in the Northeast, Roughead had many comments for Navy pilots and aircrew.
"Our P-3s have never been employed in missions like they are now. We are flying them at an incredible rate and that is just one dimension of the tactical aviation we use everyday around the world. We are an agile and capable air force," said Roughead.
When not speaking of the aerial capabilities the Navy has presently, Roughead looked to the future of naval aviation.
"I believe, based on what I have seen in my time as CNO, that our air force should be about 3,800 airplanes," said Roughead.
To make this number viable the Navy is looking toward new planes, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles.
Roughead left NAS Brunswick after speaking to regional media at the Air Operations Terminal, and continued his tour of private and public shipyards throughout the U.S.
For more news from Chief of Naval Operations, visit www.navy.mil/local/cno/.
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