Dear Shipbuilders,
I’m happy to welcome you back from the holiday break and to provide a preview of what to expect in the year ahead.

As we begin 2021, our top priority remains your health and safety and in doing all we can to provide a safe work environment. This means working in accordance with our shipbuilding safety regulations while also following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and state guidance for COVID-19.

It is critical we look out for ourselves and for each other – and that we all go home at the end of our shifts healthy and safe.

One of the things that makes Newport News Shipbuilding unique is our ability to support the Navy’s nuclear fleet. This comes with great responsibility. The next 12 months will continue to be busy for us. We will continue our focus on work execution – on meeting our commitments to our Navy customer and delivering the highest quality aircraft carriers and submarines.

Some of our critical milestones this year include delivery of the Virginia-class submarine Montana (SSN 794); achieving pressure hull complete on the New Jersey (SSN 796); and completing the stern build for the first-in-class Columbia (SSBN 826).

On the aircraft carrier side of the business, look for the crew of USS George Washington (CVN 73) to move aboard in the first part of the year. We also anticipate receiving a contract for the Refueling and Complex Overhaul of USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74), with the ship arriving this spring.

We will continue our work on John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) and our digital build efforts on Enterprise (CVN 80).

In the area of fleet support, we are on track to achieve several key milestones for both onsite and offsite submarine maintenance.

And finally, we will continue our focus on engagement, diversity and inclusion – creating a culture where every voice is heard.

We will accomplish all of these things with a keen eye on our cost structure, and make smart decisions about how we invest in our people and in the facility as, together, we move Newport News Shipbuilding forward. I’m excited for what the year holds, and I thank you for joining me on this journey.

Let’s get started.

Respectfully,
Jennifer Boykin
President
Newport News Shipbuilding