Newport News Shipbuilding constructed the U.S. Navy’s entire fleet of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, but it is not the only shipyard that maintains the floating cities.

Maintenance work on carriers is shared among three shipyards – NNS, Norfolk Naval Shipyard and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. The overlapping work led to the creation of Carrier Team One – which facilitates knowledge sharing among the shipyards, ship’s force and other stakeholders – more than two decades ago.

“The ultimate goal of Carrier Team One is to get ships out on time,” said Dennis Moss, a Master Shipbuilder and general foreman at NNS who is part of Carrier Team One. The organization is made up of different knowledge-sharing networks (KSNs).

Moss is part of the Co-Yard KSN, which is responsible for getting knowledge to the deckplate. Representatives from the shipyards work together and share information about the similar work they are performing. “It’s a two-way street. We give a lot of information, and we get a lot of information. We lean in on technologies and innovative ways to do things,” Moss said.

During the Carrier Team One annual meeting this summer, Rear Adm. James Downey, program executive officer for Aircraft Carriers, recognized Moss for assisting Norfolk and Puget Sound naval shipyards as they prepare for the Ford-class ships on which they will perform maintenance in the future.

“This is where Newport News becomes the big player because we designed and built the ship, we’ve taken it out and we’ve gone through the first availability,” said Moss, who has been involved with Ford-class construction since 2003. “Now, the two Navy yards are leaning in on us for a lot of lessons learned.”

Moss spent most of his career as an outside machinist before becoming a construction supervisor and later moving to his current role on Carrier Team One with Chuck Longacre (X70). It was a “huge honor” to be recognized by Downey for his efforts, but Moss said the mission is the focus.

“This is all about getting the innovations, the new technologies, the better ways to do things down to the mechanics so they have a better chance at success,” Moss said. “We’re trying to get the Carrier Team One message out to get more people involved. The more people are involved, the more problems we can find and resolve.”