New Navy chief backs shipbuilding Winter, visiting BIW and Kittery, won’t commit to number of warships

KITTERY – U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe said Friday that Navy Secretary Donald Winter is on the same page with Maine’s congressional delegation when it comes to shipbuilding, but Winter declined to commit to a specific number of warships.

Speaking as the newly installed Navy secretary paid a visit to Bath, Snowe praised his efforts to seek enough shipbuilding work to support the two shipyards that build destroyers: Maine’s Bath Iron Works and Mississippi’s Ingalls shipyard.

“We’re all in sync,” Snowe, R-Maine, said afterward.

Later, while meeting with the press after touring the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Winter declined to commit to anything beyond construction of the first two DD(X) destroyers – one for Bath, one for Ingalls – that are scheduled to be built.

A draft copy of a report on the Navy’s long-term needs calls for bringing the total number of ships to 313. But Winter said he’s working with Chief of Naval Operations Michael Mullin to determine how many and what types of ships are needed.

“It’s still a work in progress, if you will,” Winter said.

Winter, who was sworn in Jan. 3, came to Maine to get a firsthand look at Bath Iron Works, along with the Brunswick Naval Air Station, which is being closed. He ended his day at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, which was spared by the base closing commission.

He said he was impressed by what he saw in Kittery, especially the workers’ attitude and their commitment to become as efficient as possible.

“The people clearly have a real understanding of what it means to engage in a ‘lean process.’ They’re working it for both proficiency and safety. And I was pleased to see both the progress they’re making and their commitment to the overall progress.”

He said it was an advantage to come start his job after the completion of the base closing process to bring a fresh perspective on the situation.

“The recommendations have become law and I accept it. From my perspective, the critical issue is where do we go from here, how do we best use the assets we have, and how do we implement the law as it has been written,” he said.

He declined to say whether more jobs will be added at Portsmouth. There has been talk of a hiring freeze, but the Navy has denied that’s the case.

It’s no secret that Snowe and other members of Maine’s congressional delegation butted heads with Winter’s predecessor, Gordon England. Snowe was one of two senators who delayed England’s appointment to serve as deputy defense secretary.

England caused alarm with statements suggesting he was willing to sacrifice one of the shipyards to save money for the Pentagon. He further raised ire when he backed the Pentagon’s proposal to close Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery.

Maine’s and Mississippi’s congressional delegations were successful in thwarting the Pentagon’s winner-take-all proposal for the next-generation DD(X) stealth destroyer.

Critics said that proposal could have the effect of driving either Bath Iron Works or Ingalls out of business, causing an irreversible reduction in the nation’s shipbuilding capacity while eliminating any hope for competition down the road.

Instead, the Navy adopted a different approach in which the shipyards will work together on the design and each will build one warship. Beyond that, there’s no firm acquisition strategy, Winter noted Friday.

“I’m going to watch the process carefully and we will go ahead and see how we proceed from that point on,” Winter said. Noting his short tenure, he said it would be “premature” to offer any comment beyond that.

Nonetheless, Snowe said she was pleased with the direction Winter is taking the Navy. She feels there’s a commitment both to the DD(X) program beyond the initial ships, as well as providing enough work to keep both Bath and Ingalls afloat.

“This is the first time we’ve been able to chart a definitive course in which there will be two shipyards,” she said.