DVIDS News – Assistant Secretary to the Navy for Energy, Installations, Environment tours NUWC Division Newport, May 5

NEWPORT, R.I. Naval Undersea Warfare Center, (NUWC), Division Newport received Assistant Secretary of Navy for Energy, Installations and Environment Meredith Berger, May 5, for tours and a series awards presentations.

Berger opened her trip by presenting Division Newport the Chief Of Naval Operations Award for Safety Ashore, in the large, industrial category. This was the second consecutive win of the warfare center.

Berger stated that it was an honor to have the opportunity present the CNO Award for safety. This award demonstrates that you are not only fulfilling your mission, but that you are also doing it in a safe way. We are grateful for your example and setting the standard.

The award, which is valid for fiscal year 2021 and runs from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, recognizes Division Newport’s Safety and Occupational Health Branch’s innovative programs, including compliance with safety standards and proactive mishap prevention efforts.

Dennis Tierney (Infrastructure Division head), accepted the award for the team. He was joined by Camie Graley; Kenneth Hupf; Joseph Johnson; nurse Deborah Jones; Augustine Razo, Elizabeth Servant and Cody Thomas; and retired employees Carol Bernier, Sue Clarke, and Mike Kalwak.

More information on this award is available here. [link — https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Media/News/Article-View/Article/3002515/nuwc-division-newport-wins-chief-of-naval-operations-award-for-safety-ashore/]

Division Newport Commanding Officer Capt. Chad Hennings said. This is a reflection upon the amazing work you do.
Two personnel awards were also presented. The first was the Meritorious Civilian Service Award, which was given to John DiMaio, a retired Infrastructure Division employee. This is the third highest civilian honorary award bestowed by U.S. Navy.

DiMaio, who died in December 2021 after serving as a project and designer engineer, and as Division Newport’s resident architects for 18 years. His knowledge and pride of ownership were instrumental in the design and completion of several dozen facility remodeling projects.

The second personal award was Sailor of the Quarter honors, which was presented to Petty Officer 2nd class Brody Costantini as a submarines information systems technician. Costantini was honored for his outstanding performance as a member of the Undersea Warfare Electromagnetic Systems Department’s test team.

Berger expressed her gratitude to all recipients of awards. I enjoyed getting to know you all and spending time with you.

Berger had the opportunity to tour several Division Newports facilities which tie into her role of ASN for EIE. She is responsible to provide oversight and policy for the Navy and Marine Corps energy, climate resilience, infrastructure sustainment, restoration, modernization, military construction, acquisition, utilization, and disposal of real estate and facilities; environmental protection and restoration and conservation of natural resources; safety and occupational health.

The tour also included stops at the Unmanned Undersea Vehicle Laboratory and the Submarine Ocean Interface Test Facilities.

Dr. Stephanie Watwood is the marine species technical project manger in Ranges Engineering and Analysis Department. She opened by describing some of Division Newport’s efforts in environmental modeling and monitoring.

This includes monitoring the Navy’s instrumented ranges passively, and developing and implementing methods to understand the impact of Navy activities upon marine species.

Watwood stated that a lot of our work involves basic research to understand the behavior and biology of animals in ranges.

This includes monitoring the Navy’s instrumented ranges passively, and developing and implementing methods to understand the impact of Navy activities upon marine species.

Berger said that understanding the dynamic between environmental factors and mission readiness is crucial for the Navy’s success in its mission.

Berger visited the Advanced Submarine Launcher Facility as well as the Three-inch Launcher Test Facility. These submarine-based, land-based testing facilities enable scientists and engineers from Division Newport to test the performance of existing and developing weapons systems on-site.

Torpedoes have been used here since the 1850s. So it has been a complete evolution of the system in Newport, Chris DelMastro of the Undersea Warfare Platforms and Payload Integration Department explained.

DelMastro led a tour of the UUV Lab and described some of the ongoing projects. These projects involved both medium-sized UUV technology and long-duration UUV technologies.

DelMastro stated that we partnered with the government’s brightest minds and the best of academia to improve the state of the art in UUVs. Over the years, the Navy has made many investments and we are the stewards to ensure that the fleet has the capability to transition to those investments.

Read NUWC Division Newports implements the Navy’s Arctic strategy with ICEX support to learn more and see photos from this years event. [link- https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Media/News/SavedNewsModule/Article/2994212/nuwc-division-newport-executes-the-navys-arctic-strategy-through-icex-support/]

The U.S. Navy’s shore command NUWC Division Newport works within the Naval Sea Systems Command. It engineers, builds, and supports America’s combat systems and ships. NUWC Newport is responsible for research, development, testing and evaluation, engineering, fleet support, and fleet support for subs, autonomous underwater system, undersea offensive, defensive weapon systems, and countermeasures related to undersea warfare.

NUWC Newport is the nation’s oldest warfare center. Its heritage can be traced back to the Naval Torpedo Station, established on Goat Island in Newport Harbor, in 1869. Capt. Chad Hennings commands NUWC Newport. It has major detachments on West Palm Beach, Florida and Andros Island, Bahamas. There are also test facilities at Seneca Lake, Fisher’s Island, New York, Leesburg and Dodge Pond, Connecticut.

Join our team! NUWC Division Newport is one of the 20 largest employers on Rhode Island. It employs a diverse workforce that is highly educated, skilled, and highly qualified. We are always looking for scientists, engineers, and other STEM professionals. We also need talented business, finance, and logistics experts who want to be at forefront of undersea development and research. Please connect with NUWC Division Newport Recruiting at this site- https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NUWC-Newport/Career-Opportunities/ and follow us on LinkedIn @NUWC-Newport and on Facebook @NUWCNewport.