Electric Boat was privileged to host the newly sworn in U.S. Secretary of Defense, Dr. Mark T. Esper, at the Groton shipyard on Tuesday, August 27, just one month into his tenure. Esper was joined by General Dynamics (GD), Navy and elected officials, signaling the importance of submarine programs to our company and our country.
The group included GD CEO & Chairman Phebe Novakovic; Rob Smith, Executive VP of GD Marine Group; James “Hondo” Geurts, Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition); Conn. Gov. Ned Lamont; Conn. Congressman Joe Courtney; Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal of Conn. and Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island.
Esper began his tour with a company overview provided by EB President Jeff Geiger, followed by walk-throughs of the Combat & Control System Module Off-Hull Assembly &Test Site (COATS) and Building 260.
Outside of Building 8N, Esper spoke with EB shipbuilders and the crew of USS South Dakota (SSN 790).
“It’s my fourth week on the job, and it’s a great privilege to be here,” Esper told the group. “Thank you for what you do. It’s a great example of the cooperation and collaboration between hardworking Americans, all committed to the same mission—deterring conflict around the globe, particularly on the high seas. It’s a model of American hard work, ingenuity and cooperation.”
When asked about the importance of the Virginia-class attack submarines, Esper replied, “We are back to the era of great-power competition between the U.S., Russia and now China. We have a distinct advantage in undersea warfare, with both our attack boats and boomers. They are innovative, well-built machines of war, and we have to maintain that overmatch. That means we have to continue to grow the fleet and build capabilities into each version, whether it’s this block or the succeeding block.”
Esper began his tour with a company overview provided by EB President Jeff Geiger, followed by walk-throughs of the Combat & Control System Module Off-Hull Assembly & Test Site (COATS) and Building 260.
Outside of Building 8N, Esper spoke with EB shipbuilders and the crew of USS South Dakota (SSN 790).
“It’s my fourth week on the job, and it’s a great privilege to be here,” Esper told the group. “Thank you for what you do. It’s a great example of the
cooperation and collaboration between hardworking Americans, all committed to the same mission—deterring conflict around the globe, particularly on the high seas. It’s a model of American hard work, ingenuity and cooperation.”
When asked about the importance of the Virginia-class attack submarines, Esper replied, “We are back to the era of great-power competition between the U.S., Russia and now China. We have a distinct advantage in undersea warfare, with both our attack boats and boomers. They are innovative, well-built machines of war, and we have to maintain that overmatch. That means we have to continue to grow the fleet and build capabilities into each version, whether it’s this block or the succeeding block.”
