Photo By Oscar Pope | Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center’s (MARMC) Advance Welding Class instructors...... read more read more
Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center’s (MARMC), Hull Division, Code 920, collaborated with Surface Warfare Schools Command (SWSC) Norfolk to instruct an Advanced Welding School in Building CEP-200, Sept. 11, 2023.
James Hopper, zone manager for MARMC’s Production Department; Everett Preston, weld instructor; Michael Vasquez, hull technician; and Tatyana Johnson, weld instructor, collectively bring over 50 years of welding experience and lead the pilot class.
“The class is in response to a shortage of welders fleet-wide,” said Hopper, an advanced welder and retired Hull Technician Senior Chief. “The course pilot kicked off in September, with four hand-selected MARMC Sailors within Code 920. It is a rigorous 96-day class with an attrition rate over 70%.”
Throughout this 96-day instructional course, each student will complete a classroom portion of instruction with written examinations and perform 13 welding test assemblies. Each test assembly will be inspected and Non-Destructive Tested by MARMC’s Quality Assurance Department, following all Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) standards.
“During the class, Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW), informally known as stick welding, has been the most challenging technique used by students,” said Hopper. “Students have about 12 inches or less of orientation from the bulkhead to the table upon which the student welds. That is a very tight space to work in.”
Qualifying in the advanced welding class offers major advantages to those transitioning to civilian life after military service.
“It takes a welder 14 weeks from the start of the class to become an advance welder, while it takes a welder in the civilian shipyard four years to match the same skillset,” said Preston. “The entire 96 days are hands-on, and that is the difference.”
Upon completion, each Sailor will be awarded the U53A Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC). This additional class allows the Navy to produce more qualified welders, enhancing the Fleet’s repair capabilities and help fill critical NEC billets on naval warships.
“We anticipate the success of the class and hope the other Regional Maintenance Centers can start their own programs and further improve the production of effective and fully qualified welders fleet wide.” Hopper added.
Currently, this program is being held in Portsmouth, Virginia; Norfolk, Virginia; and San Diego, California.
MARMC, a field activity under Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), provides surface ship maintenance, management and oversight of private sector maintenance and fleet technical assistance to ships in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States.
| Date Taken: | 11.27.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 11.27.2023 11:54 |
| Story ID: | 458540 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Hometown: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 276 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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