Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) held its quarterly Big Rocks ceremony Aug. 1, commending successes on USS Wyoming (SSBN 742), USS San Francisco (SSN 711), USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) and the shipyard’s High Velocity Learning 3LM course.

“In my second month as your shipyard commander, this was very important for me to have us gather here today,” Captain Kai Torkelson told attendees in Bldg. 163. “It’s been very important to me to have every opportunity available to meet with all of you who deliver the quality products and services our Navy needs. I feel a sense of momentum and opportunity in America’s Shipyard as work to innovate our processes and improve our infrastructure. The challenge is on to taking Norfolk Naval Shipyard to even greater heights of capability and service.” 

In addition to the Big Rocks, Torkelson commended several shipyard successes from earlier this summer, including security and emergency services passing the Regional Assessment, and the completion of topside work onboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69). 

During his remarks, Torkelson discussed results of the Defense Equal Opportunity Climate Survey (DEOCS). He pointed out areas like engagement, Sexual Assault Response Climate and trust in immediate supervisors received high scores, while promising to improve areas of concern like organizational performance and processes, and trust in senior leadership. “So while we have areas of positive feedback, we clearly have a lot of work to do,” he said.

Four Big Rocks were busted during the ceremony. The first commemorated the start of major servicing on Wyoming. In July, the Wyoming team not only met all prerequisites to start refueling, but set a new record by six days. The second Big Rock honored the San Francisco team completing all work to prepare for the hull separation of the future Moored Training Ship. The third rock marked a victory for the Bush team in completing its Strategic Planning Session one month early. The final rock celebrated the first High Velocity Learning 3LM class held at NNSY this past June. 

This marked Torkelson’s first Big Rocks ceremony since becoming shipyard commander in June. “Captain Brown was right when he said this was an impressive ceremony!” he told attendees. “Keep up the great work, and please keep your safety and the safety of your co-workers first and foremost in your mind at all times. Have a great Navy day, and remember, we are America’s Shipyard!”

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