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FRCE earns safety award Fleet Readiness Center East (FRCE) earns CNO Safety Award for the fiscal year 2025. This award is given to commands accross the Navy enterprise that meet the rigorous safety and operational standards set by the Naval Safety Command. Page B1
Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) welcomed the moored training ship Daniel Webster (MTS 626) Aug. 21 in advance of its inactivation. Daniel Webster served Nuclear Power Training Unit-Charleston for more than 30 years, training enlisted Sailors, officers, and civilian personnel from Knolls and Bettis Atomic Power Laboratories in shipboard nuclear power plant operation, maintenance, and supervision. PHOTO BY DANIEL DEANGELIS /NORFOLK NAVAL SHIPYARD
Norfolk Naval Shipyard Welcomes Moored Training Ship Daniel Webster For Inactivation Story by Michael D Brayshaw NORFOLK NAVAL SHIPYARD
Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) welcomed the moored training ship Daniel Webster (MTS 626) Aug. 21 in advance of its inactivation. This will mark NNSY’s second inactivation of a moored training ship, following completion of MTS Sam Rayburn’s (MTS 635) inactivation in November 2024. MilitarySealiftCommandcollaborated with multiple U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard commands to tow Daniel Webster more than 400
miles from Nuclear Power Training Unit (NPTU)-Charleston, South Carolina, to the historic shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia. Daniel Webster served NPTUCharleston for more than 30 years, training enlisted Sailors, officers, and civilian personnel from Knolls and Bettis Atomic Power Laboratories in shipboard nuclear power plant operation, maintenance, and supervision. Inactivation work will include defueling the ship and preparing the vessel for towing to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate
Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Washington, for recycling. Defueling the ship will require multiple hull cuts, removal of the superstructure, and removal and reinstallation of numerous components. Approximately 400 personnel will support Daniel Webster’s inactivation during the project’s peak. “We have been able to retain about 50 percent of the team that also did the Rayburn inactivation, which will provide invaluable experience,” said Project Superintendent Don Wessells. The Daniel Webster project team is incorpo-
rating lessons learned from that project. Prior to performing the inactivation of the Navy’s original moored training ships, NNSY converted the next-generation training vessels that replaced Daniel Webster and Sam Rayburn in Charleston. MTS La Jolla (MTS 701) began operation as a moored training ship in 2019, with MTS San Francisco (MTS 711) following in 2021. “In addition to repairs and modernization of our Nation’s warships, inactivations of the Navy’s training platforms are also
a major facet of the mission at America’s Shipyard,” said Shipyard Commander Rear Adm. Kavon “Hak” Hakimzadeh. “With Daniel Webster’s arrival, we look forward to another successful inactivation leveraging our team’s experience and expertise.” As one of the largest, most historic and multifaceted shipyards in the Nation, Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s mission is to repair, modernize and inactivate Navy warships and training platforms to maximize readiness and availability for fleet tasking.
Marines and Naval Academy Graduates Heidenreich and Tecza Make History in NFL Preseason Game Courtesy Story UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY
2ndLts.EliHeidenreichandAlex Tecza of the United States Marine CorpsmadeNavalAcademyfootball history Thursday night when they appeared for the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 28-27 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills. Heidenreich and Tecza are believed to be the fourth pair of Naval Academy graduates to appear for the same team in the same NFL game. They are the second pair of former Navy football teammates— and the first pair of Marine Corps officers who graduated from the Naval Academy—to accomplish the feat. “Alex and Eli embodied the ultimate fusion of elite athleticism and uncompromising MarineCorps grit as they took the field last
night, carrying with them far more than a playbook,” said Superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy Lt. Gen. Mike Borgschulte. “They represented the relentless drive, selfless team-first mentality, and warrior ethos that define our Navy and Marine Corps. I was especially proud to see Eli snap a crisp salute after his touchdown, a moment that immediately reminded me of another Naval Academy Marine, 2nd Lt. Landon Robinson, who proudly rendered a crisp salute after anaggressivesackfortheCincinnati Bengals last week. Those moments transcend the scoreboard. They are powerful reminders that our warriors carry the values forged at the Naval Academy with them wherever they go. Eli, Alex, and Landon are living examples of the type of leaders we forge at the Naval Academy through discipline, sacri-
fice, teamwork, and an unwavering commitment to excellence” “What an incredible night for Eli and Alex, for Navy football, the Naval Academy and the United States Marine Corps,” said Navy head football coach Brian Newberry. “Those two young men represent everything our program and the Naval Academy are about. They are tough, selfless competitors who earned this opportunity through a tremendous amount of hard work. To see them make history together as Navy football teammates and Marine Corps officers is something our entire program takes great pride in.” The first pair of Naval Academy graduates—and the first former Navy teammates—believed to have appeared for the same team in the See PRESEASON on Page A2
2nd Lts. Eli Heidenreich and Alex Tecza of the United States Marine Corps made Naval Academy football history Thursday night when they appeared for the Pittsburgh Steelers in a 28-27 preseason loss to the Buffalo Bills. PHOTO BY ELIZABETH WRIGHTSON
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