Mobile leaders: LCS commissioning only the beginning
Sunday, Nov 29, 2009By KAIJA WILKINSON
Business Reporter
Mobile Press Register
Commissioning of the littoral combat ship Independence will symbolize Mobile's emergence as a military shipbuilding center, community leaders hope.
The Saturday, Jan. 16, event will be preceded by parties, tours and ceremonies that, according to members of the commissioning committee, will cost as much as $400,000 to put on.
The Navy does not pay for a commissioning; it is funded with donations from the local community as well as the ship's builders and suppliers. But it is a small price to pay for what current and potential work could mean to the local economy, they said.
Getting the word out
"We're trying to get word out to the community how significant this is," said Dick Pennington, president of the committee. "From an economic development standpoint, it's beyond most people's comprehension."
The Navy in March 2008 picked Mobile, where the ship was built at Austal USA, as the commissioning site over Philadelphia and San Diego, where Independence will be based. It will mark the first time a Mobile-built ship has been commissioned here since World War II, those involved said.
Austal, the American arm of Australian shipbuilder Austal Ltd., is building a version of the LCS as part of a team led by General Dynamics Corp. And it's laying the groundwork — in a big way — to expand its reach. The company unveiled an $88 million module manufacturing facility earlier this month, the largest of its kind in the nation.
Because it will lend efficiency and cost-savings to the process, Austal hopes it will play a part in the Navy selecting its team over rival shipbuilder Lockheed Martin to build future LCS.
While putting on a good commissioning certainly won't seal any deals, it cannot hurt, said local officials and analysts.
A commissioning falls "way, way back on the list of items and priorities that a program is judged against," said Jay Korman, a naval analyst for The Avascent Group in Washington, D.C.
That said, the pomp and circumstance surrounding the event deepens the sense of pride of those involved either directly or indirectly, said Jerry St. Pé, former president of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding in Pascagoula.
"These shipbuilding programs have a profound impact on the community, and the opportunity to commission ships where they are built goes a long way toward continuing to advance the sense of pride and patriotism among the workforce, the families and the community in general," St. Pé said.
In Mobile, commissioning committee members are reaching out to the community by picking up the phone and knocking on doors.
"Locally, we're going after cities, counties, local bank partners, and business leaders," said former Mobile Mayor Mike Dow, chairman. "We're being modest, because we understand that these are tough times, but we're also trying to educate people about the importance of the jobs that are here now and the potentially billions of dollars that could be invested down the road."
'It's only going to grow'
Retired Navy Capt. Hal Pierce, also a committee member, said Austal's economic impact is "already incredible and it's only going to grow." According to Alabama Development Office figures, the shipyard:
Has a total economic impact of more than $129 million.
Employs about 1,000 people with an average annual salary of $52,415.
Had total payroll of
$65 million in the past year.
Has workers who spend about 38 percent of their income in area stores and pay well over $2 million annually in taxes.
Aside from the direct impact via Austal, the programs bring dozens of people to the area each year who would normally not be here. Perhaps most notable is the pair of Navy crews consisting of 40 sailors each who started training in Mobile last October — spending money and becoming part of the Mo bile community.
The first LCS, Freedom, was commissioned in Milwaukee, Wis., a year ago after being built at Wisconsin's Marinette Marine. It was produced by a team led by Lockheed Martin Corp.
Both the Lockheed and General Dynamics teams have been awarded contracts for second ships, and the stakes are high: The Navy has said it plans in mid-2010 to choose an overall winner to build up to 10 ships by 2014, then open up the program to other competitors.
/The fundraising committee for the commissioning of the Mobile-built littoral combat ship USS Independence is offering commemorative items for sale, including coins, caps, pens, mugs and, shown below, crystal blocks inset with the ship's outline. The commissioning is scheduled Jan. 16 in Mobile.
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