Robert Hansen Becomes Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s Lifting and Handling Director

Photo By Shelby West | Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s Lifting and Handling Director (Code 700) Robert Hansen meet and greet members from Code 700.  

PORTSMOUTH, VA, UNITED STATES

01.10.2023

Story by Troy Miller 

Norfolk Naval Shipyard

Many people attribute life milestones, new chapters in their life, and their successes to a family member, spouse, coworkers, coach, scout leaders, and many more types of people who had a strong impact in their lives. Usually it is someone they know. However, Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s (NNSY) Lifting and Handling Department Director (Code 700) Robert Hansen accredits American novelist, the late Tom Clancy in helping him get his start at NNSY.

“I just finished the book by Clancy, Hunt for Red October, right before my interview with a NNSY recruiter at Florida Institute of Technology where I was getting to graduate from with a degree in mechanical engineering,” said Hansen. “I was able to speak somewhat intelligently about military submarines by using the technical portion of the novel to my advantage.”

The Reading, Massachusetts native, began his career at NNSY in July 1991 where he became a Radiological Controls (RADCON) Engineer. After ten years he joined the Reactor Servicing Engineering Division, Code 2370, where he became a Shift Refueling Engineer. He worked his way up to being an Assistant Chief Refueling Engineer to become the chief refueling engineer for USS Rhode Island (SSBN 740) from June 2016 to Jan. 2017 during its Engineered Refueling Overhaul. Hansen then spent time in West Milton, New York, where he was the chief refueling engineer for the S8G prototype at the Kesselring Site where it’s a training site for nuclear officers and enlisted Sailors to operate he United States Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines.

“I learned that the Lifting and Handling Director position was becoming available with the retirement of then Lifting and Handling Department Director Theresa Makely. This caught my attention, because I always wanted to become a member of NNSY’s senior leadership team from day one,” said Hansen. “When I was contemplating on applying for the position or not, I did quite of abundance of research on the position, including talking to Terri Makely and other leadership and mentors at the shipyard, but it wasn’t until my wife, Amy, asked me ‘Do you think you can make a difference?’ that convinced me that applying for the position was the right thing to do.

Hansen added, “This is the first time I am taking a step outside of the nuke world and into the non-nuke world, so there is a great deal of learning I will have to do, but I do feel that with my experience, passion and dedication to Navy and commitment and loyalty I have what it takes to lead the people of Code 700 to meeting the mission of the shipyard which in turns helps the U.S. Navy as a whole in succeeding in its mission to our country.”

Hansen considers Code 700 as a shipyard within the shipyard, as it has its own engineers, production, quality assurance, maintenance and training divisions. “I feel my experience as a chief refueling engineer has prepared me well to lead a department as complex and vital to the shipyard as Code 700. As a chief refueling engineer, my duties and responsibilities were well defined. Working with my refueling assistant project superintendent, I was responsible for training, quality assurance, manning, work performance, self-assessment, and budget for some of the Navy’s most complex nuclear maintenance. All of these responsibilities is what the leadership of Code 700 is responsible for, just on a larger scale.”

Although Hansen never joined the military, to him, working at Norfolk Naval Shipyard is his way of supporting not only the U.S. Navy as a whole, but in particular the men and women who volunteer to put themselves in harm’s way to defend the United States. He knows firsthand that not everyone gets to come home from serving his country.

“My brother, Bill, was serving onboard the USS Stark (FFG 31) in the Persian Gulf as a Fire Controlman Third Class on May 17, 1987 during the Iran-Iraq war. An Iraqi jet aircraft fired two Exocet missiles which struck the USS Stark on the portside killing 37 Sailors and injuring another 21,” said Hansen. “My brother was one of the 37.”

Hansen added, “When I have a really bad day at work or things aren’t going the way I had hoped, I think about my brother and what he and 36 others sacrificed on the USS Stark to help me put things into perspective and to remind me who and why I am serving our country in this capacity.”

During his off time, Hansen enjoys pistol shooting at the range and spending his time with his family. His daughter, Courtney, completed a culinary apprenticeship in Colonial Williamsburg and is now the Executive Chef for Farmhouse Table Food in Rochester, NY, while his son, Chris is in his sophomore year in NNSY’s apprenticeship program working in the welding shop, Shop 26.

“Although my son and I work in two completely different departments, it’s nice to know that we can add Norfolk Naval Shipyard to our common interests,” said Hansen. “Although he went a different direction at the shipyard than I took, I know he’s taking the journey that is best for him, as did I. You can’t ask for anything more than that.”

Hansen knows he that his current path will have many learning moments, which he invites wholeheartedly, but he looks forward to serving with the men and women of Code 700 as together they show what right looks like for America’s Shipyard.

• Date Taken: 01.10.2023
• Date Posted: 01.10.2023 07:04
• Story ID: 436496
• Location: PORTSMOUTH, VA, US