Photo By Shelby Thompson |
Petty Officer 1st Class Jimmie Gilbert participates in a community relations event in......read moreread more
Photo By Shelby Thompson | Petty Officer 1st Class Jimmie Gilbert participates in a community relations event in support of the USS Pampanito Museum and Memorial, in San Francisco, California, May 22.
Gilbert, a native of Orlando, Florida, and a missile technician on the ballistic missile submarine USS Alaska (SSBN 732), had the opportunity to represent his team and foster valuable knowledge transfer across the armed services during his participation in a training event held in Sunnyvale, California, May 18-22.
Gilbert was one of a handful of high-achieving Sailors hand selected to participate in Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) Reverse Strategic Weapons System (SWS) Week.
PAE SSP’s Reverse SWS Week serves as a powerful realization of the Chief of Naval Operations’ priority to strengthen the vital connection between the foundry and the fleet. By bringing the warfighter directly to the industrial base, PAE SSP ensures that the comprehensive modernization occurring across the entire sea-based leg of the nuclear triad is not just a theoretical concept, but a tangible, collaborative effort between the Navy’s acquisition community and the final end-users. (U.S. Navy photo released) see less
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Petty Officer 1st Class Jimmie Gilbert, a native of Orlando, Florida, and a missile technician on the ballistic missile submarine USS Alaska (SSBN 732), had the opportunity to represent his team and foster valuable knowledge transfer across the armed services during his participation in a training event held in Sunnyvale, California, May 18-22.
Gilbert was one of a handful of high-achieving Sailors hand selected to participate in Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) Strategic Systems Programs (SSP) Reverse Strategic Weapons System (SWS) Week.
PAE SSP’s Reverse SWS Week serves as a powerful realization of the Chief of Naval Operations’ priority to strengthen the vital connection between the foundry and the fleet. By bringing the warfighter directly to the industrial base, PAE SSP ensures that the comprehensive modernization occurring across the entire sea-based leg of the nuclear triad is not just a theoretical concept, but a tangible, collaborative effort between the Navy’s acquisition community and the final end-users.
Gilbert was inspired to join the Navy by his grandfather, who served in the Navy on surface vessels during the Vietnam War and accumulated 20 years of service.
“He was always very proud of his service,” said Gilbert. “You could always see how happy he was to talk about the friends he made during his time in the Navy, and he met my grandmother while serving overseas as well.”
Having been surrounded by the Navy esprit de corps his whole life, Gilbert was eager to follow in his grandfather’s footsteps and see the world.
“I’ve always been interested in travelling, so the Navy, and all the benefits that come along with it, like educational opportunities, made sense,” said Gilbert.
While his grandfather provided a blueprint for Naval service, becoming a missile technician on a submarine was something Gilbert stepped into all on his own.
“For a lot of people, they may never think of going down that path,” said Gilbert. “Once you experience it though, there’s nothing else like it. There is nothing else you want to be a part of.”
Gilbert spread the sense of purpose and mission he felt throughout his six years in the Navy with the rest of the week’s cohort. His technical expertise, mentorship skills, and dedication to the sea-based strategic deterrence mission also helped him serve as a bridge between younger Sailors and the technical experts leading the week’s training.
Gilbert appreciated being able to interact with the teams behind-the-scenes of the weapons system, putting faces to names that he’d only ever communicated with remotely.
“It’s been such a beneficial experience,” said Gilbert. “We’re told every day that the SSBN mission of sea based strategic deterrence is the Nation’s priority, but it’s hard to get an understanding of what that means. You never see the crazy level of development, of studies, or everything that goes into the process of launching a missile, because all we submariners see is the missile as a final product. Learning about the step-by-step building of the missile, of the background studies, the hardening of the components, it’s so mind-blowing and it really puts an emphasis on how important strategic deterrence is to the nation.”
At this year’s Reverse SWS Week, Sailors discussed the needs, challenges, and opportunities related to the Trident II D5LE system deployed on today’s Ohio-class SSBNs, and engaged with members of the future Columbia-class USS District of Columbia’s pre-commissioning unit (PCU).
Senior Chief Adrian Rowe, the SWS master chief for PCU District of Columbia, and Petty Officer 1stClass AustinBaker, the missile division lead petty officer,represented theSailors with PCU District of Columbia tasked with moving the first-in-class Columbia-class SSBN toward its operational state.
The PCU District of Columbia team brought an experienced eye to the week’s engagements with industry, but their interactions with the junior Sailors participating in Reverse SWS Week were equally valuable, providinginsight into the futureplatform that willsupport the current and future weapons systems.
“You get to see that you are really a part of something bigger,” said Rowe. “I hope these Sailors who have come down here see the really critical role that they fill, and that they walk away knowing that the Columbia-class is the future; it’s not an abstraction. It’s here, it’s going to be manned, and these Sailors are the Sailors who are going to be leading that effort for the future. I want them to recognize that they are going to be a part of that and how important they are to this.”
For Gilbert, the chance to interact with Rowe and Baker gave him a preview of what his future might look like.
"The PCU District of Columbia team was really able to bring in insight that we don’t have in our current roles,” said Gilbert.
In addition to learning opportunities provided by PAE SSP’s program management office flight systems detachment in Sunnyvale (SPF(S)) and its on-site industry partner, Sailors were hosted by Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) Global Threat Reduction Directorate (GT), and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as part of a targeted knowledge transfer opportunity.
Lt. Cmdr. Wyatt Middleton, officer-in-charge (OIC) for SPF(S),aimedto provide Sailors anexpanded appreciation for their roles as missile technicians in sea-based strategic deterrence, and for government-industry partnership that supports them.
“PAE SSP specializes in cradle-to-grave management of every aspect of this weapons system, and our industry partners are with us all the way fromthedesignthroughto development, production,anddeployment” Middleton told the Sailors.
Whether observing the production of launch tubes or sharing insights with Air Force and national laboratory counterparts, events like Reverse SWS Week underscore the massive, unified effort required to maintain and upgrade the nation's strategic deterrence capabilities.
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