At Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport’s Hawthorne Operating Site in Hawthorne, Nevada, a team of technicians and logistics specialists works tirelessly to keep the warfighter equipped and mission-ready. The site, which turns 50 this November, has a long history of providing essential logistics and ordnance maintenance support to the Fleet.
Generations of Service
This legacy extends to the family histories of many of the site’s employees, some of whom have multi-generational ties to either Hawthorne Operating Site or its host command, Hawthorne Army Depot.
Logistics Management Specialist Donna DuPree describes herself as a third-generation civilian employee at Hawthorne, stating, “Both sets of grandparents and my dad, mom, sisters, in-laws, uncles, aunts, cousins, nephews, nieces and my children have all worked on this base throughout the years."
Receipt, Issue, Storage and Segregation Manager Nathan Ridley said his grandfather worked at the depot from 1952 to 1994, and his grandmother from 1962 to 2012.
"Everybody in my family has worked here," added Logistics Management Specialist Chance Sterns, whose family ties to the site go back to his grandfather’s tenure as fire chief for the depot.
This tradition of service also includes employees and their family members who have served in uniform. Five generations of DuPree's family have served in the Navy, Army, National Guard, Marines and Air Force, and one of her great uncles flew bomber planes in World War II. Nearly every male member of Logistics Management Specialist Shawn Isom’s family has served in the Army.
This direct connection to the warfighter is a strong motivator for the team at Hawthorne Operating Site. “I feel like I'm actually supplying the warfighter; like they are relying on me to provide something to them,” said Viani.
“One Team” Culture
The team has what Site Manager Tyler Viani calls a "one team" culture. "It's not about what the employee can do for me; it's about what I can do for the employee. In return, that employee feels empowered, becomes invigorated about their work and takes ownership of their areas.”
“We are a family here in Hawthorne,” added DuPree. “The work environment is so supportive for all who work here. That is essential for our teams to succeed, and we do it well.”
Culture of Ingenuity
Hawthorne Operating Site prides itself on its “mineman culture” characterized by ingenuity, resourcefulness and a determination to get the job done.
"If you need something done, you just send it to Hawthorne and they do it," said Sterns. "It's just bred into everybody out here. We just do it."
This can-do spirit was evident during the lead-up to a recent training event. When commercial trucking was unavailable to deliver a critical asset on a tight deadline, Isom and Ridley drove the shipment overnight to the training site to ensure the event could proceed as planned.
"The only possible way was to deliver the material ourselves," said Ridley. "We prepped the shipment that day; then Shawn and I left Hawthorne Sunday morning for [the training site] and delivered the material Monday morning."
Looking to the Future
Hawthorne Operating Site has been expanding its footprint. Over the past three years, it has added new programs and doubled its building space. According to Inventory Accountable Property Officer Sergio Martinez, this expansion has been driven by a growing recognition across the Navy of the site's unique capabilities, including its expertise in ordnance handling, demilitarization and depot-level repair and its capacity for storing a wide array of naval munitions.
"I feel like we're becoming more known," said Martinez. "The future is looking bright. There are more opportunities and more of a need for us."
-KPT- Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport is headquartered in the state of Washington on the Puget Sound, about 10 miles west of Seattle. To provide ready support to Fleet operational forces at all major Navy homeports in the Pacific, NUWC Division, Keyport maintains detachments in San Diego, California and Honolulu, Hawaii, and remote operating sites in Guam; Japan; Hawthorne, Nevada; and Portsmouth, Virginia. At NUWC Division, Keyport, our diverse and highly skilled team of engineers, scientists, technicians, administrative professionals and industrial craftsmen work tirelessly to develop, maintain and sustain undersea warfare superiority for the United States.