BREMERTON, Wash. -- Adm. John Aquilino, commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet, visited Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF) Jan. 28, 2019, to learn about technical innovations and process improvements there, and to thank members of the workforce for their determination to restore fleet readiness.

“What I know is that the maintenance on these ships that you do sets the pace for everything else,” Aquilino told the standing-room-only crowd during an all hands call that included area Sailors and members of the PSNS & IMF workforce. “My hat’s off to you, and I want to thank each and every one of you.”

Aquilino explained that the work the shipyard team is doing to maintain and sustain the fleet is critical.

“I can’t push lethal combat power forward without the work you do here,” he said.

During the All Hands Call, Aquilino recognized specific PSNS & IMF employees and USS Nimitz (CVN 68) Sailors for their contributions to recent project successes, including maintenance availabilities on Nimitz, USS Kidd (DDG 100) and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), which met or exceeded the shipyard and ship’s force goals. Recent successes include:

- Theodore Roosevelt completing a six-month Planned Intermediate Availability (PIA) 25 days ahead of schedule.

- Nimitz reducing the original docking period by thirty days and departing Dry Dock 6 one day early.

- Kidd completing the fiscal year 2018 Selected Restricted Availability (SRA) on time and under budget.

Aquilino said that these successes delivered the predictability and training Sailors deserve, as well as the readiness Navy leadership expects.

While in Bremerton, Aquilino also toured the shipyard, and viewed mock-up training and maintenance innovations.