MARINETTE — Sparks flew off the steel plate as a close crowd of dignitaries watched the initials of Melissa Braithwaite, the USS Constellation’s (FFG 62) sponsor, become welded into history.
For those who hadn’t been to a keel-laying ceremony at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, that minute and a half of silent anticipation Friday became the moment that everything in the program came together.
These welded initials, known as the laying of the keel, would be fixed onto the future ship, the USS Constellation, that would be made at the Marinette shipyard.
This keel laying marked the beginning of the ship’s construction process and was followed by a massive round of applause from the 500 people gathered.
It was a big deal.
“I am truly honored to be here,” Braithwaite said. “It is absolutely one of the greatest honors of my life.”
The USS Constellation was named after the first of six frigates created from the Naval Act of 1794 by the former 77th Secretary of the Navy, Kenneth Braithwaite, who is also Melissa’s husband.
“We are pleased to have you here to witness this important milestone,” said Mark Vandroff, CEO of FMM.
The Constellation is the first build in the Constellation-class frigates at FMM. The frigate contract was initially awarded in April 2020, with $795 million for the lead ship and options for nine additional vessels. The Navy awarded five of those options to FMM.
Should the Navy exercise all of the options, the total value of the FFG contract would be more than $5 billion.
Jean Wagner, a welder at FMM with more than 20 years of employment, made that significant weld that signaled the end of the event — the first woman to perform the keel plate weld in the company’s history.
“They’re what make it happen,” Vandroff said, referring to the 200 shipbuilders gathered.
Gov. Tony Evers said Wisconsin needs the shipbuilding contract to cement its position as a leader in the industry moving forward.
“The impressive expansion effort here at Fincantieri is strengthening job opportunities for folks all across Wisconsin, especially in this region, bolstering our state and local economies and creating the 21st-century infrastructure we need to support a 21st-century workforce,” Evers said. When folks hear ‘Made in Wisconsin,’ they know something is made by some of the greatest workers in the world.”
The ship will also boost the Navy’s defense, providing the nation’s leaders with options to deter aggression in the Indo-Pacific, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea.
“We need more of these players and platforms that are ready, with the right capabilities, weapons, and sustainment, to ensure that we are fully prepared to fight and win our nation’s wars in this decisive decade and beyond,” said Admiral Lisa Franchetti, chief of naval operations of the U.S. Navy.
“Let me say to the shipbuilders… I know how hard it is to do this work,” said Carlos Del Toro, 78th Secretary of the Navy. “I thank you for your dedication, for your passion, to building this ship.”
He said he looks forward to developing a shipbuilding talent pool and supply chain with both states.
“Michigan and Wisconsin share more than a border — they share a workforce,” Del Toro said. “It takes a nation to build a Navy.”
Braithwaite thanked the workers in the audience and said her prayers would be with the U.S. Navy, FMM, and anyone involved with the ship as long as it sailed.
She said, taking a pause, that as a little girl who used to wait for her dad, clad in his Navy uniform, to return home, the sponsorship was truly a full circle moment for her.
“I have the honor of belonging to the Navy myself.”
Most Popular
Comments / 0