PSNS & IMF apprentice program graduation

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility honored 184 skilled members of its workforce during the apprentice program graduation ceremony, Sept. 16 at the Bremerton High School Performing Arts Center.

BREMERTON — Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility honored 184 skilled members of its workforce during the apprentice program graduation ceremony, Sept. 16 at the Bremerton High School Performing Arts Center.

“It is a challenging program and you should all be very proud of this accomplishment,” PSNS & IMF Commander Capt. Howard Markle said to the graduating class. “I am certainly proud of what you have achieved so far in your careers and look forward to working with you now as journey-level craftsmen and women.”

Family members, friends, instructors, supervisors, apprentice program alumni and local government officials attended the ceremony, which took place on the 125th anniversary of the shipyard’s establishment.

In his keynote remarks at the graduation ceremony, Markle said, “You truly are a very unique group, a very small group that still does what America was built on. What you do each and every day is you work on those ships, take them completely down to parade rest and build them back up again so that they can go out and do their mission each and every day.”

This year’s graduates represent 23 trades. Each graduate received a Department of the Navy certificate of apprenticeship and an associate of technical arts degree from Olympic College.

Shipwright Wayne DeKorte, the graduating class’ speaker, said to his fellow graduates, “Now it is time for you to move out into the world and bring up more leaders, who will act with integrity, honor, courage and commitment. You have stood united as a class, strong and confident, helping each other, and I encourage you to continue this support of one another.”

Four stand-out graduates were recognized.

— Apprentice of the Year: Keith Blossom, welder.

— Craftsman of the Year: Jeremiah Franchi, pipefitter.

— Leadership Award: Scott Brooks, shipfitter.

— Scholastic Award: Christina Fowler, electronics mechanic.

Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Bremerton, congratulated the graduates on their accomplishments.

“I think it’s important to recognize that your completion of this apprenticeship helps our country,” Kilmer said. “You know many of you could be working in the private sector or elsewhere, but you all made a conscious decision to invest your careers in getting our ships ready, and keeping our sailors and our submariners safe, and allowing our submarines and carriers to provide the strategic deterrence and peacekeeping across the globe that is as important today as it has ever been.”

Naval Station Puget Sound, as it was originally known, was established on Sept. 16, 1891. Ten years later, it launched the Apprentice Program; six young men comprised the first group of apprentices to learn a trade by working alongside a master craftsman.

Over the years, the Apprentice Program has grown to become an award-winning program with on-the-job and classroom training and education in the trades. Since 1950, PSNS & IMF has partnered with Olympic College for customized, accredited course work in support of the Apprentice Program. Through the program, apprentices earn an associate in technical arts degree from Olympic College.

In May 2016, the Washington State Association of College Trustees recognized the importance of the Apprentice Program by honoring PSNS & IMF and its product line training superintendent, Bryan Watland, with the Partner of the Year award.

PSNS & IMF employs approximately 14,000 sailors and civilian personnel who accomplish the command’s mission to maintain and modernize the U.S. Navy fleet.

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