Shipbuilders at Bath Iron Works got to hear directly from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour. Hegseth entered the stage through a ship door in front of about 1,000 BIW employees.”I’m here to thank you for what you do. The job you do, the way you do it. And I’m here to tell you to keep going,” he said to the crowd.The Department of Defense said the goal of this tour is to re-energize America’s manufacturing workforce. Employees said Hegseth’s speech did just that.”New breath, new energy to keep going, to keep our troops going,” George Reed, a BIW employee of seven years, said.The ships built at BIW are Naval destroyers, some of which are currently being used in combat in the Red Sea, where the United States has conducted air strikes against the Houthis. Hegseth also told the shipbuilders about how the ships built here in Maine are used to deter our enemy. “Our jobs to be that hammer where necessary. And I’m hopeful we don’t have to use it. That’s the idea of deterrence. You get these through deterrence, but if you must fight, you will be unleashed to fight, to win,” Hegseth said.BIW officials said attending Hegseth’s remarks was not mandatory, and if someone stayed later than 3:30 p.m., which is when shift changes, they would be paid for it, but the shipyard was not specifically paying people to attend the event.For the people who did come to listen, they said they wanted to show their support. “I wanted to come out and listen to the secretary to hear what he had to say about our shipbuilding program and show my support for him and the president,” Reed said.Hegseth told shipbuilders that with the president’s $1.5 trillion national security budget proposal, he wants to “max out on DDGs,” the destroyers built in Bath.
Shipbuilders at Bath Iron Works got to hear directly from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday as part of his “Arsenal of Freedom” tour.
Hegseth entered the stage through a ship door in front of about 1,000 BIW employees.
“I’m here to thank you for what you do. The job you do, the way you do it. And I’m here to tell you to keep going,” he said to the crowd.
The Department of Defense said the goal of this tour is to re-energize America’s manufacturing workforce. Employees said Hegseth’s speech did just that.
“New breath, new energy to keep going, to keep our troops going,” George Reed, a BIW employee of seven years, said.
The ships built at BIW are Naval destroyers, some of which are currently being used in combat in the Red Sea, where the United States has conducted air strikes against the Houthis.
Hegseth also told the shipbuilders about how the ships built here in Maine are used to deter our enemy.
“Our jobs to be that hammer where necessary. And I’m hopeful we don’t have to use it. That’s the idea of deterrence. You get these through deterrence, but if you must fight, you will be unleashed to fight, to win,” Hegseth said.
BIW officials said attending Hegseth’s remarks was not mandatory, and if someone stayed later than 3:30 p.m., which is when shift changes, they would be paid for it, but the shipyard was not specifically paying people to attend the event.
For the people who did come to listen, they said they wanted to show their support.
“I wanted to come out and listen to the secretary to hear what he had to say about our shipbuilding program and show my support for him and the president,” Reed said.
Hegseth told shipbuilders that with the president’s $1.5 trillion national security budget proposal, he wants to “max out on DDGs,” the destroyers built in Bath.