MCC at the center of effort to build submarines for Navy – Macomb Daily
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro speaks Monday as Senator Gary Peters and Governor Gretchen Whitmer react. (JAMESON COOK – The Macomb Daily)
Michigan helped build the arsenal of democracy about 80 years ago and is now being asked to help renew the navy, initially by building submarines.
Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro, accompanied by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, U.S. Senator Gary Peters and other federal officials, announced at a meeting Monday on the south campus of Macomb Community College in Warren that more than $50 million will be invested in Michigan and the Great Lakes region to support submarine and shipbuilding training programs and projects.
M3 will seek to meet the Navy’s growing needs while supporting economic development in Michigan and the Great Lakes region, state officials said.
“I can’t think of a better place than Michigan to develop the next generation of new-collar workers by combining traditional blue-collar jobs with today’s cutting-edge technologies,” Del Toro told dozens of officials, veterans and others at the Sports & Expo Center. “This initiative underscores our Navy’s commitment to strengthening maritime dominance by enhancing strategic training partnerships among federal, state and local agencies while leveraging Michigan’s long-standing reputation as a manufacturing hub.”
“Michigan citizens, today – as in World War II – we need your skills, your dedication and your pioneering spirit to continue our legacy as the world’s greatest naval power.”
M3 will focus on teaching workers at local community colleges essential skills for maritime construction, particularly in maritime welding and machining, and will also provide students from preschool through high school with hands-on career and technical training to stimulate interest in careers in maritime manufacturing.
MCC will receive $15.4 million to train 384 students as CNC machine operators and welders for free over three years starting this fall. The funds will also cover the expansion and modernization of M-TEC’s infrastructure. Oakland Community College is also involved.
The U.S. Navy is ramping up efforts to strengthen the fleet, including submarines, over the next three decades. As of 2021, the United States has spent $5.6 billion building submarines and plans to spend $11.4 billion over the next four years, officials said.
The Government Accountability Office found in September 2022 that the submarine industry was 25 percent short of staff to meet delivery schedules for Virginia-class fast-attack submarines.
“I have been a strong advocate for revitalizing our nation’s shipbuilding capabilities and capacity,” Del Toro said. “But critical to that revitalization of American shipbuilding is a strong workforce to support it.”
The Navy plans to expand its fleet of 71 submarines – 53 fast attack submarines, 14 ballistic missile submarines and four guided missile submarines – as well as the entire naval fleet, which currently stands at between 275 and 300 strong.
Whitmer touted the announcement as a validation of Michigan’s manufacturing base and its $30 billion defense industry – supported by General Dynamics, BAE and GM Defense – which supports more than 166,000 jobs and nearly 4,000 companies.
“By investing in training the next generation of workers, we are sending a clear message to manufacturers across the country: Come to Michigan,” Whitmer said. “This is where we make things – whether it’s ships, semiconductor chips or potato chips. We have the courage and the know-how to make everything America needs.”
Military veterans will be specifically recruited to help build the Navy’s new underwater vehicles.
Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel said the Navy chose MCC because officials knew they could rely on Michigan and Macomb County.
“There is no better place to manufacture something, especially in the defense sector, than right here, right now,” Hackel said. “We have the workforce, we have the talent, we have the history. They know we will work hard to meet their financial commitment.”
Hackel called MCC’s selection for the major program “a testament” to the school. “It could be located anywhere across the country, and they chose to allocate the funds here, to Macomb Community College,” he said.
MCC President Jim Sawyer, who delivered the opening and closing remarks and introduced each of the various speakers, said MCC representatives were “proud” to be part of M3.
“We are proud to support the Navy’s maritime mission while preparing our residents to become a highly skilled workforce for well-paying, meaningful jobs that are critical to the retention and growth of our local defense contractors,” Sawyer said.
State Senator Veronica Klinefelt, a Democrat from Eastpointe who attended the event, said M3 will help the state retain and attract residents as the state suffers from a slow population decline due to migration.
“We have the right companies to do it and we have a talented workforce,” Klinefelt said. “We can keep the talented workforce here in Michigan instead of moving them elsewhere by creating jobs … good-paying jobs where people can have an acceptable standard of living and raise their families in the neighborhoods and schools they want. And these kinds of jobs will make that possible.”
The next question, says Hackel, is whether Michigan can not only produce submarine parts but also assemble the submersibles.
“We’ve done everything else,” he said. “There’s nothing we can’t do. Here’s an opportunity to do it.”
The U.S. Navy’s most modern submarines are being built primarily by Electric Boat in Quonset, Rhode Island, and Groton, Connecticut, and by Huntington Ingalls Industries in Newport News, Virginia, according to a press release from U.S. Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island last April.
As part of the M3 program, the Office of Naval Research recently funded a $14.5 million Center for Naval Research & Education at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to advance shipbuilding research and design.
According to federal officials, other components of M3 include:
- A $2 million investment to build student training opportunities that provide a range of interactions with STEM and manufacturing education to stimulate interest in technical skills and increase awareness of maritime manufacturing careers among Michigan students in grades 1-12.
- $4.5 million for activities of Project MFG, a nonprofit organization under the Department of Defense
- Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) program, an advanced manufacturing skills competition series designed to increase industry awareness, recruit and develop training. The program will host national championships in mechanical engineering and welding, as well as new Maritime Series competitions, beginning this fall in Michigan.
- The Department of Defense is investing up to $10.75 million over the next five years in ACENet, a national hub-and-spoke network of advanced machining training centers using computer-aided design and manufacturing platforms.
- The program is designed to reach military veterans through the SkillBridge program, which matches retiring soldiers with industry partners during their final six months of service to provide them with real-world job experience.
- $3 million for a recruitment campaign focused on Michigan’s rich manufacturing history, including a 30-second television spot shown at the event. The ad continues the “We Build Giants” campaign, which has attracted more than 8 million people to Buildsubmarines.com since September 2023.
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