During his visit, the secretary met with command leadership and toured the field activity where he was able to engage with Sailors and civilians and gain an enhanced understanding of current programs and projects, including the Strategic Weapons Systems Ashore facility.
“I value the opportunity to meet and speak with Sailors, Marines and civilians who are working hard every day to ensure success across the fleet,” said Geurts. “The Department of the Navy succeeds because of the strength of our people and I was very impressed by the work that is being done at NOTU. The capabilities of this command have far reaching strategic impacts and are critical to our future naval force.”
NOTU provides a key component of the nation’s strategic nuclear deterrence mission, and supports naval activity above, at and below the surface of the sea.
The command has been operating for more than 65 years, supporting strategic deterrence and systems production for the Navy, through both ground-based and missile flight-testing and support.
As a field activity of the Department of Navy’s Strategic Systems Program, every generation of the submarine launched ballistic missile system – Polaris, Poseidon and Trident through the current D5LE variant – has been conducted at this facility including the design and development phase, all the way through sustainment and operational support.
NOTU also operates the Navy’s port at Port Canaveral, supporting submarines and surface ships of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet and foreign navies and assets of the Military Sealift Command.
In alignment with this effort, NOTU’s Strategic Weapons Systems (SWS) Ashore Facility supports testing for current OHIO-class submarines and future engineering needs for systems pertaining to COLOMBIA-class submarines, the latter of which is the Navy’s most important acquisition priority today.
“We were happy to host Secretary Geurts and highlight all the innovative and important efforts taking place at NOTU,” said Capt. Ben Shupp, the unit’s commanding