In the News
Union Leader: Top U.S. military chief sees Portsmouth shipyard up closeTop U.S. military chief sees Portsmouth shipyard up close
Portsmouth, N.H.,
July 9, 2013
|
Gretyl Macalaster
The nation’s top military officer paid a visit to the Port City on Monday with members of the New Hampshire and Maine Congressional delegation.
PORTSMOUTH — The nation’s top military officer paid a visit to the Port City on Monday with members of the New Hampshire and Maine Congressional delegation. He was in the state at the invitation of Senator Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, and was hosted by Ayotte, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, and Angus King, I-Maine, as well as Congresswomen Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, Annie Kuster, D-NH and Carol Shea-Porter, D-NH. Dempsey and the delegation members met with shipyard commander Capt. William Greene and shipyard leadership to discuss operations. After visiting the shipyard, Dempsey and New Hampshire delegation members met with representatives from 15 New Hampshire businesses, both large and small, working in the area of defense, including BAE, Juliet Marine Systems of Portsmouth and Mentis Sciences of Manchester. They also paid a visit to Pease Air National Guard Base to receive a briefing on the New Hampshire National Guard’s Deployment Cycle Support Program and to meet with New Hampshire defense suppliers. In a phone interview from Washington, D.C., on Monday evening, Ayotte said the visit was a positive one. She said the delegation was proud to showcase the work being done at the shipyard as well as by members of the Army Guard and Air Guard. She said he was impressed with the workers, their skills and expertise and their professionalism. Workers also had the opportunity to talk about the impact of furloughs, which began Monday for a small number of employees at the shipyard. Shea-Porter also expressed pride in welcoming Dempsey to New Hampshire. The New Hampshire delegation spent most of the day with Dempsey before they all flew back to Washington on Monday evening ahead of votes on Capitol Hill in both the Senate and the House. |