The Long Island Council of The Navy League of the United States has secured a US Navy Grant.
$2 million for Suffolk County Community College to stimulate workforce training and redevelopment.
May 5, 2023, Brentwood, New York, USA………..At a recent meeting of the Corporate Committee of the Long Island Council of the Navy League of the United States, US Navy Command Master Chief Joshua Sturgill who is Command Senior Enlisted Leader for Team Submarines, announced a $2 million grant for Advanced Manufacturing Scholarships supported by the Navy’s Submarine Industrial Base. The $2 million grant was awarded to Suffolk County Community College and will be funded over a five year period covering tuition of 500 certificate students.The event represented the culmination of the Long Island Council Corporate Committee’s year-long effort to stimulate workforce training and re-development in alignment with the US Navy’s Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) Program.
Long Island Council of The Navy League of the United States with CMC Josh Sturgill USN, 5th from left
Walter A. Poggi, Corporate Committee Chairman and President of Ronkonkoma, NY-based Retlif Testing Laboratories stated, “members of the Corporate Committee have been diligently working to develop stronger and closer ties with the US Navy, and this grant is a potential game changer for the Long Island economy and Long Island defense manufacturers. It is also pivotal for the US Navy because it will result in an educated professional workforce knowledgeable of the most rapidly evolving technologies in the manufacturing sector of the Submarine Industrial Base (DIB). Their skills and nationally recognized credentials will make them eminently capable of fulfilling the Navy’s goals to develop leading edge submarines and other vessels. These capabilities are direly needed today in American shipyards, with American manufacturers and throughout the U.S. military and maritime industry.”
Walter A. Poggi, Corporate Committee Chair
The event was held at Suffolk County Community College (SCCC), Brentwood, NY campus. A crowd of sixty from over two dozen prominent Long Island defense manufacturers and defense testing organizations as well as interested parties from higher education and county, state and federal governments, were among the first to learn the welcome news. In addition to keynote speaker Command Master Chief Joshua Sturgill, other dignitaries who spoke included Rosalie Drago, Commissioner, Suffolk County Department of Labor and SCCC President Edward T. Bonahue. US Navy Rear Admiral Scott W. Pappano, Program Executive Officer, Strategic Submarines, addressed the gathering remotely via zoom conference.
About Long Island Council of The Navy League of the United States. The Long Island Council of The Navy League of the United States, is an organization dedicated to strengthening the ties between Long Island-based defense supporters, veteran service men and service women and the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Coast Guard and maritime sea services. The Council is multi-objective and supports the sea services by strengthening corporate involvement and promoting interaction with the military, federal government regulatory agencies, the U.S. Congress, New York State, as well as through local Interaction.
About the Accelerated Training In Defense Manufacturing (ATDM) Program. The ATDM program is designed to assist those seeking continuing education including veterans transitioning to civilian life to earn the skills necessary for a career in building the US Navy’s next-gen submarines. Topics include training in Additive Manufacturing, CNC Machining, Metrology (QC inspection), as well as non-destructive testing and welding.