About Jennifer Boykin
Jennifer Boykin, president of Newport News Shipbuilding, announced her retirement at the end of 2024. In a farewell message, she thanked shipbuilders for their commitment and highlighted the year's accomplishments, including the delivery of the submarine New Jersey, the redelivery of the submarine Montana, the launch of the submarine Massachusetts, and the christening of the submarine Arkansas. She also noted the delivery of the first Columbia-class stern unit, completion of dry dock work on USS John C. Stennis, and the transfer of CVN 80 Enterprise to begin assembly on Doris Miller. Boykin stated that she would transition into retirement knowing the company would continue under the leadership of Carrie Wilkinson.
In February 2025, Boykin celebrated the start of production at the company's new Charleston Operations site in South Carolina)Skip. She stated that the site would produce high-quality, mission-ready ship components and that the company planned to ramp production to over a thousand shipbuilders in the next 24 to 36 months. Boykin emphasized the importance of instilling a strong safety culture and noted that work on a first aircraft carrier unit and a submarine module would begin within two weeks. She also acknowledged that in 2022, 26 warships had deficiencies with welds, and she expressed confidence that improved training and oversight would prevent the mistakes from recurring.
Source: AI-verified profile updated from Jennifer Boykin's recent appearances.
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Transcript (3 segments)
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Jennifer Boykin0:07
Welcome to our very first town hall as Newport News Shipbuilding Charleston operations. I can't tell you how excited I am to celebrate the official start of production here in Charleston, where we will support high quality, mission ready ship components to send up to Newport News and ultimately wind up in the hands of our Navy and our great nation. I'd like to personally thank each and every one of you all for committing to be a part of the Newport News Shipbuilding Charleston family. Let me talk about the incredible opportunity ahead of us as we ramp production to over a thousand shipbuilders in the next 24 to 36 months. We had more than 10 trucks outside this morning loaded with Newport News Shipbuilding material waiting for this site to begin production. On top of that, we will start work on our first aircraft carrier unit and our submarine module in the next two weeks. So it's absolutely critical that we all get ready. With this volume of work coming, we must take every opportunity to instill a strong safety culture, both mentally and physically. Every time we walk through those gates, the mission starts with us. This is not just a slogan, it's a mindset that guides our every action.
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Unknown1:38
Every time I talk to somebody, I was really thinking about military for a long time and always wanted to do my part. So it feels nice being able to do your part and feel like you're coming to work to actually make something that other people's lives depend on. So it makes you care about it that much more and make sure you're ready for work every day. We all feel very fortunate to be a part of a big leap. That's a nice break, and I don't think a lot of organizations get that type of break. So we're excited. If you haven't seen the facility yet, come on down. There's going to be a lot of new and great changes for the future for sure.
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Jennifer Boykin2:10
We get to recognize something truly special today. I've asked my leadership team as plank owners to sign the first plate over here, signifying our commitment to you and your success and the success of this entire operation. Machinist Nathan Buros will fire up this machine and cut our first official plate of metal that we will machine into a Newport News spear and gear, our legacy shipyard logo. And it will hang behind the main front desk in the lobby and serve as a historic marker for the start of Newport News Charleston operations, for our visitors, for our future employees, and for all of us as plank owners for Newport News Shipbuilding Charleston operations.
