Gov. Whitmer announces Michigan-centric Navy ship, manufacturing jobs initiative

LANSING, Mich. — “For more than 200 years, for centuries, the sons and daughters of the Great Lake State have answered the call to serve our nation’s military with stories of courage and heroism that have been captured throughout our nation’s history and our Navy legacy,” Secretary Carlos Del Toro of the U.S. Navy said Monday.

For the first time in history, Michigan’s capital city is slated to be honored by a U.S. Navy vessel.

Called the “USS Lansing,” the U.S. Navy’s fast expeditionary fast transport ship is currently under construction and is undergoing the first official steps in the “long commissioning process,” according to the governor’s office.

“Let’s revel in this wonderful acknowledgement for the city of Lansing to be a part of the U.S. Navy’s ships and war effort to protect us, to make us stronger, to protect our economy, to protect our homeland security. It’s an honor for the USS Lansing to be a part of that work and that mission,” Gov. Whitmer said.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced details regarding the vessel alongside Del Toro, Lansing Mayor Andy Schor and Capt. Clayton Doss, PAO officer.

“The USNS Lansing will continue this tradition of support that Lansing residents started more than 160 years ago,” Schor said. “This makes the naming of this new fast-transport vessel so special to our city.”

In addition to announcing the ship’s Michigan-centric name, Gov. Whitmer is set to become a sponsor and honorary crew member of the vessel, officials said.

“What a historic moment for Lansing!,” Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D – Holly) said. “For the first time, a U.S. Navy ship will be named for our capital city. It’s only fitting for a city with a dynamic and hardworking spirit like ours, and I can’t wait to see it commissioned so it can carry that spirit around the world. This is a big deal that we all should celebrate.”

News Channel 3 livestreamed Monday’s announcement within this article and online starting at 9:30 a.m.

Along with the unveiling of the Michigan-centric ship, Gov. Whitmer announced a new jobs program that aims to create new employment opportunities for Michiganders.

Called the Michigan Maritime Manufacturing, or M3, initiative, the program looks to partner with the Navy and other federal, state and local partners to fill maritime manufacturing and engineering gaps, according to officials.

Specifically, the M3 Initiative is expected to build “skilled workforce pipelines,” connect over a hundred thousand workers with high-paying jobs earlier in their careers, and implement training programs that provide speed and scalability needed to meet the submarine and maritime industry’s gaps, officials with the Biden-Harris Administration said.

“As M3 takes route in training the next generation of workers, it sends a message to manufacturers across the nation, ‘come to Michigan,’ because here in Michigan we are experts at making stuff, whether it is ships, or semi-conductor chips, or it is potato chips in downtown Detroit, we have the grit and know-how of how to produce anything that America needs,” Whitmer said.

Sen. Gary Peters (D – MI) echoed similar sentiments, offering support to Gov. Whitmer to continue support not only the U.S. Navy, but the “amazing supply chain we have here in Michigan.”

“We have workers, we have engineers who are the best in the world, we know how to make things, we do it better than anywhere else and people are recognizing that and coming to our great state,” Peters said.

In addition to connecting workers to employment, the initiative is anticipated to connect the country’s Department of Defense, state and local governments, and defense industry firms to academic organizations across the state.

This includes the following investments:

• $16 million to implement an accelerated welding and computer numerical controlled (CNC) machining training program this fall, introducing a maritime-focused skilled trades pipeline aimed at meeting labor demand from hundreds of Michigan suppliers.
• $2 million in educational outreach and engagement programs in Michigan K-12 schools to inspire interest in manufacturing careers and introduce career pathways to good maritime-focused jobs.
• $750,000 aimed at collaboration with veteran placement agencies and the Department of Labor’s Veteran Employment and Training Service (VETS) programs to assist transitioning veterans returning to Michigan each year to join the submarine and maritime sectors as another way to serve their country.
• $4.5 million for Project MFG activities to include expanding into Michigan. DoD’s flagship advanced manufacturing skills competition will serve as a catalyst to elevate the next generation of Michigan’s highly skilled trade professionals through its national machining and welding championships and new Maritime Series competitions beginning this fall.
• Up to $10.75 million over five years in ACENet, to increase a novel and growing national hub-and-spoke network of advanced machining training centers that creates asynchronous pathways to train users through computer-aided design (CAD)/computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) platforms.
• $3 million for an attraction and recruitment campaign focusing on Michigan’s rich history in the manufacturing trades. This targeted recruitment initiative builds on the successful “Built to Last” campaign, which has drawn more than 8 million people to BuildSubmarines.com since September 2023.

More information on the M3 Initiative can be found online.