The February General Membership Luncheon meeting was held virtually on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2021 via VSRA’s Zoom account. The guest speaker was John Larson of Dominion Energy.

Larson thanked the VSRA board for having him as this month’s guest speaker and began his presentation with a general overview of what Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) is and how it works. Using simple yet effective slides showing an offshore wind power system, he detailed how the system is laid out, and how everything, from the wind turbines to the offshore substation, connect. Some key highlights included how the project will consist of nearly 200 wind turbines generating close to 3,000 megawatts in total capacity, and how this is the only offshore wind project owned by a U.S. utility.

On May 6, 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a new waiver covering the application of the Defense Base Act (DBA) in Guam. The DBA had previously been waived in its entirety with regard to DBA-covered contracts and work on U.S. military bases in Guam, both for local Guamanians (who are U.S. citizens) and for third-country nationals. The new waiver provides that DBA coverage is only waived for third-country nationals. This is consistent with the longstanding DOL policy not to waive DBA coverage for U.S. citizens. The Guam blanket waiver, now replaced, had been an exception to this policy designed to protect construction jobs for Guamanians. Presumably, this change is effective for injuries occurring on or after May 6, 2020.

The March General Membership meeting of 2021 will be held virtually on Tuesday, March 30, 2021 at 11:00 a.m. The speaker for the meeting will be Rear Admiral Eric Ver Hage, Navy Regional Maintenance Center (CNRMC) and Director, Surface Ship Maintenance and Modernization (SEA 21).

Rear Adm. Ver Hage is a native of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the Navy in 1984 and served as an electronics technician until his appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy. He graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and from the Naval War College in 2008 with a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies.

All Golfer Slots are now FULL for the 2021 Virginia Ship Repair Foundation Golf Tournament. There are more sponsorship opportunities available. 

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Registration has launched for the Virtual VSRA Human Resources Professional Development Seminar scheduled for Wednesday, April 7, 2021.