HII launches "Build It" campaign

HII – the nation's largest military shipbuilder – is launching a hiring campaign to spotlight the contributions and rewards of building ships for the U.S. Navy.

The HII "Build It" campaign is dedicated to the men and women who partner with the U.S. Navy to build ships critical to the national defense. Shipbuilders value the mission and pride in ship construction, steady advancement and job security, and comprehensive benefits such as health coverage and professional development opportunities.

"The breadth of our workforce at HII is astonishing," says Xavier Beale, vice president of human resources at HII's Newport News Shipbuilding. "From the craftsmen and women in our shipyards who build the most powerful ships in the world with their own hands, to the nuclear engineers who enable safe nuclear power and propulsion, all the way to the cyber and data scientists who build the tools that deliver decision advantage: it's a workforce for our 21st century national defense."

In addition to Newport News Shipbuilding, which is the nation's only builder of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and one of two builders of nuclear-powered submarines, HII's divisions include Pascagoula, Mississippi-based Ingalls Shipbuilding that delivers amphibious ships, destroyers and cutters, and McLean, Virginia-based Mission Technologies, which builds technologies and solutions that connect and strengthen an all-domain force.

HII's Build It campaign targets workers of all ages and skill levels, and highlights paid training and development at its shipyards for those who require it.

Russell Dawson, 36, was accepted into the century-old Newport News Shipbuilding Apprentice School right out of high school. Since graduating in 2010, Dawson has supported aircraft carrier and submarine programs at the shipyard, moved up the ranks and is currently working on the Columbia-class program, the Navy's top acquisition priority. "I've always wanted to serve my country," says Dawson. "I see my work as a shipbuilder doing just that. It's an honor to help build the greatest ships for our Navy."

From an apprentice to a master shipbuilder who has worked over 40 years at the company, HII shipbuilders contribute daily to national security.  Stan Brazell, manager of quality receipt and inspection at Ingalls Shipbuilding, began his career in 1991 as an outside machinist apprentice and over the course of his career has worked on almost every ship program at Ingalls, including the construction of USS Bataan (LHD-5). "I view this job as my way of serving our country," said Brazell. "While I may not be wearing combat boots, I do wear work boots and those boots have allowed me to contribute to building freedom."

The Build It campaign will appear on social media, digital and display advertising, and local television. HII expects it will complement a current national advertising campaign launched by the U.S. Navy, which is aimed at energizing a movement to attract workers in support of shipbuilding and the national defense.