Capt. Ian Johnson | Commanding officer, Naval Station Newport
1. You are a native Rhode Islander. How does it feel to be back home? It’s fantastic to be back in Rhode Island. After almost 28 years in the Navy, it’s still the one place that really feels like home. I love being able to introduce my children to the people, places and experiences that influenced me growing up.
2. What is on the top of your agenda? I’ve never really come into a new job with a preformed agenda for change. … I look to build on my predecessors’ outstanding success in building this installation into a world-class center of learning excellence with the capacity to support the Navy’s mission by providing war fighters with education, training, research, development, and evaluation and deployment capability to meet today’s demands and exceed tomorrow’s expectations.
3. You’re operating under a new president and administration. Has that changed anything for operations? Newport Naval Station is one of the service’s premier locations for training the Navy’s current and future leaders – both officers and enlisted. Our active-duty military population in Newport will typically trend in the same direction as the overall size of the Navy. … The current continuing resolution provides funding for federal programs but only at fiscal 2017 levels. This certainly limits our ability to initiate new projects but, in the short term, minimally impacts day-to-day operations.
4. Are you preparing a presentation for the next wave of the base realignment and closure process? There are no official announcements of a [base closure commission] as of today. Right now, our focus continues to be on operating the installation as securely and efficiently as we can.
5. What kinds of jobs are now being created at the Naval Station? There are 50 separate commands and departments onboard Naval Station Newport that employ over 4,000 government civilians and more than 2,000 contractors. There are always opportunities with the Navy in Newport – from sales assistants at one of our retail facilities, to scientists at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center. My Morale, Welfare and Recreation Department, which operates our restaurants, child care and recreational facilities, is planning on holding a job fair in early January.
