The realignment of the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center New Orleans involves more than just a name change. It means increased economic development, high-tech jobs, and a more stable future for the Navy's information technology hub on the south shore of New Orleans' Lake Ponchartrain.
SSC New Orleans, the anchor tenant at the University of New Orleans Research and Technology Park, merged with SSC Charleston and SSC Norfolk to become SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic.
In a ceremony held at the facility Sept. 29, the outgoing commanding officer Capt. Mark Krause disestablished the New Orleans organization before an audience of employees, media and invited guests.
Krause addressed the New Orleans workforce during his portion of the SSC Atlantic commissioning ceremony video teleconference. He spoke about the opportunities that the merger with SSC Charleston and Norfolk will have for the New Orleans-based organization and about the skills and talents that the workforce brings to the table. Krause will serve as the SSC Atlantic Chief of Staff until his retirement in the spring of 2009.
The commanding officer of SSC Atlantic, Capt. Bruce Urbon, will reside at the headquarters based in Charleston, S.C. The New Orleans office will be led by Jackie Goff, the SSC Atlantic deputy technical director serving as the liaison between the New Orleans office and the SSC Atlantic headquarters.
With the merger, the New Orleans office will collaborate with SSC Atlantic to work on technology-based projects for the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
With the continued success of SSC Atlantic guaranteed, the number of jobs is expected to increase in the New Orleans office, currently at 435 employees.
The New Orleans staff will collaborate with personnel from Norfolk and Charleston on the VA's high profile Chapter 33 project to accommodate increased educational benefits under the newly signed GI Bill.
The VA work performed in New Orleans "will be a great improvement to our veterans' education benefits and medical services. We are joining forces with our local universities and industry partners to identify the talent levels we will need to support our high-tech expansion," said Lt. Chris Galliano, the New Orleans director of corporate operations.
The main pillar of New Orleans' success is in the cutting edge shared services virtual computer hosting environment which has seen major growth since its post-Katrina rebuild.
The New Orleans office is also a government lead in data integration and service oriented architecture and boasts the largest quality of life customer support center help desk in the Navy serving more than 538,000 active and Reserve members on pay and personnel issues, and other quality of life programs.