It was a great summer. Sailing in San Diego’s amazing weather and watching people enjoying our newest exhibit, “Top Secret: Inside the High-Stakes World of Naval Intelligence,” were both highlights for me. It was inspiring to see our guests of all ages learn about our Navy’s amazing intelligence professionals while experiencing the challenges of planning strike missions during Operation Desert Storm. I am so grateful to our terrific exhibits team who reenergized our carrier intelligence center space.
A little like an aircraft carrier in the shipyard, we are putting on our hardhats around here. For the rest of 2025, we will engage in four major construction efforts taking place on or under our 100 year-old Navy Pier. Led by our amazing chief engineer, Len Santiago, construction crews have begun work on replacing the water main system, building a new passenger elevator for brow four, installing new bollards that secure our ship to the pier, and injecting concrete where old Building 11 used to be. The cost of this construction will be millions of dollars, but it all needs to be done. For Midway, it means easier on-load and off-load operations, while minimizing the ship’s fore and aft motion during tidal activity. It marks an overall improvement in safety while preserving our 80-year-old ship.
There’s more. On board, we will soon open up new exhibits detailing the prisoner-of-war experience during the Vietnam War, while highlighting the 11 aircrewman from Midway’s airwing who were shot down during the war and became POWs.
We will also open an exhibit detailing the incredible contributions of women in the defense industry during the Second World War. So many women helped build Midway, which is probably why this ship still looks so good after 80 years.
We can’t forget our extraordinary volunteers. We had a fantastic time at our annual volunteer recognition dinner last month. It was my honor to recognize Richard Biro as our volunteer of the year. It’s quite an accomplishment to be tops among our more than 750 volunteers, but Richard is well deserving of this accolade. I continue to be inspired and humbled by our amazing volunteers every day. They are just incredible people.
Come aboard soon, despite a little shipyard time, we remain open for business.
It’s a great day on Midway!
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