MOBILE, Ala. – Austal USA welcomed U.S. Representative Ronny Jackson to the company’s Mobile, Ala. shipyard yesterday. While onsite, Congressman Jackson, who is a doctor and retired Navy admiral, toured the shipyard’s steel and aluminum manufacturing facilities.  Of special interest was a brief on the Navy’s Expeditionary Medical Ship (EMS) program and a tour of USNS Cody (EPF 14) which Austal USA recently delivered to the Navy.

The EMS platform’s primary mission is to support forward deployed forces within the full range of operations including combat operations support. As a forward deployed medical ship, the EMS provides rapid responsive sea-based and near-shore Role 2 Enhanced level care. The EMS design is also optimized for at-sea personnel recovery from damaged ships — a critical capability for potential engagements at sea under the DMO concept.

“It was great being at Austal USA yesterday to tour the shipyard and meet with the dedicated shipbuilders and other members of their hard working team,” said Congressman Jackson. “As a member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee on the House Armed Services Committee, I know how imperative it is that America strengthens and modernizes our shipyards to ensure our Navy is the strongest in the world. The American spirit is alive and well at Austal USA.”

“We were honored to host Congressman Jackson yesterday.  We appreciated the opportunity to have him see our amazing workforce in action and to tour USNS Cody knowing his interest and dedication to the medical capabilities our ships are able to provide,” stated Austal USA Acting President Michelle Kruger. “We are proud of the time and commitment our engineers have put into designing the EMS which is certain to be a game changer for afloat medical support operations.”

Austal USA has delivered 31 ships to the Navy since 2009 and has twelve defense shipbuilding programs under contract with ten platforms under construction. The company is investing in a major expansion to increase capacity to support surface ship and submarine module production in Mobile and has established ship service facilities in Mobile, Ala., San Diego, Calif., and Singapore.