Navy Simulator Wins Award

The Navy's unique, high-tech simulator of shipboard emergencies to test Recruits at Recruit Training Command (RTC) Great Lakes won a national award for construction project excellence Nov. 3.

Battle Stations 21's USS Trayer, a life-like mockup of an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and its surrounding 157,000-square-foot building, was recognized by the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA) as the best overall design-build project in the United States for 2008, cited for exemplary interdisciplinary teamwork, innovation and problem-solving in creating the one-of-a-kind facility. The project won "best overall" over 29 winners in 13 categories for DBIA's annual competition.

Capt. Jake Washington, commanding officer of Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Midwest said, "Thanks to a tremendous amount of hard work, innovation and attention to detail by people from NAVFAC, McHugh Construction, and NAVAIR (Naval Air Systems Command), the Navy has a cutting-edge, utterly convincing simulator that prepares our Sailors better than ever before to face emergency situations at sea."

DBIA's National Design-Build Project Awards recognize public and private construction-related projects that successfully demonstrate design-build principles including collaboration, integration and finding unique solutions for project challenges.

Constructing Trayer, its support systems and its surrounding building, which also houses RTC headquarters and Recruit Division Commander School, took more than three years of close coordination between construction and contracting agent NAVFAC, the simulation and training experts at NAVAIR, and Chicago-based James McHugh Construction Company.

In addition to conventional building requirements, Battle Stations 21 also has to support special effects technology from the theme park industry to simulate shipboard scenarios including fire, flooding and mass casualty events.

(Source: Navy News Service)