THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 19, 1995 TAG: 9502170228
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY IDA KAY JORDAN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 239 lines
Opening the iron gates at the front door of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard commander's quarters on Lincoln Street is a symbolic act for Capt. William R. Klemm.
``We want to open up to the community,'' Klemm said.
The gates were open again Friday night, when the commander and his wife, Nan, entertained several hundred city officials.
For Armed Forces Day on May 20, the shipyard again will hold open house at Trophy Park. A new exhibit, a missile launcher off the Virginia, will be unveiled.
Klemm expects to have not only a military band but also some local school bands.
``It may be after that we can have it open for trolley tours all summer,'' he said.
Trophy Park, a sort of sideyard to the commander's 1837 quarters, features a collection of guns and other paraphernalia from naval ships dating back to the 1700's.
Shortly after Klemm became commander of the Navy's oldest and largest shipyard in August, Trophy Park was open to the public for the first time in 25 years in conjunction with the city's Civil War Day.
Klemm spent a lot of that day standing outside talking to visitors, pointing out the nearby buildings that survived two burnings of the yard during the Civil War.
``I'm kind of partial to old things that still work,'' he said.
But he also believes in taking new looks at old ways of doing things, whether he's overhauling ships or community relations.
During an interview at his office in a contemporary 1984 structure that provides an impressive view of Downtown, Klemm commented: ``This also is a piece of the community as well as a corporate office. We consider ourselves part of Portsmouth.''
The hallways of the office building feature historical displays as well as pictures of the 97 men who preceded Klemm as commander. Klemm noted that his predecessors include Sidney S. Lee, brother of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, who was the last Confederate commander of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
``This is not just work for me,'' Klemm said. ``This is my house. I eat, drink and sleep in this place.''
Klemm and his family are far from strangers here.
They have lived in Hampton Roads several times during his 30-year Navy career. The two children were born at the Naval Hospital here.
Richard, now 24, was born when Klemm was a docking officer at the shipyard. Keith, a junior at Woodrow Wilson High, was born six years later when Klemm was serving aboard the John F. Kennedy.
``I never dreamed then we'd be back in Portsmouth as shipyard commander,'' he said.
Twenty five years ago, a shipyard worker, Buck Harrell, asked him if he'd ever come back.
``I said I really loved the shipyard and knew I'd be back, but I had just about decided that wasn't going to come true,'' he said.
Last year, when Klemm took command of the yard, Harrell was there to remind him of that conversation.
Klemm came to the shipyard in 1971 as a lieutenant junior grade. He still has in his desk drawer a picture taken the day he went to Rear Adm. Randy King's office and was promoted to lieutenant.
``I learned as much here then as I have ever learned anywhere,'' he said.
Since then he's been in and out of the yard. He still has a newspaper clipping about the LaSalle, his first assignment.
Klemm likes being in the Navy.
``When I was in the second grade and people asked me what I wanted to be, I'd say I wanted to grow up to be a naval officer,'' he said.
After he graduated from high school in Silver Spring, Md., he missed an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy. ``Probably because my folks moved from Washington, D.C., to upstate New York at the time I was trying to get in, and you know those were political appointments.''
Instead, on his 17th birthday he enlisted in the naval reserve. His mother signed the papers.
He completed his bachelor's at Widener University (then Pennsylvania Military College) and headed for reserve officer candidate training at the naval academy.
In 1969, after five years as an enlisted man, he was commissioned an ensign.
``But that's not unusual,'' he said. ``A lot of officers today have come up through the ranks. We really can appreciate what the troops have to live through.''
In fact, Rear Adm. Michael Boorda, named chief of naval operations last year, is the first person who began as an enlisted man to reach that job.
About 1,300 sailors and 40 officers live on the base, Klemm said.
``We serve 8,000 retirees on this base, too,'' Klemm said. ``About half the business in personnel supports serves our retirees.''
Klemm is proud of the yard.
``We have the best safety record of any shipyard in the United States, public or private,'' he said. ``I think the people here look out for each other.''
In the face of military cutbacks and base closings, Klemm said that everything about the yard supports continued operation.
He lists the location and the full-service capabilities as important factors.
``And this area is homeport for the largest fleet concentration in the world,'' he said. ``The data makes a clear case.''
Should the BRAC Commission decide to close the yard, it won't be because Klemm let it go.
It's common knowledge that he works seven days a week.
Why?
``Because I feel an obligation to try to make it the best we can,'' Klemm replied without hesitation. ``We spend the hours we need to spend to get the job done.''
The Navy tends to select workaholics for certain jobs, he said.
``They expect 80 hours a week,'' Klemm said. ``The measure of success is performance of the yard.''
The yard is tracking well on all three criteria: scheduling, quality and cost.
Cost is where there had been a problem in the past, he said.
``Ten years ago money was tight but money was not the object,'' he said. ``Today money is the object.''
With projected revenues of $800 million this year, the shipyard is not unlike a Fortune 500 business.
``But we have no cast of figureheads,'' he said. ``We're all working stiffs here.''
It's important to Klemm for him to ``give my energies to the job.''
``We need to be an inspiration to others,'' he said. ``Some of them work here 40 years, and we're here just four years. We need to try to inspire them.''
People make a decent living at the shipyard, he said, ``but they work for it.''
The shipyard has a stable civilian population, a group subject to change in leadership every four years or less. The change, Klemm said, is good to provide fresh ideas and renewed energy.
``The ability to deal with change determines success. If you can't tolerate change, then you were born at the wrong time.''
He praises the total quality management concept.
``It's truly enlightened,'' he said. ``We enable people to perform.''
Process improvements over the past two years are an integral part of things.''
The ``partnership'' in the yard was created by Rear Adm. James L. Taylor, Klemm's predecessor.
``We're at the high-water mark right now here,'' he said.
Although many people in his position are engineers, Klemm's formal education is in industrial management.
``Right now it's more important for me to understand the business aspects than to design a propulsion plant,'' he said. ``In today's budget crunch, we need to know about bucks. In the long run, my perspective is the essential ingredient here.''
Klemm is a man comfortable with himself and his job.
``I achieved the highest order of recognition when I got this job,'' he said. ``I love every minute of it. I thoroughly enjoy being shipyard commander. I am involved in the middle of things.''
Unlike some executives afraid to let down their guard, Klemm is a man who smiles a lot and who can laugh at himself.
``You've got to enjoy what you're doing, and if you don't, it's time to quit,'' he said.
Smiling, he adds that he's ``learned to enjoy pain and suffering.''
``But I work for a winner, '' he said. ``I set the stage and give them resources. I try to inspire people to excel. They lead themselves.''
Klemm's interest in the historical significance of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard is not shared by some, he admitted.
I don't think people in general appreciate the age of the yard,'' he said. ``Because of the Cold War, it was shrouded in secrecy for years.''
As a result, the emotional ties between the yard and the public were weakened.
A starting point, he said, would be opening doors to the public.
``People today have no idea of what's going on in the shipyard,'' he said. ``I want to re-establish a connection with the city.''
Klemm's determination to open the shipyard is a deviation from recent years.
``You have to choose the right time to do the right thing,'' he said. ``Sometimes flying by the seat of your pants is exciting. It's a necessity in business and can determine relations with the community.''
Klemm said ``deviation from technical standards is not acceptable'' but that he enjoys the other side of the fence.
``It might be easier to exclude everybody from the grounds,'' he said. ``But I'm willing to go the extra mile to make things happen. I think the development of good relationships on both sides is helpful to everyone.''
Klemm said the shipyard, which dates to the 1700s, provides ``a basis of history for the U.S. Navy.''
``Everybody in this city has a right to be proud of the shipyard,'' he said. ``It has contributed to every conflict in the history of this nation.''
Now a history buff, Klemm confessed that he ``hated history'' in college.
``I got interested in history because you have to know where you came from to know where you are going,'' he said. ``I feel great pride in this shipyard. I have 200 years of predecessors to be proud of.'' MEMO: RESUME
Capt. William R. Klemm
Born June 11, 1947
Enlisted in naval reserve in 1964.
Received bachelor of science degree with honors at Widener University
(then Pennsylvania Military College) in Chester, Pa.; attended U.S.
Naval Academy for Reserve Officer Candidate training; commissioned an
ensign in October 1969
First commissioned tour aboard LaSalle before being sent in 1971 to
Norfolk Naval Shipyard, where he served as assistant docking officer and
as a senior ship superintendent for surface ships.
Entered graduate school at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute under
Secretary of Navy Fellowship Program in September 1973; received MBA
with honors
After serving as boiler officer aboard the John F. Kennedy, became
supervisor of shipbuilding at Bath, Me.; served first as construction
superintendent of the guided missile frigate Oliver Hazard Perry, then
became the first docking officer when Bath Iron Works acquired its first
floating dry dock in 1977
Reported to staff of commander, Naval Air Force, Atlantic Fleet in
1981; served as planning officer for nuclear-powered carrier overhauls
and oversaw overhaul of Nimitz at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock
Co.
Chief engineer aboard the Kennedy from 1984-87
Officer in charge of planning and engineering, repairs and
alterations for carriers at Bremerton, Wash.
Attended Duke University Executive Education Program in 1989
Planning officer and production officer at Puget Sound Naval
Shipyard
Reported to Norfolk Naval Shipyard in May 1993 as deputy program
manager and officer in charge of the Naval Sea System Command's Advanced
Industrial Management (AIM) site
Became shipyard commander Aug. 12, 1994
DECORATIONS
Meritorious Service Medal with two gold stars; Navy Commendations
Medal; Navy Unit Commendations with star; and Navy ``E'' Ribbon
PERSONAL
Son of Mrs. Jean Klemm of Rock Island, Tenn., and the late Richard
Klemm;
Married to the former M. Nancy Knox of Albany, N.Y.; two sons,
Richard and Keith
ILLUSTRATION: [Cover]
HOME ONCE AGAIN
Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Capt. William R. Klemm and his wife, Nan, recently entertained city
officials at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard.
Staff photo by MARK MITCHELL
Klemm walks home. ``I feel great in this shipyard,'' he said. ``I
have 200 years of predecessors to be proud of.''
KEYWORDS: BIOGRAPHY PROFILE by CNB