[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 142 (Thursday, September 22, 2011)]
[Senate]
[Page S5899]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO ARTHUR W. DIVENS, JR.

 Ms. MIKULSKI. Madam President, today I recognize an 
outstanding public servant and longstanding resident of the great State 
of Maryland, Arthur W. Divens, Jr., as he completes more than 31 years 
of continuous service within the civilian leadership of the Department 
of Defense. Mr. Divens began his public service life in naval 
shipbuilding as a project engineer/contracting representative for the 
Military Sealift Command and is ending it as executive director for the 
Amphibious Warfare and Sealift Office, Program Executive Office, Ships, 
where he oversees one of the broadest acquisition portfolios in the 
Navy--including more than $30 billion in complex shipbuilding 
procurements. Highly respected throughout the DOD acquisition community 
as a visionary leader and a man of uncommon character, he has left a 
long and lasting legacy to our Nation--both through his unparalleled 
contributions to the strength and flexibility of our Navy's surface 
forces and through the generation of professionals that he has mentored 
throughout his time in Federal service. Today, it is my great pleasure 
to recognize his achievements and to thank him and his family for their 
service to the Navy and our Nation.
  Mr. Divens has a long and distinguished career of innovative thinking 
and aggressive execution of shipbuilding programs across the entire 
spectrum of naval shipbuilding. He has been directly involved in the 
design, construction, or delivery of over 150 ships and over 1,000 
small boats and craft, more than any other individual in the Department 
of the Navy. Since joining Federal service in 1980 and the Senior 
Executive Service in 2000, he has held a variety of key leadership 
roles throughout his professional life, including positions with the 
Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, the Military Sealift Command, 
and the Naval Sea Systems Command. He has also provided strong 
leadership to groups such as the National Shipbuilding Research Program 
and the Marine Engineering and Shipyard Management Program, where he 
has worked tirelessly with his peers throughout government and industry 
to promote the open interchange of ideas and information and constantly 
improve shipbuilding and ship repair processes and technology.
  In 2002, Mr. Divens joined the Program Executive Office, Ships, where 
he has played a critical role in defining and fielding our Navy's 
future Surface Fleet. During his tenure and as a result of his sound 
stewardship, 31 ships have been delivered to the U.S. Navy and our 
allies, including two first of class vessels--USS SAN ANTONIO (LPD 17) 
and USNS LEWIS AND CLARK (T-AKE 1)--and the amphibious assault ship USS 
MAKIN ISLAND (LHD 8), widely lauded for its revolutionary application 
of hybrid technology and integration of environmental efficiencies and 
fuel conservation initiatives in the earliest stages of ship design. In 
the past year, he has worked tirelessly with General Dynamics NASSCO to 
contract for three affordable and flexible mobile landing platforms, 
saving the Navy nearly $2.1 billion and preserving the shipbuilding 
capability of the Navy's only west coast shipyard. He has been an 
influential advisor to the LHA 8 analysis of alternatives which will 
result in a well deck ship configuration for the next Marine Corps 
large deck amphibious ship, and has worked to maximize competition in 
the Ship to Shore Connector Program, which will provide an 
unprecedented level of support to amphibious forces. He has been the 
central figure in some of the Navy's toughest negotiations involving 
nearly $10 billion in Navy shipbuilding funding, to include the award 
of LPD 22-26 and the LHA 6 amphibious assault ship, the joint high 
speed vessel competition, and the Landing Craft Air Cushion Service 
Life Extension Program. At the heart of his efforts has been a 
relentless drive to improve the strength, capability, and flexibility 
of our operating forces at the best possible value to the American 
public.
  Mr. Divens is also responsible for more than 100 foreign military 
sales cases, with more than 30 nations and a collective value of nearly 
$2 billion. Of special note has been his direct effort with United 
States Forces--Iraq, helping Iraqi security forces develop the tools 
they need to defeat terrorism and sustain an environment where they can 
live free.
  Mr. Divens' contributions to our Nation extend far beyond his 
material achievements and programmatic accomplishments. He has served 
as an inspiration to all who have served with him, ensuring that all 
members of his team are keenly aware of their importance to the Navy 
and the true appreciation that he holds for their efforts. His unique 
ability to recognize talent and to foster respect and camaraderie 
throughout the workforce has had an enormous influence on junior 
Sailors and civilians and will continue to steer the course of our Navy 
well into the future.
  Mr. Divens received his bachelor of science degree from the U.S. 
Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY in 1979 and his master of 
science degree from the University of Maryland in 1997. Throughout his 
distinguished Federal service career, he has been honored with numerous 
awards for his exceptional service, including the Navy Distinguished 
Civilian Service Medal, the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award and, 
most recently, the Rear Admiral Wayne E. Meyer Memorial Award.
  Mr. Divens' tireless leadership and lifelong commitment to the Navy's 
shipbuilding capability have earned him the deep respect of his peers 
and shipmates throughout the Navy acquisition and fleet support 
communities. It is, therefore, a pleasure to recognize him for his many 
contributions in a life devoted to our nation's security. I know my 
colleagues join me in wishing him, his wife Joan, his daughters Alison, 
Laura and Molly, and his grandson Daniel much happiness and fair winds 
and following seas as they begin a new chapter in their lives 
together.

                          ____________________