ANALYSIS/SPECIAL REPORT
Editor’s note: This is the second of a continuing series that analyzes not just the weaponry layers in the Golden Dome defense concept, but the layers of people behind them.
This story takes a look at the recruiters, those who have the role of finding or creating a workforce capable of building and supporting the layers of defense tools that will serve Golden Dome.
It includes a Q&A with the U.S. Navy recruiting team behind the Build Giants Alabama program, and another with a leadership team from the shipbuilder company Austal USA headquartered in Mobile.
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By Troy Turner
The USS Alabama is a proud name, and the vessel that carries it in today’s U.S. Navy is an Ohio-class submarine equipped with 20 nuclear-armed Trident II D-5 ballistic missiles.
That kind of threat to an adversary creates a strong deterrent, and as such could be seen as perhaps the most forward layer of defense in a proposed layered-concept plan pitched as Golden Dome, which is intended to protect the American homeland from space and missile threats.
Submarine warfare includes a wide spectrum of mission capabilities, and Alabama’s role in the silent service ranges from producing modules in submarine construction, to developing complex engineering and cybersecurity to arm and protect them.
That means recruiting a workforce that requires welders, painters, equipment operators, electricians, engineers, technicians and numerous other skill and tech-savvy workers, at various levels of education and experience.
(Photo via BuildSubmarines.com)
Everybody wants them
It’s the same kind of recruiting list every other defense industry eyeing Golden Dome is trying to fill.
None more so, for example, than those involved in space and missile defense, an industry sector in Alabama that, like shipbuilding, continues rapid growth, magnified most recently by plans for the U.S. Space Command to move its headquarters to Huntsville.
So how are recruiters finding or developing the workforce they need in Alabama?
An array of special tactics, some old school such as traditional job fairs, and others born of new innovative strategy with partnerships, are being implemented throughout the state.
(An Austal USA social media recruiting ad.)
They face new challenges, such as artificial intelligence, or AI, which will play a role as more robots train to paint or more computers think even faster, i.e. quantum computing.
But for now, it’s “all hands on deck,” and recruiters are looking for more hands.
The Navy tries a new tactic
Shipbuilding is a good case study of how workforce supply-and-demand plays a critical role.
The U.S. Navy needs more ships, and the United Sates needs more shipbuilders. Urgently so.
Alabama is doing its part by providing thousands of workers at companies like Austal USA, Alabama Shipyard, and Ingalls Shipyard in neighboring Mississippi, all on rapid growth trends with Navy and Coast Guard contracts. That means they’re all also trying traditional recruitment efforts to find and sustain the workforce needed to continue that trend.
The Navy, however, is trying a new tactic in Alabama, and so far, only in Alabama.
College sports.
At least, that’s where it started.
Billboards and internet ads on college athletic sites in the state kicked off the 2025 football season with a Navy-backed sponsorship. “Build Submarines” national advertisements in Alabama gave way to a more state-specific target with the “Build Giants Alabama” campaign.
The partnerships being forged directly support the Navy’s need for 25,000 new trade-skilled workers annually to build submarines, surface ships and unmanned vessels. It complements Alabama workforce initiatives, including the Alabama Community College Maritime Training Program, which will train more than 1,400 workers in ship-fitting, pipe-fitting and welding.
The University of Alabama has the brand advertised with a logo on its football field and inside its basketball facility after entering into a major partnership with Build Giants.
Auburn University has it as a featured sponsor of various athletics-driven websites.
Furthermore, the Navy working its strategic communications efforts with non-profit partner BlueForge Alliance isn’t stopping at the state’s largest sports venues.
BlueForge Alliance is “a nonprofit, mission-driven partner accelerating the revitalization of the defense industrial base through non-traditional approaches that deliver speed, access and scale,” says its website.
(Photo/BuildGiants.com)
“We are building a network of partners across Alabama. At the university level, the U.S. Navy’s Maritime Industrial Base (MIB) Program has established a major partnership with the University of Alabama through the Build Giants Alabama initiative.
“This collaboration also complements ongoing efforts with Auburn University and extends to the Alabama Community College System (ACCS),” a program spokeswoman said.
–Build Giants Alabama Q&A—
AlaDefense.com posed several questions to the organization, which the spokeswoman deferred to a small team of Navy officers and contractors that provided answers in the following Q & A:
Q1: Beyond the University of Alabama and Auburn University, with what schools/universities/colleges in Alabama do you have a partnership?
A: A $30 million MIB Program investment is establishing the Alabama Community College System Maritime Training Consortium, which brings new maritime training programs to four colleges:
–Lurleen B. Wallace College
–Reid State Technical College
–Coastal Alabama Community College
–Bishop State Community College.
Together, these efforts create an education-to-career pipeline that spans K-12 schools, community colleges, and universities across the state and reflects a regional focus on developing talent where shipbuilding and suppliers are most active.
Q2: What does such a partnership mean?
A: Our overall plan is a long-term workforce development collaboration. At the University of Alabama, the Build Giants Alabama brand combines high-visibility outreach with substantive educational programs.
On the outreach side, Crimson Tide Athletics provides a unique platform to reach Alabamians where they already gather. This includes visibility at home football games, gameday career activations, and a narrated video by former Crimson Tide Head Coach Nick Saban.
On the education side, the initiative includes curriculum development with UA engineering faculty, collaborative projects linking trades and engineering students, and STEM outreach programs.
These elements work together to connect Alabama residents with training and career opportunities in shipbuilding and maritime manufacturing, emphasizing a regional focus that ensures workforce investments are aligned with local industry needs.
Q3: What are your goals with such partnerships, and where would you like to see this program go?
A: The goal is to ensure America has the skilled workforce needed to build and sustain the Navy’s fleet. The MIB Program must help generate 25,000 new maritime trades workers annually over the next decade.
In Alabama, our regional focus means:
• Expanding training capacity through the Maritime Training Consortium.
• Creating direct pathways from high school through community college to university programs.
• Connecting students with internships, mentorships, and career fairs supported by our shipbuilders and suppliers.
We also see Build Giants Alabama as a potential model for other states. Lessons learned here will inform future workforce initiatives in regions with critical shipbuilding and supplier operations, while maintaining a regional focus in Alabama to ensure local workers are connected directly to local opportunities.
Q4: Why do you see Alabama as a productive and beneficial recruiting state worth the investment? With what other states are you seeking such partnerships?
A: Alabama already plays a vital role in America’s maritime industrial base. Major shipbuilders and suppliers operate in the Gulf Coast, supporting the construction of Navy destroyers, amphibious ships and littoral combat ships.
That means Alabama has both the industrial foundation and a qualified workforce eager for meaningful, high-skill jobs.
The University of Alabama’s reach and influence extend statewide and beyond, making it an ideal partner to connect Alabamians with these opportunities. At the same time, the state’s community colleges are well-positioned to deliver the specialized trades training shipbuilding requires.
This partnership reinforces a regional focus by targeting investments and outreach directly where they will have the most impact on the Gulf Coast’s shipbuilding ecosystem
While Build Giants Alabama is the first university-wide partnership of its kind, the Navy is evaluating this initiative as a model. Future partnerships may expand into other states with strong shipbuilding ties, but no additional state partnerships have been formally announced at this time.
Q5: Other thoughts, comments?
A: This is about more than filling jobs. It’s about creating long-term, purpose-driven careers that strengthen Alabama’s economy and America’s national defense.
By aligning schools, industry, and government, Build Giants Alabama shows what’s possible when education and workforce development come together to support a mission as vital as building the Navy our nation needs.
The initiative’s regional focus ensures these efforts deliver lasting benefits not just nationally, but directly to communities across Alabama.
–Austal USA Q&A—
Austal USA in Mobile builds ships for the U.S. Navy, and until recently, most contracts were for surface ships. That, however, expanded into the role of constructing modules for submarine production after a recent deal with the Navy.
A recruiter for shipbuilder Austal USA, headquartered in Mobile, speaks with a guest at a recent job fair.
Thus, it is among the companies competing for skilled workers and engineers and one of the benefactors of the Navy’s Build Giants Alabama program.
The following is an AlaDefense.com Q&A with Austal USA leadership:
Is Austal USA in partnership with the Navy in the Build Giants Alabama effort? How so?
A: Yes, Austal USA is partnering with the Navy in the recent launch of BuildGiantsAlabama.com.
Austal USA is currently collaborating with the University of Alabama to establish a formal partnership for our Internship Program, an effort that will be further strengthened by our involvement with Build Giants.
Is it working? And, how is it and Austal USA’s own recruiting efforts going?
A: Austal USA, through collaboration with several leading regional universities, including The University of Alabama, Auburn University, Mississippi State University and the University of South Alabama, and the Alabama Community College System, has seen a marked increase in participation in our internship programs, as well as a steady influx of talent into entry-level roles within engineering, supply chain and other key support departments.
What is Austal USA’s message to engineers and tech recruits?
A: Austal USA supports the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard by strengthening the maritime industrial base with advanced maritime solutions.
With a modern ship manufacturing facility located in Mobile, Alabama, ship sustainment and client service centers in San Diego and Singapore, and a technology center in Charlottesville, Virginia, Austal USA has an extensive network of operations with employment opportunities in maritime engineering, design, construction, technical services and sustainment, sales and marketing, and administration.
Regarding a workforce, who do you need and why, and why should they be interested? And, what other programs do you offer?
A: Austal USA is fortunate to have a multi-billion-dollar backlog of work resulting in the necessity for significant expansion in our production workforce. With that growth comes a wealth of training opportunities.
What sets our region apart in the shipbuilding industry is the incredible pipeline of talent, from high school graduates and career tech students to young adults launching their careers or individuals seeking a fresh start in a skilled trade.
To support this diverse and motivated workforce, Austal USA offers multiple pathways to success. Our flagship initiative, the Austal USA Apprenticeship Program, is on track to become the largest of its kind in Alabama.
In addition, we collaborate with local institutions like Bishop State Community College and Coastal Alabama Community College to provide even more training options tailored to the needs of our growing team.
Over the next five years, the bulk of our expansion will be in production roles. That’s why we’re investing heavily in these programs, to ensure our workforce is prepared, empowered and ready to meet the evolving demands of our customers.
Troy Turner is the editor and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. His bio can be found here.
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