BATH — Since the Navy formally closed Brunswick Naval Air Station on May 31 — and, really, as the sailors slowly shipped out during the past six years — residents of the Midcoast region have noticed the dramatic void previously filled in many areas of the community by the sailors, officers and others affiliated with the Navy.

But the Navy is still here, although far fewer in number, headquartered at Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair (SUPSHIP) Bath, across Washington Street from Bath Iron Works.

Overseeing Navy contracts for such ships as the $680 million DDG-115 is Capt. Robert Crowe, commander of SUPSHIP Bath, the onsite supervisor of shipbuilding for Naval Sea Systems Commands (NAVSEA) Department for Logistics, Maintenance and Industrial Operations.

Crowe, whose family lives in Topsham, assumed command of SUPSHIP Bath from Capt. Dean Krestos in July.

Crowe and his staff oversee the Navy’s contracts with BIW — as well as with Marinette Marine Corp. in Marinette, Wis., which builds the Littoral Combat Ship Freedom Variant, and General Dynamics-NASSCO in San Diego, where the 70-ton Mobile Landing Platform ship is built.

Serving as the “face of the Navy” after the closure of BNAS is “somewhat more challenging,” Crowe said, but the long-standing relationship between the Mid-coast region and the Navy made the transition much easier.

“We took on that role and we love it. Everyone in this area loves the Navy,” he said. “It’s a very patriotic population.”

Crowe came to SUPSHIP Bath from Millington, Tenn., where he led the Naval Personnel Command, an organization of 5,000 to 10,000 people coordinating moves for those serving in the Navy. Prior to that, he oversaw construction of Lewis & Clark class (TAKE) ships, 36-ton dry cargo/ammunition vessels operated by the Navy’s Military Sealift Command — at SUPSHIP Bath’s detachment in San Diego.

He spent the first 11 years of his Navy career as a surface warfare officer, serving aboard three ships: the USS Schenectady, the USS Avenger and the USS Comstock.

Since 1998, he’s held numerous positions in the engineering duty officer corps, overseeing technical aspects of ship construction and modernization.

This summer, his family, including five children, moved to Topsham — one of “a lot” of Crowe family relocations during the last five years.

Since settling in Topsham, the Crowes have immersed themselves in the “small-town atmosphere” of the community, including Mt. Ararat Middle School and Woodside Elementary — his son is a member of the Woodside One-Wheelers circus arts team — and they’ve been warmly welcomed in return.

“We’re taking everybody’s advice and enjoying the winter,” Crowe said. “Everybody says, ‘Make sure you have the proper clothes,’ so my wife and I have been to (L.L. Bean) and to Renys. We’ve heard, ‘Don’t let the snow stop you from having a good time.’ Our house is on the edge of a preserve, so we plan to do a lot of cross-country skiing.”

‘They know how to build ships’

From a formidable brick building across Washington Street and behind tall iron gates, Crowe’s second-story office overlooks the large green building at Bath Iron Works.

The location is fitting, because, “We don’t do the welding,” Crowe said. “We oversee the contracts. The Navy tells BIW, ‘You build this ship.’ They know how to build ships — they have a long history and do a great job. But there has to be an organization overseeing (the process), to see that it’s done according to cost, schedule and quality.”

After efforts in recent years to save taxpayer dollars, about eight SUPSHIP operations have been consolidated to four, according to Crowe: BIW; Pascagoula, Miss. — home of Ingalls Shipbuilding; Naval Submarine Base Groton in New London, Conn., which oversees construction of nuclear-powered submarines; and Newport News, Va., where they build submarines and aircraft carriers.

The nearly 200 Navy and civilian employees at SUPSHIP Bath now perform the work of the eight previous commands — “a big task for us,” Crowe said.

BIW and the Navy have a “professional and courteous relationship,” Crowe said, and the Navy makes an effort not to disrupt the shipbuilding process while keeping a close eye on the progress.

“The important thing is that this ship leaves with the captain and crew, and it’s ready to fight, and to bring the fight to the enemy,” Crowe said.

“We have to remember, we don’t build the ships,” he said, “but if it’s not going right, they do hear from us. We give encouragement if they’re doing a good job, and we provide criticism (when necessary).”

Most recently, Crowe recalled the “great” success of BIW’s keel-laying ceremony for the first of the Navy’s new DDG-1000 destroyers, the USS Zumwalt.

“It was very important and very sensitive to the Department of Defense,” he said of the November event. “They did that, not only with the minimum impact to the work going on (in the yard), but they made sure everybody had a good time and everybody got to see the ship. I told (BIW President Jeff) Geiger, ‘You guys hit it out of the ballpark.’ It was one instance of many.”

While they may not be “good buddies” with each other, workers at each organization live in the same neighborhoods and shop in the same grocery stores.

And while clearly not working for the same employer, SUPSHIP and BIW employees both cheer when the latter wins a contract for a new ship, Crowe said, because profit for BIW “means a healthy organization, and that’s good for the community.”

And it likely results in better ships.

“When shipyards don’t have a lot of contracts in their backlog, their behavior is different,” he said. “They sometimes cut costs. So yes, we get very excited (when a shipyard secures a new contract). It really helps with quality.”

Crowe said it surprises some members of the community when they still see Navy uniforms in the grocery store.

But in addition to the 200 SUPSHIP military and civilian staff, a pre-commissioning unit for the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer the USS Michael Murphy is already stationed in Bath, preparing for the ship’s departure in September 2012.

The unit, led by Commanding Officer Thomas Schulz, now numbers about 150 sailors and officers, but will grow to 200 in the new year.

“Their job is training to get ready for when the ship is ready to leave,” Crowe said. “So that they know the ship and are fully trained and ready to ride the ship down the Kennebec.”

A Navy presence

Since the closure of BNAS, those sailors live in former Navy housing in Brunswick now owned by developer George Schott.

Crowe said the lease with Schott has improved the quality of life for the sailors, who previously would have lived in a single room at the former Gateway Inn on the base.

“Mr. Schott is very patriotic and very supportive of the Navy,” Crowe said, and the collaboration of the Navy — through SUPSHIP — and the community is an example of “a good news story” he plans to see more of.

On Sept. 11, for example, Crowe attended a memorial ceremony in Phippsburg. He recently joined the Military Community Council, which each year awards the Joshua Chamberlain Award in recognition “of outstanding contributions toward the development and maintenance of the best possible relationship between the local military and civilian communities.”

SUPSHIP, with the Navy League, organized the Navy Ball in October, an event historically hosted by the commanding officer at BNAS.

“We saw the need to keep things going and to maintain a Navy presence,” Crowe said.

That presence will continue, according to Crowe, at BIW and in the communities where Navy personnel continue to live, shop and participate.

“You’ll see us every day and on the weekend, involved in school events and in the community,” he said. “Everybody here wants to make sure we do what’s best for the Navy and the community. If it’s anything other than that, we’ve got a problem.”

bbrogan@timesrecord.com

THE ANNUAL NEWSMAKERS SERIES profiles local individuals whose circumstances reflect major stories of the year.

Following the May 2011 decommissioning of Brunswick Naval Air Station, and the exodus in recent years of sailors, officers and others affiliated with the base, Capt. Robert Crowe, commander of SUPSHIP Bath, is the new “face of the Navy” in the Mid-coast region. Crowe said he’s committed to maintaining a Navy presence in such a “patriotic” community.