The U.S. Navy Battle Stations 21 Training Facility is an $82 million dollar, 157,000 square foot project designed and executed by engineering firm SmithGroup and James McHugh Construction Company, among 90 other sub contractors and six different Navy commands. The United States Navy Battle Stations 21 was built with 17 different life-and-death scenarios, designed to prepare trainees to become Sailors. Battle Stations 21 was planned to the greatest detail, such as salt in the air, lighting effects and actual gun fire to make the encounter very real for those trainees who experience it. The 12 hour intensive skill testing ranges from fires to floods to terrorist attacks. The building encompasses a 200 foot long reduce scaled replica of a portion of an Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer in more than 90,000 gallons of water.
The facility is a first-ever, award winning training facility that is equipped with ship shaking effects, MP3 players, realistic dummies and much more. Once trainees complete the simulation successfully they earn the title of Sailor. While this facility is designed to show trainees the real life challenges they will be facing in the military, safety was a number one priority during the design phase. Special rooms where spaces flood and compartments are engulfed in flames were designed in a controlled manner that balances safety and multi-sensory simulation. In these flood and fire rooms, a slip resistant grating was required to let the water drain (when necessary). SlipNOT®Metal Safety Flooring was the only material specified on the job, due to the high performance, durable and high traction surface.
