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| At the Navy Yard, workers returned Monday to the scene of a rampage that killed 12 | At the Navy Yard, workers returned Monday to the scene of a rampage that killed 12 |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Hundreds of Navy Yard workers began returning to Building 197 Monday, the first day the building has been open since 12 of their colleagues were killed in a mass shooting 17 months ago. | |
| Just before 8 a.m., they gathered outside the new main entrance to the building, which houses the Naval Sea Systems Command and has been renovated and renamed. They saluted as a flag was raised. A cold rain fell as they prayed for the building. | |
| Vice Adm. William Hilarides, who leads NAVSEA, stood at a podium and addressed the crowd. “Seventeen months ago, we got knocked down,” he said, “but we didn’t stay down.” | |
| “The only thing that got us through the tragedy of September 16, was staying together. Today’s about looking forward, but we will never forget those we lost. Getting to this day has not been easy, but we are back.” | |
| Hilarides invoked a Navy tradition when a new ship is launched. “When it touches the water for the first time, there is a christening ceremony,” he said. “Today is our christening ceremony.” | |
| The admiral’s wife, Beverly Hilarides, smashed a bottle of champagne against the brick of the building. The somber crowd clapped. | |
| Then Hilarides commanded workers to “break my flag.” Breaking a flag symbolizes that an admiral is in the building or on board a ship. | |
| The crowd turned toward the river and waited as the admiral’s flag was raised. Hilarides then picked up a brown cardboard box and turned and went inside. Hundreds of workers followed. | |
| “It’s a little surreal,” said a 49-year-old engineer. “But it’s good to get back into the building. It’s haunting, a little, thinking of what happened here. But everything is new again.” | |
| When he got to his desk at 5:30 a.m., he said everything was quiet. “They moved in everything nicely. It’s gone smoothly so far.” | When he got to his desk at 5:30 a.m., he said everything was quiet. “They moved in everything nicely. It’s gone smoothly so far.” |
| Rory O’Connor, a spokesman for the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), said workers began arriving as early as 5 a.m. | Rory O’Connor, a spokesman for the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), said workers began arriving as early as 5 a.m. |
| “I think people are excited,” O’Connor said. “Returning to our work home is a big step forward. The building looks great. People are at their desks. Boxes are waiting to be unpacked. Four hundred people moved in over the weekend. Other workers w ill return over the next few weeks.” | |
| Some Navy Yard employees were looking forward to regaining a sense of normalcy. Others are so traumatized that they couldn’t bring themselves to reenter their former workplace, where contractor Aaron Alexis stalked cubicles, hallways and stairwells with a sawed-off Remington shotgun on Sept. 16, 2013. | |
| Beth Ann Cordova lost two co-workers that day: Michael Arnold and Richard “Mike” Ridgell. A third person she is close to, Jennifer Bennett, was badly wounded. | Beth Ann Cordova lost two co-workers that day: Michael Arnold and Richard “Mike” Ridgell. A third person she is close to, Jennifer Bennett, was badly wounded. |
| Cordova, a 55-year-old executive assistant and data manager, said she will steel herself to head to her new desk in the renovated building. But there are certain parts of Building 197 that she would rather avoid, even after a tour several weeks ago designed to ease her fears. | Cordova, a 55-year-old executive assistant and data manager, said she will steel herself to head to her new desk in the renovated building. But there are certain parts of Building 197 that she would rather avoid, even after a tour several weeks ago designed to ease her fears. |
| “I did not wish to go anywhere near where Jennifer had been shot, and I still don’t,” Cordova said. “He hurt my friend. I could have lost her.” | “I did not wish to go anywhere near where Jennifer had been shot, and I still don’t,” Cordova said. “He hurt my friend. I could have lost her.” |
| Cordova knows a group of people who refuse to go back. The Navy has accommodated their wishes by transferring them to other jobs in other buildings, said Vice Adm. William Hilarides, who leads NAVSEA. | Cordova knows a group of people who refuse to go back. The Navy has accommodated their wishes by transferring them to other jobs in other buildings, said Vice Adm. William Hilarides, who leads NAVSEA. |
| Dozens of other workers have retired rather than return, even as the Navy has completed a $6.4 million renovation of the building to erase the worst memories of the mentally ill Alexis, 34, who was killed that day by police. | Dozens of other workers have retired rather than return, even as the Navy has completed a $6.4 million renovation of the building to erase the worst memories of the mentally ill Alexis, 34, who was killed that day by police. |
| Paul Anderson, a Navy commander and chaplain, said support teams, including chaplains and employee assistance personnel, will help people “reinhabit” the building. | |
| “The Navy has done a wonderful job of re-creating that space so that it won’t be haunted by memories and by the unresolved emotions of people who were there that day,” Anderson said. “They have done a herculean effort at reclaiming and rededicating that space. There may be people so traumatized they don’t feel comfortable about being back in there. Some will have to figure out ways to expunge their fear. But the institution has done as much as they can to make the building a safe place.” | |
| The overhaul of the building includes new offices, doors, windows, carpet and paint. Even the entrance — where Ridgell, a 52-year-old security guard, was killed — has been moved. Outside, there are concrete steps, benches and windows where the entrance used to be. | The overhaul of the building includes new offices, doors, windows, carpet and paint. Even the entrance — where Ridgell, a 52-year-old security guard, was killed — has been moved. Outside, there are concrete steps, benches and windows where the entrance used to be. |
| “In fact, you can’t find vestiges of it,” Hilarides said last week. “Several of our folks dragged Mike out after he had been shot and tried to save him in the parking garage. So there is a lot of emotion about that.” | “In fact, you can’t find vestiges of it,” Hilarides said last week. “Several of our folks dragged Mike out after he had been shot and tried to save him in the parking garage. So there is a lot of emotion about that.” |
| Inside the entry area is a space dedicated to the 12 people who died in the shooting: Ridgell, Arnold, Martin Bodrog, Arthur Daniels Sr., Sylvia Frasier, Kathleen Nark Gaarde, John Roger Johnson, Mary Frances DeLorenzo Knight, Frank Kohler, Vishnu Pandit, Kenneth Bernard Proctor Sr. and Gerald Read. The memorial was unveiled Sunday to the victims’ families. | Inside the entry area is a space dedicated to the 12 people who died in the shooting: Ridgell, Arnold, Martin Bodrog, Arthur Daniels Sr., Sylvia Frasier, Kathleen Nark Gaarde, John Roger Johnson, Mary Frances DeLorenzo Knight, Frank Kohler, Vishnu Pandit, Kenneth Bernard Proctor Sr. and Gerald Read. The memorial was unveiled Sunday to the victims’ families. |
| The building’s redesign includes soothing new paint colors — daffodil yellow, freshwater blue, parakeet apple green. There is a new cafeteria and visitors’ center near a Starbucks kiosk. Soundproof glass walls enclose a former atrium to help reduce noise. | The building’s redesign includes soothing new paint colors — daffodil yellow, freshwater blue, parakeet apple green. There is a new cafeteria and visitors’ center near a Starbucks kiosk. Soundproof glass walls enclose a former atrium to help reduce noise. |
| The building has been renamed in honor of Joshua Humphreys, who designed the first Navy frigates. Hilarides said a new name was an important reminder of NAVSEA’s resilience. | The building has been renamed in honor of Joshua Humphreys, who designed the first Navy frigates. Hilarides said a new name was an important reminder of NAVSEA’s resilience. |
| A task force of NAVSEA employees oversaw the renovation of the historic brick building, which had been used during World War II to assemble guns for battleships. | A task force of NAVSEA employees oversaw the renovation of the historic brick building, which had been used during World War II to assemble guns for battleships. |
| During the renovation, Building 197’s workers were relocated to a former Coast Guard facility at Buzzard Point in Southwest Washington. | During the renovation, Building 197’s workers were relocated to a former Coast Guard facility at Buzzard Point in Southwest Washington. |
| On Saturday, movers began carrying in files and installing computers for the first wave of returning workers, O’Connor said. Other workers will return on a staggered weekly move-in schedule over the next nine weeks. | On Saturday, movers began carrying in files and installing computers for the first wave of returning workers, O’Connor said. Other workers will return on a staggered weekly move-in schedule over the next nine weeks. |
| Hilarides acknowledged that some workers are struggling with the return. To help, NAVSEA organized groups of employees to tour the building in small groups in recent weeks. | Hilarides acknowledged that some workers are struggling with the return. To help, NAVSEA organized groups of employees to tour the building in small groups in recent weeks. |
| “We didn’t want anyone to say, ‘The first day I go back in the building is the first day I go back to work,’ ” he said. | “We didn’t want anyone to say, ‘The first day I go back in the building is the first day I go back to work,’ ” he said. |
| Cordova said her tour was extremely helpful. “I was on the ‘Who’s going to have a problem?’ tour, ” she said, adding that she was reassured by all the changes she found. “It looked different, and I thought, ‘I can deal with this.’ ” | Cordova said her tour was extremely helpful. “I was on the ‘Who’s going to have a problem?’ tour, ” she said, adding that she was reassured by all the changes she found. “It looked different, and I thought, ‘I can deal with this.’ ” |
| But not everyone came to that conclusion. One woman on a different tour had an anxiety attack a quarter of the way through the first floor and had to leave, according to someone who was with her. She isn’t scheduled to move into the building until March and will try to visit again. | But not everyone came to that conclusion. One woman on a different tour had an anxiety attack a quarter of the way through the first floor and had to leave, according to someone who was with her. She isn’t scheduled to move into the building until March and will try to visit again. |
| Accommodations are being made for those too traumatized to return, Hilarides said. | Accommodations are being made for those too traumatized to return, Hilarides said. |
| “The people who knew themselves well enough and said, ‘I could never go back’ have found a new path,” he said. “Many have retired.” | “The people who knew themselves well enough and said, ‘I could never go back’ have found a new path,” he said. “Many have retired.” |
| O’Connor said that 132 employees retired between Sept. 15, 2013, and Dec. 31, 2014 — but officials could not break out how many of those departures were prompted by the shooting. Some workers had been offered early retirements to help with budget cuts. | O’Connor said that 132 employees retired between Sept. 15, 2013, and Dec. 31, 2014 — but officials could not break out how many of those departures were prompted by the shooting. Some workers had been offered early retirements to help with budget cuts. |