AUG. 14, 2013
Vol. 2 Issue 79
Story and photo by MC3 Linda S. Swearingen
Damage control is the job of every Sailor on board a U.S. naval vessel. However, for a damage controlman (DC) it is their only job. A day in the life of the average DC on board the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) involves a lot of maintenance to ensure their equipment is ready to go in the event an actual casualty happens and they are called upon to fight it. “The hardest part of being a DC is the amount of equipment we have versus the amount of manpower we have,” said Damage Controlman 2nd Class Wesley D. Myers, of Fairfield, Calif. “When I got here there were about 65 people in our rate, and now there are only about 30 people.”
Due to the change in manpower over the last few years, the DCs have had to step up and work longer hours than they did when they were more heavily manned. “The amount of work and equipment hasn’t changed, just the amount of people to do it,” said Myers. “We used to only work days, but now we have DCs working 24 hours a day around the clock to work alongside with the aircrew to ensure their equipment is worked on at nighttime to ensure it doesn’t affect their flight operations during the day.” All the hard work the DCs do every day, however, doesn’t come without some personal gratification.
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Commanding Officer CAPT Jeff Ruth
Executive Officer CDR John Cummings
Editor MC2 (SW) Jason Behnke
Command Master Chief CMDCM Teri McIntyre
Public Affairs Officer LCDR Karin Burzynski
Lead Designer MCSA Andrew Price
Nimitz News accepts submissions in writing. All submissions are subject to review and screening. �Nimitz News� is an authorized publication for the members of the military services and their families. Its content does not necessarily reflect the official views of the U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy, or the Marine Corps and does not imply endorsement thereby.
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“Seeing all our equipment actually working when we are combating an actual casualty is the most rewarding part of my job,” said Myers. According to Damage Controlman Fireman Casey N. Helmer, of Battle Ground, Wash., the most rewarding part of his job is when he is able to respond to a medical emergency. “I like being able to respond to medical casualties knowing that I was able to help someone and see them walking down the p-way later,” said Helmer. “All DCs are trained on how to be stretcher bearers so we are trained on how to respond to medical emergencies.” For Helmer, one of the most challenging parts of being a DC is when a casualty is called away and Sailors don’t help clear paths for them to travel through the p-ways in order to respond to the casualty as quickly as possible. “Time is of the essence, and the longer we take to get to the casualty the fire can spread, people can die or equipment can get damaged,” said Helmer. The maintenance the DCs are in charge of encompass the entire ship, from the AFFF stations on the flight deck to the hangar bay to spaces in the reactor. “We also do maintenance on CO2 fixall flooding systems, halon systems, to APC systems to protect the galley,” said Helmer. “We are also in charge of all the firemains on board.” The DCs work side by side with Sailors from other rates on a daily basis to ensure that
the ship is able to function at the highest level of proficiency. “We work with the electricians because they are the ones who are checking our systems with power, and we coordinate with reactor a lot to ensure we don’t interfere with their operations,” said Myers. “We also work with the Air Department on the flight deck to work around their schedules and not holding them up so they can do the ship’s mission.” In order to ensure they are always ready to combat an actual casualty the DCs conduct drills constantly. “We do drills two or three times a week and we assist reactor, air department and medical in their drills,” said Helmer. “We have a hand in almost all the drills and actual casualties on board.” The equipment the DCs utilize to combat a casualty is the lifeline of the ship and if it is not properly maintained then the results can be disastrous. “Respect our equipment because we use it to save lives,” said Myers. “We use the same equipment day to day. We’re here to help save lives and the ship, so it’s important when our equipment is used during GQ or training that it is properly restored in case of an actual casualty.” The work of a DC is never done, but thanks to the hard work and diligence of the DCs on board, Nimitz will be prepared for any situation that may arise.
by Greg Vojtko
FROM THE TOP
Lance Doddridge, electrical engineer and physicist at Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Corona Division, splices fiber optic cable as he works on Linearity Calibration Standard (LCS) 8513.
INNOVATING ACCURACY
By Troy Clarke and Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Chris Okula, Naval Surface Warfare Center Corona Public Affairs
N
ORCO, Calif. (NNS) -- The Navy’s submarine force has a new, patent-pending tool allowing it to maintain its fiber optic systems like never before - a new capability powered by an invention from the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Corona Division, its top officer announced. The innovation lets the Navy compare fiber optic power test meters throughout their entire range of output against a known standard, allowing the fleet to perform reliable and accurate measurements
in-house, without outsourcing, reducing costs while increasing capability for the maritime service. Commanding Officer Capt. Eric Ver Hage praised the delivery, lauding the new instrument as a measurement science milestone that the 21st century military will rely on for years to come. “Our R&D team has been working hard to develop this fiber optic calibration standard,” Ver Hage said. “Seeing it delivered to the submarine fleet is an awesome example of what warfare centers do for Navy programs to drive down costs
while keeping our fighting forces at the forefront of technology.” Ver Hage added this is yet another achievement that strengthens the Navy’s intellectual property holdings that adds long-term value to the taxpayer. The latest Patent Power Scorecard published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers ranks the Navy’s patent portfolio best in the world amongst all other government agencies, a distinction fueled by people across the Navy’s Science and Engineering Enterprise. And the patent-pending advancement comes as the modern fleet operates more and more frequently through fiber optics streaming at the speed of light. All new Navy ships and submarines are outfitted with fiber optic backbones to handle their complex networks because older copper-wire networks can’t handle the throughput of today’s sophisticated military hardware. Lance Doddridge, the NSWC Corona physicist and electrical engineer who invented the calibration system, called the Linearity Calibration Standard (LCS) 8513 - understands its value for the warfighter. “Fiber optics connect everything from weapons systems, control centers, and radar, to a ship’s last line of defense,” Doddridge said. “Every piece of test equipment, by [Department of Defense] mandate, has to be calibrated using standards that are traceable to a national standard.” Correctly calibrated equipment helps ensure military hardware functions properly, accurately and safely, ranging from a ship’s propulsion plant to an F/A-18 Hornet’s laser target designators to night vision goggles. And accuracy is vital, especially for the submarine community. In developing the new standard, NSWC Corona collaborated with its sister division, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) in Newport, R.I., to determine its equipment needs. Until the new system arrived, the undersea warfare center had outsourced its fiber optic calibration responsibilities. “Without the ability to perform these tests in-house, these sensitive items would have to be shipped to various pre-approved and accredited vendors throughout the country, resulting in
additional contracting expense and subjecting [the equipment] to delays and possible damage in shipping,” said Mark Medeiros, NUWC Newport’s calibration laboratory team lead. In addition to LCS8513, Doddridge has created another calibration standard, called ADFOCS - the Attenuation and Distance Fiber Optic Calibration Standard, which NUWC Newport now has to complement the linearity standard. He fabricated and assembled the instrument by hand, even using 3D printing to save costs and weight when possible. It compares commercial, off-the-shelf fiber optic test equipment for accuracy against more accurate standards that are traceable to national standards - which flow from the National Institute of Standards and Technology to the Navy Gage and Standards Lab at NSWC Corona, the Navy and Marine Corps’ designated technical agent for measurement science and calibration. Medeiros says these new standards will vastly improve NUWC Newport’s ability to address the rising demand for fiber optic systems calibration. “Having the ability to support these measurements in-house saves an enormous amount of money and time,” Medeiros said. “It enables us to provide quick, reliable, on-time service to meet deployment schedules and support internal programs.” Headquartered in Norco, Calif., NSWC Corona is part of the Navy’s Science and Engineering Enterprise and leads the Navy in independent assessment, measurement and calibration standards and range systems engineering. As a Naval Sea Systems (NAVSEA) Command field activity, the command employs approximately 2,000 scientists, engineers, technicians and support personnel and includes a detachment in Seal Beach, Calif. NSWC Corona has received patents in seven areas of innovation for its automated MetBench Calibration Management System (MCMS), which distributes and maintains calibration and test equipment data for Navy ships, seamlessly synchronizing all data for users all around the world. It won the Department of the Navy’s Chief Information Officer’s Information Management/ Information Technology Excellence Award in 2011.
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ON THE COVER: DCFN Christian D. Cruz, left, and DC3 Jonathan E. Feinberg perform maintenance on a solenoid operated pilot value (SOPV).