VOL. 5| ISSUE 2 October 16, 2016
NIMITZNEWS.WORDPRESS.COM
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in this issue: Page 06
NIMITZ NEWS Capt. John Ring Commanding Officer Capt. John D. Boone Executive Officer CMDCM Jimmy Hailey Command Master Chief
Media Department Lt. Cmdr. Theresa Donnelly PAO Ens. Meagan Morrison DIVO Chief Ahron Arendes Media LCPO PO1 Porter Anderson Media LPO PO2 Jimmy Cellini Production LPO PO2 Andrew Price Creative Lead PO2 Holly Herline Phojo WCS SN Emily Johnston Lead Designer
RUBBER DUCKIES: Seven Nimitz Sailors worked diligently to bring the ship one step closer to getting underway by conducting maintenance on the 6,400 abandon ship stern-type preservers intended to keep the crew safe should an abandon ship be called.
PO2 Mark Brison PO2 Eli Buguey PO2 Jose Hernandez PO2 Siobhana McEwen PO2 Ian Zagrocki PO3 Chad Anderson PO3 Samuel Bacon PO3 William Blees PO3 Eric Butler PO3 Colby Comery PO3 Marc Cuenca PO3 Deanna Gonzales PO3 Jessica Gray PO3 Austin Haist PO3 Lauren Jennings PO3 Erickson Magno SN Kenneth Blair SN David Claypool SN Cody Deccio SN Weston Mohr SN Liana Nichols SN Bethany Woolsey
Page 04 THE CATS ARE BACK: While underway for sea trials, Air Department’s V-2 division reached a huge milestone for not only the department, but for the ship. Find out how V-2 Sailors brought Nimitz one step closer to being fully operational.
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BRINGING STEAM: THE RETURN OF THE CATS STORY AND PHOTOS BY SN KENNETH BLAIR
Sailors conduct a no-load test of the catapults on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68).
“Watch the line!” echoes across the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) early one morning. Green and yellow jerseys stand in position around Nimitz catapult one. A stillness seems to take hold of everyone in attendance. A thumbs up to signal the launch is clear and the silence is broken by the catapult roaring to life, steam shoots the shuttle the length of the catapult in seconds. The Sailors of Nimitz’ Air Department V-2 division have spent the last 20 months preforming maintenance and modifications to the catapult systems, commonly referred to as cat, on board. Last week they completed the
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final stages of testing before welcoming Carrier Air Wing 11 on board. The launch valve test, conducted during Nimitz’s sea trials, was the culmination of all the work done during the yard period coming to a conclusion. Ensign Lester Quinlin, Air Boatswain in charge of V-2’s maintenance program, said approximately 45,000 man hours were put into the catapults to get them to this point. “We replaced three cat launch valves and all the rotary retraction engine cables,” said Quinlin. “We also repacked all four catapult accumulators and removed the launching engine cylinders on cats two and four.”
Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Gewecke, flight deck petty officer of V-2’s bow cats, said the hours were long but worth it. “It’s good to see them coming back up,” said Gewecke. “We spent a lot of hours just getting everything back together, 11 to 18 a day, but that’s just how Air is. Everybody has to work together.” “Teamwork, A Tradition” came into full effect during this multi-month operation. According to Quinlin, V-2 couldn’t have made their timeline without help from other departments and divisions on board Nimitz. “Supply worked miracles to get
up the parts we needed, not an easy task when coming out of the ship yard at the end of the fiscal year,” said Quinlin. “Engineering was a huge help in aligning steam and getting ventilation working throughout various spaces.” With the cats certified, V-2 now looks toward the reason behind all of the work put in, the launch and recovery of aircraft. According to Gewecke, one of the problems with an Extended Planned Incremental Availability (EPIA) is all the personnel and subsequent experience that is lost due to transfers, but he remained hopeful, stating that while his crew is under-qualled, they are highly motivated to get back to the operational ability Nimitz expects from V-2. “We have a very young, green crew,” said Quinlin. “We will train and qualify the future of V-2.” With completion of the cats launch valve certification, V-2 passed a major milestone, not just for Air Department, but for Nimitz as a whole. “It feels great to be able to go to sea and know we have the ability to take CVN 68 to the fight and put some serious firepower in the air,” said Quinlin. “I can honestly say I speak for all of V-2 division when I say we cannot wait to launch a strike against ISIS or anyone else who wishes to hurt the American people or interfere with our way of life”. That first blast of steam off the flight deck of Nimitz and the shuttle shooting forward was not just one certification, it was a milestone on top of thousands of hours of work, put into work by hands all across the ship. It is a milestone that reflects the integrity of Nimitz crew. It is a sign of what’s to
come. The whistle of the shuttle is now accompanied by the roar of jet engines. A new milestone has been reached. The road ahead to deployment is still a long one for V-2 but at sea flight operations are here.
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SINK
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SWIM Story by PO3 Samuel Bacon Photos by PO3 Samuel Bacon and PO3 Erickson B. Magno
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“Prepare to abandon ship.” The disembodied voice crackles and hisses as it passes through the speaker, camouflaging any terror that could accompany it. It’s the voice you never want to hear. Standing at the edge of the deck plates, you await the order to make the plunge into the depths waiting below. The only defense you have against the sea is a small device the size of a fanny pack. Despite its size, the components within are vital to your survival once you hit the water. The vest slides effortlessly over your head, waiting to join you in your battle against the sea. Trusting your preserver is almost natural because you know the work that went into it preparing for this very moment. On board the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) a team of seven Deck Department Sailors worked diligently to perform maintenance on 6,400 abandon ship-type preservers ensuring that if the order to abandon ship is given, the crew will be safe. A dozen individual parts, seven technical documents and a dedicated team went into maintaining the life preservers, affectionately known on board as ‘rubber duckies’. “During an abandon ship, they’re issued to personnel by departments before they jump into the water,” said Seaman Phisean Phan, a member of the team. “We have to certify them before they even get to the department.” In a process hardened by months of practice, an assembly line-style system was developed with each member of the team focused on one particular part of the maintenance. The average time for a life preserver to travel from one side of the line to the other is about 10 to 15 minutes. “It’s difficult to store 6,400 life preservers, let alone find all the parts for them,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Travis Stern, the leader of the maintenance team. “When you add in the amount of stuff we need it’s a real [challenge]. The entire ship really helped us out. Supply Department gave us extra materials and Air Department
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gave us a few Air Traffic Controllers to help with assembly.” A lack of materials and space wasn’t the only challenge the small team faced. Time was not on their side to get the required maintenance accomplished for the 6,400 rubber ducks before getting underway. “The deadlines have been tough and they’re difficult to reach,” said Phan. “In order to keep up with production we worked from 5:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and we occasionally would skip lunch to clear out our backlog.” The maintenance itself consists mostly of measuring, cutting and tying small pieces of line to different parts of the life preserver. Several pieces of line hold important devices such as the emergency whistle and the distress marker light, items that are a necessity to survival and recovery at sea should a Sailor find themselves in the water. “The work is very tedious,” said Seaman Kyle Hamby, a seaman in charge of packaging the life preservers. “You do the same thing for hours a day, tying a knot on one end and tying it to something else on the other end. Knowing if you mess up, you could really ruin someone’s day later. We started with seven personnel and finished with three but still cleared 6,400 duckies; it’s a huge milestone.” As a requirement to go to sea, the life preservers were stored and ready to go before the ship could leave the pier. As the life preservers were issued to their individual departments, they are stored in small grey boxes in the overhead near departmental muster stations. “It’s not a small task that we’ve worked on,” said Stern. “It’s something that helped the ship go out to sea. We’re here to do our job and this one was pretty satisfying to complete.” The job they do working on the rubber duckies may seem tedious, but their efforts will not be in vain should the Sailors on board Nimitz hear that terrifying order given over the 1MC. It may never happen, but at least the crew will be safe - just in case.
SN Phisean Phan measures a piece of line attaching the stress marker light to the abandon ship life preserver.
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A HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARD TO THE U.S. NAVY
STORY BY SN WESTON MOHR
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As you keep watch around the globe, protecting the freedom of our country and others, we would like to wish you a happy 241st birthday. 241 years ago on Oct. 13, 1775, we saw you brought into this world by your parents, the Continental Congress. Over the years we have seen you grow and develop into the strongest and most powerful naval force in history. You have made friends, and you have made enemies, but you always kept your head on your shoulders and powered through. You have accomplished and grown so much this year. With about 430 ships in your active service and reserve fleet, you have not slowed down in building up your armada. According to the Naval Vessel Register, around 70 more ships are in planning or under construction to assist you in projecting your forward presence around the world. The destroyer USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000) is a late birthday present as it was commissioned Oct. 15. The ship is the first of its class, capable of being equipped with energy beam weapons and the electromagnetic rail gun, both of which are under development. Your sense of style is beginning to change as you start to transition from the Navy Working Uniform (NWU) Type I to the NWU Type III as the primary shore working uniform. This uniform is lighter, more comfortable and breathable. You have listened to the calls of your Sailors and have changed your dress blue uniform. The new trousers feature pockets and a zipper, leaving the traditional, 13 buttons there as decoration. Instead of receiving separate dress blues, both men and women are being issued this new uniform in boot camp. The rest of your Sailors will be able to purchase the new uniform starting next year. Women have also started to wear the “Dixie Cup� with their dress uniforms, which was previously only worn by men. With these big uniform changes that emphasize gender neutrality, another major accomplishment you and your siblings, Army, Air Force, Marines, and Coast Guard, have accomplished together is lifting the ban on transgender persons and allowing them to serve openly in our great military, continuing to set the pace for equality in American society.
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According to Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, the lifting of the ban will ensure that you have the widest talent pool available, while living up to the American principles of equal fairness and opportunity under the law. You’ve even decided to part with something that’s been with you since your early years. Sailors will no longer be identified by their rate; instead they will be called by their rank. Navy Secretary Ray Mabus initiated this transition in a move to find gender-neutral titles and expand your Sailor’s worth to the Navy. Four digit codes, called Navy Occupational Specialties (NOS) will now replace the old rates while giving Sailors the opportunity for greater advancement and more available duty stations. Although it will be hard to get used to calling people by rank, you will get the hang of it soon enough. You’re looking in better shape as well. It must be these new PFA rules you put into effect this year! You eased the rules on body fat percentage, but now only two failures will result in a Sailor getting separated. Sailors who fail random checkups or the actual PFA are enrolled into the Fitness Enhancement Program to work on their level of fitness and get within the Navy’s Standards. Although much has changed this past year, you’re still the awesome war fighting, peace keeping Navy that you’ve always been. With your best years ahead, here’s to many more birthdays to come. Cheers!
Sincerly,
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weekly throwback
An F-14A Tomcat launches off of Nimitz’ flight deck in 1998.
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through | the | lens
Sailors conduct small boat operations as part of sea trials. Photo by Seaman Weston Mohr Seaman Kassandra Verhaag stands next to a .50-caliber machine gun prior to a gun shoot on the fantail. Photo by Seaman David Claypool Sailors sweep the deck in the hangar bay after testing the ship’s aqueous film forming foam as part of sea trials. Photo by PO2 Holly Herline
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