Dec. 14, 2016 - Washington Surveyor

WASHINGTON SURVEYOR THE

Dec. 14, 2016

By SN Oscar Moreno Jr.

fireand

brimstone gw sailors graduate advanced welding school

By PO3 Clemente Lynch

backinthegame gw basketball team gears up for upcoming season

By PO2 Jennifer O’Rourke

goingto‘c’for

thefirsttime HS-11 BECOMES HSC-11

On the cover: PO2 Chris Wheat welds a pipe. (Photo by SN Oscar Albert Moreno Jr.)

PHOTO of the DAY

GW SAILORS GRADUATE ADVANCED WELDING SCHOOL

Lt. Jeffrey Knight signals to the pilot of a T-45C Goshawk. (Photo by Clemente A. Lynch)

By SN Oscar Moreno Jr.

staff Commanding Officer

Executive Officer

Command Master Chief

CAPT Timothy Kuehhas

CDR Colin Day

MCPO James Tocorzic

Public Affairs Officer

Deputy Public Affairs Officer

Media DLCPO

LCDR Gregory L. Flores

LTJG Andrew Bertucci

Editors PO1 Alan Gragg PO3 Kashif Basharat

CPO Mary Popejoy

Staff PO2 Alora Blosch PO2 Jessica Gomez PO2 Jennifer O’Rourke PO3 Wyatt Anthony PO3 Clemente Lynch

PO3 Michael Wiese SN Jamin Gordon SN Oscar Moreno Jr. SN Julie Vujevich

The Washington Surveyor is an authorized publication for Sailors serving aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73). Contents herein are not the visions of, or endorsed by the U.S. government, the Department of Defense, the Department of the Navy or the Commanding Officer of USS George Washington. All news releases, photos or information for publication in The Washington Surveyor must be submitted to the Public Affairs Officer (7726).

*For comments and concerns regarding The Washington Surveyor, email the editor at kashif.basharat@cvn73.navy.mil*

F

ace shield on! Gloves on! All tools on deck! Now it’s time to make a spark! Two Sailors assigned to the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), lived that life during the rigorous, 14-week, Advanced Welding School, which boasts a 60 percent failure rate.

However, that challenge inspired Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris Wheat and Petty Officer 2nd Class Derek Ruch to complete the school three weeks early.

“We finished the course around the 11th week,” said Ruch. “But we didn’t officially receive the results until graduation day.”

The first week of the school

students go over manuals, such as the Naval Ship’s Technical Manual, ranging from safety to qualification procedures. The manuals were inside two large books which pages summed up to 4,000.

“These manuals were all summed in the first week,” said Wheat. “It was just crazy on how much was covered in the first week alone.”

After that, the following weeks consisted of 13 projects that had to be completed by the end of the 13-week course.

“All of the projects had to be done by the end of the school,” said Ruch.

“Everything was self-paced. You had to manage your time, but still carefully

complete your projects.”

The two forms of welding they learned were Shielded Metal Arc Welding (SMAW), which uses filler material coated in flux that is struck on the base metal and creates an arc which fuses metal together, and Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW), which uses an electrode with an inert gas around it to melt and fuse metal.

Seven projects had students use SMAW and the other six had them use GTAW. Failure of a project occurred whenever there were any impurities found in the X-ray of the student’s projects.

“In my opinion, SMAW is the harder (continued on next page)

“People tried to get me ready for the course before it happened, but it

BACK

didn’t help. What did help was remembering that it’s nobody’s fault on what happens. If I fail, it’s because I failed. If I pass, it’s because I passed.”

INTHE

-PO2 Chris Wheat

of the two,” said Wheat. “The flux coating on the filler material leaves slag, which if not cleaned up, scores you an instant failure. It felt like a smack to the mouth whenever you turned in something you were proud of and the instructors treated it like a grenade just went off.”

However, Ruch and Wheat excelled past the higher standard the school

required of them.

“You can’t let defeat get to you and leave you moaning about your loss,” said Wheat. “At the end of the day, it’s your efforts that get you through it. People tried to get me ready for the course before it happened, but it didn’t help. What did help was remembering that it’s nobody’s fault on what happens. If I fail, it’s because I failed.

PO2 Derek Ruch welds a pipe. (Photo by SN Oscar Albert Moreno Jr.)

If I pass, it’s because I passed.”

As Ruch and Wheat continue to support the command with their skills and due diligence to the mission at hand, George Washington now has two new advanced welders to assist with the ship’s upcoming refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) maintenance, which will surely test their newly acquired welding talents.

GAME

W

(continued from previous page)

ON GT IN H S A

73

GW B-BALL TEAM GEARS UP FOR UPCOMING SEASON

By PO3 Clemente Lynch

T

he coming holiday period marks a time for friends and families to participate in the season’s festivities, and the coming New Year means basketball teams from various commands around Naval Station Norfolk will compete in league and tournament games. These teams play against other command teams and even teams that are unrelated to the military. The matches can vary from league games to games that help build community relations.

The aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) has three basketball teams. Air Department and Supply Department each has their own team, and GW has a command team as well.

“We have an extremely special oneday tournament coming up over the first leave period that we are getting ready for,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Reshawn Orr, the command team’s coach. “The league starts up again on Jan. 7 for the base teams. We are also trying to get involved with the Portsmouth league so that we can test our talent against some of the area’s best teams.”

Orr said to prepare for the upcoming season and schedule the team will keep practicing and trying to gel as a team.

With GW going to the shipyard in 2017, the team will have a

more consistent in-port schedule.

“Once we are settled in, it will be safe to say that we will be getting out in the community and competing in tournaments against teams in the Hampton Roads area,” said Seaman Timothy Parrott. “A goal of ours is to get out and give something back to the community doing something we love.”

The team has already had conversations with the Boys and Girls Club in Newport News, Portsmouth, and Norfolk, not just about scheduling games and tournaments, but about what the team can do for the community.

“We haven’t been able to set anything in stone as of yet,” said Orr. “However, at some point in the near future we will be getting out and doing things actively in the community, but first we have some tournaments to compete in.”

The locations for games and tournaments can range from any of the gyms on base to playing in games at local YMCAs. “Going forward our game and tournament schedule will definitely be more hectic,” said Parrott. “Since we have been underway pretty much the whole year we haven’t had ample time to get everything situated. We actually had a tournament scheduled in Portsmouth, but the underway schedule

resulted in us having to scratch that. Now that we are going to be pierside next year and then moving to the yards, the amount of games and tournaments we participate in will definitely add up. The possibilities for this team are endless.”

Parrott said it will be interesting to see how the team moves forward once the season picks up.

“We have a good solid group of guys right now, and with this upcoming in-port period it will give us plenty of times to mesh as a team and get the ball rolling,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Rodney Cobia.

Currently, the command team is boasting a 2-1 record and will be shooting to enter the D.C. Classic, which is a tournament featuring the best military talent whether it be the Navy, Army, Air Force, or Marines.

“We definitely plan on getting out and traveling to compete,” said Orr. “The D.C. Classic is going to be the first major tournament we are aiming to be involved in. Aside from that, competing around town whether it is league games, tournaments in the surrounding areas, or showing love to the community, we are going to represent our command in the best way.”

By PO2 Jennifer O’Rourke

GOINGTO‘C’FOR

THEFIRSTTIME

T

HS-11 BECOMES HSC-11

he sun went down on Helicopter The squadron traded the nowAnti-Submarine Squadron (HS) retired SH-60F and HH-60H Seahawk 11 on a spring day in 2016. helicopters for the multi-mission MHLegacy squadron members discussed 60S Knighthawk. The new helicopter is how far the community has come since based on the UH-60L Black Hawk and its inception as the Sub Seekers in 1957 the SH-60B Seahawk and designed to with the HSS-1 Seabat Helicopter. In a adapt to evolving mission requirements. symbolic manner, the antiquated SH“We aren’t dealing with old 60F and HH-60H Seahawks broke technology that only allows you to do off and disappeared from a formation one type of mission,” said Moore. “We flyover, while the modern MH-60S are dealing with utility aircraft that are Knighthawk followed close behind allowed to do multiple missions; we showing the progress of naval aviation. can pick someone up and bring them Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron to a ship, and we can put rockets and (HS) 11 left its limiting technology mini guns on the front of our aircraft to and obsolete battle plans behind and take out threats that are coming at the emerged from the ceremony with new capabilities and a new squadron title: Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 11. The dissolution of the last ‘HS’ helicopter squadron is a subtle ripple in the new era of naval aviation organization.

Keeping the squadron nickname, the Dragonslayers of HSC-11 went underway with the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) to conduct carrier PO3 Dustin Brisker prepares to climb down from an MH-60S Seahawk. (Photo by Clemente A. Lynch) qualifications for the first time as an HSC squadron.

“We are happy to be here,” said Lt. carrier. I think the Navy is really starting David Moore, assistant training officer to see the potential of merging the for the Dragonslayers of HSC-11. mission areas into one model aircraft.”

“New aircraft always smell a lot nicer.

While HSC squadrons use the Our oldest aircraft had about 13,000 Sierra iteration, the Helicopter hours on them, which is massive, it’s Maritime Strike (HSM) squadrons are not supposed to last that long. It was outfitted with the “Romeo” MH-60R very good to step into the new aircraft.” Knighthawk helicopters. This version

of the airframe includes sonar dipping capabilities enabling them to claim the anti-submarine responsibility. “[The squadron] used to be antisubmarine and now it’s Sea Combat,” said Moore. “So we actually lost a little. We had four mission areas, AntiSurface Warfare (ASUW), Personnel Recovery (PR), Special Operations Forces Support (SOF), and the last one we had when we were HS was AntiSubmarine Warfare (ASW). We lost that because we don’t have the equipment.

It is not part of the aircraft anymore.”

HS-11 began employing the SH60F and HH-60H Sea Hawks in 1994.

“The upgrade in avionics is tremendous,” said Master Chief Petty Officer Thomas Jackson, who has been a helicopter maintainer for the past 25 years.

“The drastic changes in avionics from the old gauges to this are a benefit to the pilots. Now, instead of having half-a-dozen gauges on each side you have two TVs with buttons on the side so you can change the format. The customizable display is colored so you can read a hull name on a ship. There is no question as to what you are looking at.”

According a feature article published on Lockheed Martin’s website, their ‘Common Cockpit’ technology used in the H-60 air frames provides critical information to the crew, and serves as the nerve center for the broad range of operations faced by a helicopter sea combat squadron. It

features GPS, mass data storage, and an integrated mission computer that allows pilots to have timely information to better complete their mission.

“SH-60Fs had some computers of course, but nothing to this degree,” said Jackson.

“Intermediate-level maintenance ashore and on the ship had more capability for repairs. Those guys could operate on a box and correct it and we would get it back right away.”

Intermediate maintenance insinuates a repair of an aspect of the aircraft that Sailors are able to complete with the resources of an afloat Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department (AIMD) or an ashore hangar to sustain the combat readiness of the aircraft.

“I am sure Big Navy is happy to have one less aircraft,” said Moore. “I think the Navy is always trying to consolidate.

It’s why strike fighter squadrons (VFA) are now flying the F/A-18.

They used to have attack squadrons and fighter squadrons now it’s a VFA community. They used to have HS squadrons, and they used to have HC squadrons. Now they are able to merge those. I think the Navy is moving in the right direction. They are happy now that everything is consolidated.”

To unite the East Coast HSC squadrons, the Dragonslayers moved from Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida to Naval Station Norfolk.

“The biggest change was the move to Norfolk,” said Moore. “In Jacksonville we were all by ourselves. We didn’t have too much support. We were all by ourselves on our own little island. We were away from the HSC wing. There wasn’t anything bad or great about

that, just the way it was. The biggest change was moving up to Norfolk; a whole new base, a different hangar, we have all of our sister squadrons up there now. We were back into a bigger base, back in Big Navy.”

This seemingly minor consolidation of naval aviation is evident of a much larger cultural change. The military’s historically symbiotic relationship with technology and engineering appears to be even more dependent. The versatile MH-60 Knighthawk airframe allows streamlined maintenance and has updatable computers and software.

As dusk fell on the Navy’s last remaining HS squadron, the changes and technological upgrades were symbolic of the rising sun on the future of HSC-11 and the helicopter sea combat squadron community.

Sailors from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 11 perform maintenance on a MH-60S Seahawk. (Photo by PO3 Clemente A. Lynch)

underway

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