Photo By Paul Long | Yokosuka, Japan (Feb 27, 2015) USS Germantown (LSD-42) Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Gary ...... read more read more
By LT Jesse Rond, USS Germantown Public Affairs Officer
YOKOSUKA, Japan – USS Germantown was presented with the 2014 Secretary of the Navy Energy and Water Management Achievement Award on February 27th, 2015. The award is the Secretary of the Navy’s way of recognizing ships who demonstrate above average conservation of fuel resources. Pacific Fleet Maintenance Officer, Rear Adm. Alma Grocki presented USS Germantown with the Gold Level award for their outstanding ability to practice fuel efficiency while still meeting all mission requirements.
"With the constrained resources that we have, not just money but other resources, we have to promote conservation if we want to be an effective warfighter,” stressed Grocki when discussing the importance of energy conservation throughout the fleet. This award is just one way of promoting that efficiency, and Germantown is setting the example others should follow.
Energy conservation takes a concerted effort by all hands to actively seek energy savings while dockside and underway. Recommendations are followed from the ENCON energy conservation checklist such as maintaining air conditioning boundaries and securing lights when not needed. These energy efficient standards are promoted through notes in the Plan of the Day as well as continuous leadership enforcement.
Efficiency of equipment is another critical step in energy conservation. The savings begin to add up when you have an aggressive maintenance program that enforces cleaning ventilation systems to ensure unrestricted air flow, keeping the hull clean of sea life to reduce drag, maintaining all mechanical equipment to ensure maximum operational efficiency, and enforcing a rigorous fuel quality management program to prevent fuel waste.
Energy conservation continues with detailed operational planning. The ship’s Main Propulsion Assistant (MPA) and Navigator work closely together to ensure the best economical speed is utilized while still meeting mission requirements. When the operational schedule allows, Germantown would trail shaft and secure offline engines, further minimizing unnecessary fuel waste.
Germantown allows the Navy to focus on expending funding and resources on other priorities, such as maintenance in a fiscally constraining environment. Cdr Gary Harrington, the Commanding Officer of the Germantown, is proud that his crew is striving to be at the forefront of this endeavor.
“It really is an all hands effort,” says Cdr Harrington. “It requires developing a ship culture that goes from the leadership all the way down to those operating equipment. This award means a lot to the ship because it represents the pride that these great sailors take in doing each and every job well above the minimum standards.”
| Date Taken: | 03.13.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.13.2015 01:18 |
| Story ID: | 156883 |
| Location: | YOKOSUKA, JP |
| Web Views: | 69 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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