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PACIFIC OCEAN – Two months after completing deployment, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) was back out at sea conducting carrier qualifications (CQ) for Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9.
During the five day CQ, CVW 9 qualified 37 pilots, keeping them operationally ready and current on qualifications. In one day, Abraham Lincoln Sailors worked with pilots to complete 175 arrested landings.
“Like all things, practice makes perfect,” said Capt. James Christie, commander, CVW 9. “Recovering and landing on an aircraft carrier is a perishable skill for us pilots, so maintaining these yearly requirements is crucial for us.”
The short underway balanced operational readiness with COVID-19 virus concerns. Before going out to sea, Abraham Lincoln’s medical department screened Sailors for COVID-19 symptoms prior to embarkation.
“Health and safety of the crew is Abraham Lincoln’s top priority,” said Lt. Roy Couture, Abraham Lincoln’s ship nurse. “Medical’s strategy for battling COVID-19 mimics operational readiness tactics. The common denominators allowing us to stay operationally ready and adapt to COVID-19 threats are to: stay healthy, utilize risk mitigation, and have a plan for all contingencies. Being able to combat COVID-19 concerns starts with containing the spread and minimize its impact on the embarked crew.”
Although Abraham Lincoln’s crew is no stranger to keeping the ship clean during the ship’s daily, hour-long cleaning stations, an added emphasis has been placed on disinfecting high-traffic areas. Leadership instructed the crew was instructed to target areas such as hand rails, door knobs, keyboards, desks and bathrooms.
“I am grateful our leadership is so concerned with our health,” said Seaman Michael Prewitt. “I am happy to take the extra time to clean and disinfect our home in an effort to keep us all mission ready.”
The crew of Abraham Lincoln continues to learn, educate themselves, and follow the most up-to-date guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control to keep the crew safe and healthy. Anyone who believes they are sick is advised to seek professional guidance from health professionals.
| Date Taken: | 03.17.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 12.31.2020 17:36 |
| Story ID: | 386319 |
| Location: | PACIFIC OCEAN |
| Web Views: | 44 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Abraham Lincoln remains operationally ready amid COVID-19 pandemic, by PO2 Amber Smalley, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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