Hangar bay night operations

UNITED STATES

09.01.2021

Story by Petty Officer 3rd Class Caitlin Coyle 

USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72)   

PACIFIC OCEAN – Beyond the dull, red wash of the hangar bay lights at night, the inky sky is barely discernible from the black sea at dusk, but the hangar bay of the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) buzzes with activity as the night crew begins a puzzle of aircraft movements essential to executing the next day’s flight plan.
V-3, the division primarily responsible for the hangar bay, coordinates with embarked squadrons and V-1, which is responsible for the flight deck. Together these groups keep aircraft flying.
“This mission is an all-around effort, and I am so proud of everything we’re doing out here,” said Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Marquis Clark, a V-3 night check chief petty officer. “It’s the hard work from the junior Sailors on up that makes us so successful.”
Aircraft are taxied between hangar bays constantly, and most of the movement is accomplished while a majority of the ship sleeps. The aircraft are “spotted,” or placed in a designated space in the hangar bay, according to a spot sheet created by the leaders of V-1, V-3 and squadrons. The maintenance required and the order in which each aircraft must be returned to the flight deck determines the space its assigned space when it is cycled into the hangar bay.
“It just comes down to operational readiness and maintenance requirements,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 2nd Class Andrew Guerrero, the deck petty officer in charge of nightly evolutions. “Aircraft maintenance has priority in the hangar bay.”
Aircraft come into the hangar bay for different reasons: conducting maintenance, creating space on the flight deck and performing low power turns.
“What we do affects the ship’s mission because we make sure that these aircraft get where they need to be when they need to be there so that the ship can maneuver at night and the squadrons can accomplish their maintenance,” said Guerrero. “On nights we take a lot of pride in our work. So, when we’re under pressure like that and we perform well, we feel good about it.”
Operational tempo aboard Abraham Lincoln means that night after night, such a complex and multi-tiered evolution must be accomplished in the hangar bay without fail. To achieve this, coordinated planning and effective communication is key.
“Communication is a key element to our success; it keeps us, as a unit, on the same drum beat,” said Clark. “If everyone isn’t communicating then someone could get hurt or equipment could get damaged, especially during night operations.”
Communication and coordination between the hangar bay and flight deck, each of the squadrons, maintenance control personnel, the night aircraft control handler (NACHO) and the primary squadron liaison is important. Priorities are given and, at times, must be revised if the events of the day overtake the meticulous plan set forth.
“On nights we’ll reshuffle an entire bay at once,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 3rd Class Josh Mazariegos, the petty officer in charge of hangar bay 3. “It seems like there’s not much going on at night, but it’s later, after flight ops, that we make all our moves.”
While most of Abraham Lincoln may not see the work accomplished in the hangar bay at night, it is a critical part of overall mission success. At the end of every work day, it is the night crew in the hangar bay, gearing up to get everything in order, that success for tomorrow is determined.

• Date Taken: 09.01.2021
• Date Posted: 12.07.2021 19:26
• Story ID: 410674
• Location: US