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Gerald R. Ford Completes Crew Certification III
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. --- The crew of USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) completed crew certification (CREWCERT) III, Jan. 28.
Organized by Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12 with support from Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic (CNAL) and Afloat Training Group (ATG), the certification ensures the crew is qualified in the underway functional areas that are essential to safely operate at sea after completing Planned Incremental Availability (PIA).
“I am really pleased with the crew’s efforts and motivation to start actively transitioning our mindset to operations this past week,” said Capt. Paul Lanzilotta, Ford’s commanding officer. “This was a great opportunity to build on the damage control response skills we executed successfully during shock trials last year and further sharpen our warfighting skills as we prepare to leave Newport News shipyard and resume underway operations. This crew continues to set the standard for future Ford-class carriers.”
Throughout the one-week assessment, multiple drills were conducted to evaluate the crew according to the ATG grading criteria. Drills covered functional areas such as medical, seamanship and navigation, ship-wide damage control, and tactical response. Some of the drills focused on specific tasks or casualties, while others involved the entire ship and crew - known as general quarters (GQ). The assessors were also critiquing Ford’s Integrated Training Team’s (ITT) ability to properly assess risk and implement controls to reduce risk associated with drills.
According to Chief Electrician’s Mate Ligil Apuli, from Albay, Philippines, a member of Ford’s Damage Control Training Team (DCTT), being part of a training team is a responsibility with many requirements before and during drills. DCTT members aren’t just ship’s force evaluators, they are also key players in building the skills and knowledge for all Sailors on how to properly respond to a casualty. Apuli believes training team members learned a lot from the ATG assessors during CREWCERT III.
“Working with ATG subject matter experts (SME) has always been a great experience when we get to practice responding to shipboard casualties,” said Apuli. “Working with SMEs from ATG definitely improves the firefighting capabilities of the crew, which continues to increase proficiency for future evaluations and real-world scenarios.”
Following their final GQ drill of the week, Ford’s Executive Officer, Capt. Jeremy Shamblee, gave the crew his feedback on the ship’s announcing system.
“I’ve seen a dramatic improvement in the ship’s response throughout the week,” announced Shamblee. “The only way to get better is to practice and get in more “reps and sets,” and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”
Completing CREWCERT III prepares Ford for a successful underway schedule with additional training cycle milestones in2022. Ford is in port at Newport News Shipyard executing her PIA, a six-month period of modernization, maintenance, and repairs.
| Date Taken: | 01.28.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 01.28.2022 12:26 |
| Story ID: | 413614 |
| Location: | NEWPORT NEWS, VA, US |
| Hometown: | LONG ISLAND, NY, US |
| Web Views: | 473 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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