Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Riley McDowell | Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Fuels) 3rd Class Bruce Williams, from Danboro,...... read more read more
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NEWPORT NEWS, VA. – Sailors assigned to USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) air department, V-4 division, conducted a pier side fuel on-load at Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding (HII-NSS), Feb. 15, 2022.
The fuel on-load took place over the course of two days, taking on 750 thousand gallons of jet propellant-5 aircraft fuel (JP-5).
“JP-5 comes in a barge that is loaded up at Craney Island and brought alongside the ship by tugboats,” said Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Fuels) Rigoberto Cisneros, from Homestead, Florida, assigned to Ford’s V-4 division. “We had four of our own Sailors down there assisting the Craney Island and HII-NNS personnel rig the fuel lines to our ship.”
As the case with many other evolutions, the likelihood for personnel injury or equipment damage is increased during a fuel on-load, however Ford completed the evolution with zero causalities.
“Everything went as planned and our Sailors did their jobs amazingly. We maintained safety standards by doing everything in a safe and professional way,” said Cisneros. “This on-load wasn’t a one-day evolution-- it’s spanned a couple weeks of preparation where we trained on procedures and what-if scenarios. We made sure that our Sailors could perform under stress.”
It was all-hands on deck for V-4 division with over 90 Sailors of all paygrades and experience level participating in the evolution.
“I was excited about this on-load because it directly correlated with my next qualification,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Fuels) 3rd Class John Lovitt, from Washington D.C., assigned to Ford’s air department. “It gave me the chance to support the evolution in a new way.”
The JP-5 will support Ford’s flight operations as the ship heads back out to sea to conduct various certifications, inspections and assessments. Sea Trials is Ford’s next challenge to tackle.
“During sea trials we are going to start our fuels certification. We’ll need at least 750 thousand gallons of fuel to test all of our equipment,” said Ensign Nhu Le, from Los Angeles, Ford's fuels boatswain. “Beyond that, JP-5 is necessary for basically any machinery that moves, like the emergency diesel generators, aircraft crash and salvage crane, helos and aircraft.”
With deployment on Ford’s horizon, successful evolutions such as the fuel on-load lend credence to the crew’s proficiency and preparedness.
“This was my first fuel on-load aboard Ford and I was honestly a little nervous beforehand,” said Le. “But I know that with the team we have, we’ll be able to power through anything.”
For more news from USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), visit www.dvidshub.net/CVN78 or www.facebook.com/USSGeraldRFord.
| Date Taken: | 02.15.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 02.17.2022 14:46 |
| Story ID: | 414868 |
| Location: | NEWPORT NEWS, VA, US |
| Hometown: | DANBORO, PA, US |
| Hometown: | HOMESTEAD, FL, US |
| Hometown: | LOS ANGELES, CA, US |
| Hometown: | WASHINGTON, DC, US |
| Hometown: | WINONA, MS, US |
| Web Views: | 710 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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