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As the first week of Tailored Ship’s Training Availability (TSTA) kicked off underway aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), guns blazed during a live-fire exercise. From the skilled watch standers on the .50 caliber guns to the mount captain on the Mark 38 machine gun, floating targets didn’t stand a chance.
For the past six months, Weapons Department spent countless hours training and qualifying to pass the TSTA gun shoot evolution; a major evolution including 20 .50-caliber mounts, three Mark-38 mounts, and both .40-caliber mounts on the fantail.
“This is the culmination of all of the training we’ve been doing,” said Senior Chief Gunner’s Mate Jared Ogilvie, the coordinator for the event. “This is the first live moving target that all of these mounts have seen.”
Pulling off an evolution of this size doesn’t just happen overnight. From start to finish, the training cycle can take six to nine months.
“This is the end of the road,” said Ogilvie. “All of the paperwork and admin has to be squared away. It’s about nine different forms and screenings for every watch stander. Not only do we have that, but [we have] qualifications and a lot of training just to be able to do it. We had to get through Command Assessment of Readiness and Training (CART) and had to prove that we know how to act as a training team.”
Just like the ship, each Sailor has to undergo training to be able to stand each watch. To shoot any of the weapons during this evolution, individuals must be qualified in that weapon. They have gone through a qualification and fire, weapon familiarity, and the personnel qualification standard for the weapon.
“To safely meet the objectives of this certification, most of the safety comes from weapon familiarity and oversight,” said Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class Dakota Williams. “Getting familiar with what malfunctions you can come across and then things you can do to correct those errors in dangerous situations. Qualified personnel make it a safe evolution.”
During this shoot, Williams was one of the fully-qualified Sailors to stand as mount captain of the Mark 38.
“The Mark 38 itself has multiple positions, from mount captain and mount auxilator to the actual operator,” said Williams. “The Mark 38 handles 25mm rounds, which is a larger round than the [Phalanx close-in weapon system] CWIZ or the aircraft we carry aboard, which use 20mm rounds.”
Between the hours of training and the knowledge from the participating Sailors, everyone involved in the exercise has put in the time to successfully complete the task at hand.
“This event solidified in my mind, and I believe in the CO’s and XO’s minds as well, that if we have to engage small boats and targets close to the ship, that we can do it,” said Ogilvie. “I would call the gun shoot a success.”
| Date Taken: | 02.24.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 03.23.2023 17:46 |
| Story ID: | 440753 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 37 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, IKE TSTA Gunshoot, by PO3 Abbigail Beardsley, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
