Photo By Troy Miller | Approximately 130 Norfolk Naval Shipyard employees participated in the USS Harry S...... read more read more
Former New York Yankees catcher and National Baseball Hall of Fame member, Yogi Berra, was once quoted, “It’s not over until it’s over.” Although he was referring to a baseball game, this quote rings true to the recent completion of the USS Harry S Truman (CVN 75) Planned Incremental Availability at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY). After the Truman left the shipyard in Dec. 2023, there were still some tests and certifications that needed to be conducted on the maintenance, repairs and upgrades to ensure the fleet would be receiving a ship fully ready and able to carry out its mission. In order to complete all required tests and certifications, NNSY personnel went to sea with the Truman crew from Jan. 19 to 23 to conduct sea trails before the availability was called complete.
“Sea trials is when we test all the maintenance, repairs and upgrades that were performed in the yard,” said the Truman’s Deputy Project Superintendent (Code 300) Joshua Miller. “Although a lot of the tests can be performed pier side, there are systems, machinery and equipment that need to be tested at sea like the engines itself, the AFFF system, catapults, various piping and valves to name a few.”
Ensuring successful sea trials didn’t start on Jan. 19 when the Truman left Naval Station Norfolk. Project team members and Ship’s Force believe it started way before then.
“It started at the beginning of the planning stage when NNSY and the Truman formed a team that developed into a family,” said Truman’s Reactor Maintenance Officer Lt. Cmdr. Jeremy Goric. “It all comes down to all of us wanting to have the same goal which is modernize a vessel and get it back to the fleet as fully mission capable as possible.”
Mother Nature tried her hardest to throw the sea trials off course with the Truman leaving pier side Naval Station Norfolk approximately 45 minutes later than originally planned and making the seas a little too rough for testing certain requirements. This caused the Truman to travel to a new testing area with calmer seas which proved that shipyard personnel were up for the challenge of adjusting schedule.
“We had planned during the first three days of sea trials to do all the main engine testing,” said Miller. “Because the weather and seas were not ideal for certain testing in the original testing area of the Atlantic Ocean, we had to transit to an alternate location, which afforded the opportunity to present itself for NNSY’s Test and Tag Out Division (Code 246) team to basically continue the engine testing straight through, thus cutting the engine testing from three days to just over one day. This was a big win so early on in sea trials, especially when Mother Nature was playing against us right outside the gate.”
Both NNSY and Truman came into this PIA with a “One Mission – One Team” mindset. Members of both shipyard and ship knew this PIA was not an NNSY project or a Truman project. They knew from day one that it was a NNSY AND Truman project.
“Norfolk Naval Shipyard couldn’t have been as successful as we are if it wasn’t for the stalwart leadership, committed determination and unwavering resolve of the officers and crew aboard Truman,” said Truman Project Superintendent George “BJ” Baker. “We all wanted the same thing, to significantly improve the material condition of the ship, safely and on time, and the project team and ship’s crew worked effectively throughout the entire availability to meet that goal.”
Lt. Cmdr. Goric added, “Norfolk Naval Shipyard has been a great partner in carrier maintenance. We did have a very strong production team. We worked very well together from the get go. These guys have been like family. Honestly, it will be sad to see them go when they turn this over, especially with the next yard period for this ship is for the refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH).”
Before the RCOH, which will be at Huntington Ingalls Industries--Newport News Shipbuilding, Truman will serve its Nation in the active fleet once again, defending freedom, preserving economic prosperity, and keeping the seas open and free. Give 'em hell, Harry!
| Date Taken: | 03.01.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 03.07.2024 08:16 |
| Story ID: | 465554 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 801 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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