Photo By Seaman Kaitlyn Bailey | Sailors assigned to Air Department aboard Pre-Commissioning Unit John F. Kennedy (CVN...... read more read more
Pre-Commissioning Unit John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) Air Department Sailors conducted evolutions of aircraft firefighting and stretcher bearer training that led to their certification as Builder’s Trials approach.
“This is the first step to getting us where we need to be,” said Chief Warrant Officer 3 Sean Deveraux, John F. Kennedy’s aircraft handling officer (air bos’n).
Aboard an aircraft carrier, Air Department is tasked with supporting flight operations, including safety and flight deck maintenance. It will be their responsibility to respond to any and all casualties on the flight deck, protecting the ship and its crew.
“It’s important [training] for Builder’s Trials with helicopters coming aboard,” said Deveraux. “This gets us in the mindset of being an operational flight deck.”
The training was split; experienced Sailors received a refresher in aircraft firefighting and junior Sailors received the initial training required to perform their role in the event of a casualty. The controlled environment ashore presented the less-experienced Sailors the chance to ask questions on the entire process and building the team up throughout.
“It gives them the opportunity to perform their job,” said Deveraux. “It gives them a sense of pride.”
During this training evolution, Sailors used charged fire hoses to combat an aircraft fire using four hose teams. Amidst the firefight, a separate group was tasked with rescuing a simulated victim and safely placing them on a stretcher for medical assistance. Once the fire was presumed out, another team had the role of breaching the plane and checking for hotspots.
“The biggest thing we can do as leaders is give them the big picture of what they’re doing,” said Deveraux. “The smallest task that we do amounts to a bigger task we complete later on down the line.”
Along with being Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic certified comes the responsibility for the flight deck firefighters to maintain their proficiency as the ship prepares to exercise real world flight deck operations.
| Date Taken: | 12.04.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 12.05.2025 17:35 |
| Story ID: | 553200 |
| Location: | CHESAPEAKE, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 12 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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