By Seaman Jah’mai Stokes
USS Wasp Public Affairs
USS WASP, At Sea -- The amphibious assault ship USS Wasp conducted a Close-In Weapon System Phalanx Pre-Aim Calibration Firing exercise during their underway period, July 9. PACFIRE is an anti-ship missile defense maintenance exercise required monthly for ships on deployment or underway to test their weapons accuracy.
“This is a pre-aim calibration test to make sure that Wasp’s radars are perfectly aligned with the guns,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Charles Faraone. “We want the guns to see everything that the radars see so, they can hit their intended target.”
PACFIRE is one of the tests and maintenance exercises Wasp is undergoing this underway period. Exercises such as these help prepare sailors and Wasp to handle any scenarios that may arise if called to action.
“If we are attacked, we need our radars and guns to be linked together for accuracy,” said Petty Officer 1st Erik Metz. “We are the ship’s last line of defense and this training will enhance our capabilities to destroy hostile targets.”
To minimize any delays and accidents, PACFIRE participants received a brief prior to the exercise. “There is a PACFIRE brief that must take place 24-hours prior to the training,” said Faraone. “While underway we cannot do our training if it will endanger whales, if the weather is bad, or planes and ships are nearby.”
After the exercise was conducted, the CIWS technicians aboard Wasp felt it was a complete success. It proved that in addition to the gun itself working correctly, it confirmed the Local Control Panel and Remote Control Panel, which controls the weapon system, were properly functioning.
“I believe it was a very successful event,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Richard Tadepa. “We got to fire off three bursts of 100 hundred rounds. The LCP, which is next to the system, is in good order and the RCP, which is in the Combat Information Center, was working great."
According to Faraone, being able to actually test their equipment is one of their brightest times for any fire controlman, it allows them to actually put their training to use and get hands on knowledge of their systems.
“This really is an exciting time for us,” said Faraone. “We get to fire our weapons and test our firing capabilities and that's what being a fire controlman is about.”