Last Conducted Flight Ops In October 2004
With the recovery of an SH-60 helicopter from Helicopter
Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 8, USS John C. Stennis' (CVN 74)
flight deck was certified capable of conducting regular flight
operations February 8, transforming the ship from a carrier in
maintenance back to an operational carrier.
The certification process lasted three days and included closely
monitored and controlled events concerning all aspects of the
Stennis' flight deck -- such as fueling, arresting and launching,
handling and flight operations.
Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9 embarked Stennis for the first time
since 2002, and facilitated personnel and aircraft for the testing
phase.
"We've been preparing for this qualification phase since going
into dry dock," said Lt. Cmdr. Byron Wrice, Stennis' flight deck
handler. "The crew did a great job at obtaining this
certification."
Since Stennis typically
cycles its crew every three years, about one-third of air
department has never been aboard during flight operations. Wrice
said Sailors were kept up-to-date on training and qualifications by
going on TAD (temporary additional duty) assignments to deployed
carriers during the ship's docking-planned incremental availability
(DPIA) during 2005.
Stennis last conducted flight operations in October 2004 during
a five-month deployment in the Western Pacific with CVW-14.
"The mindset is much different between working on a carrier
under maintenance and working on an operational carrier," said
Wrice. "Our crew did a great job of making that transition."
"Between getting ourselves reacquainted with flight operations
and getting the newer Sailors trained, we kept very busy," said
Aviation Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class Amberley Wallace, handler in
Stennis' air department. "Despite the grueling pace, this was
really good for air department; it gave a lot of the new airmen a
chance to see what they'll really be doing, and most of them seem
to like what they joined the Navy to do. The best part was their
reaction to being on the flight deck during operations."
"It was sort of a sink-or-swim period for all of us," added
Wallace, who hasn't handled aircraft on a carrier since 2002, when
she was aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). "We had some rough times
but came out on top. We kept excellent communication and there was
some of the best teamwork I've ever seen out there."
The certification included a number of drills, such as crash and
salvage; testing the aircraft barrier and setup speed, used when an
aircraft needs to be caught in a net due to damage; taxiing; and
flight operations. Each drill was graded by the facilitators and
had to receive a passing score before the next drill began.
"There were a few times we had a downed catapult or had an
arresting cable taken down, so we had to adjust very quickly,"
Wallace commented. "Everyone did exceptionally well despite the
skeleton crew we were working on."
Stennis' Commanding Officer, Captain David Buss said, "I
received feedback from the Air Pac team, and they told me that in
many ways, we were the best carrier they've seen, particularly this
early in the workup phase. This accomplishment really shows we're
set up for success."
Stennis will continue obtaining various qualifications this year
in order to become a fully operational carrier in accordance with
the Navy's Fleet Response Program (FRP), a program developed to
keep the Navy ready to surge and to vary the lengths of
deployments. The goal behind FRP is to keep the Navy more flexible
and ready to deploy as needed.
(Aero-News salutes Journalist 2nd Class Christopher
Gethings, USS John C. Stennis Public Affairs)