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RED SEA (NNS) –It’s every Sailor’s job to be ready to defend their ship.. Sailors aboard the amphibious transport dock ship USS New York (LPD 21) train for every damage control scenario possible in order to be ready if the time calls.
“General quarters [GQ] is one of the primary functions we use to ensure the survivability of the ship in times of battle or when danger is near,” said Cmdr. Daniel Hollingshead, the executive officer of New York. “It puts the ship in the most heightened state of being able to make sure that the ship and her crew remain afloat and in the fight. By running general quarters drills, we make sure that every Sailor is trained to do their part as a team.”
The New York is fully equipped to respond to emergencies and damage. They do this by training Sailors on how to prevent the spread of damages.
“GQ drills can be as simple as setting [zone boundaries] throughout the ship as quickly as possible,” said Lt. j.g. William Kimberl, New York’s integrated training team coordinator. “Other times, we want to flex our damage control lockers and test our resolve in a whole-ship survivability exercise. It is equally important to tie in our Marine team and exploit the many talents they bring to the fight. We bring our warfare leads into the mix and 'table top' different scenarios with real current events and likely threats.”
These scenarios help Sailors learn how to save the ship should they need to .
“We understand and know we are not invincible, so we have to train to that,” said Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Andrew Chubb, a medical training team lead. “We emphasize to the most junior Sailor onboard [that they] may have to make a life-or-death decision at their level, so we have to do what we can to prepare them with both the knowledge and the skills to make that call when the time comes.”
The New York runs general quarters drills for Sailors to continually hone skills in their specific positions within the repair locker and ensure they are able to respond to any threats.
“Damage Control is an all hands responsibility,” said Chief Damage Controlman Jared Olah, New York’s fire marshal. “We need to take every effort to ensure in the time of need, the repair lockers are able to fight fires, flooding, or structural damage and win. One of the objectives is to get the Sailors to have to think on their toes and to be able to react instantly. They are the last resort in the effort to keep our warship afloat..”
Despite the arduous challenges Sailors may encounter during the drills, Hollingshead is confident that the New York crew is ready for whatever comes their way.
“I am very proud of the team that we have onboard New York,” said Hollingshead. “They have worked very hard and have come together as a family. They are ready for whatever the world places in front of them and they will succeed.”
For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil/, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy/ or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy/.
For more news from USS New York (LPD 21), visit http://www.navy.mil/local/LPD21/ or http://www.facebook.com/ussnewyorklpd21/?refequalsts/
| Date Taken: | 01.13.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 03.15.2020 15:35 |
| Story ID: | 365251 |
| Location: | RED SEA |
| Web Views: | 69 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, New York Sailors Actively Train for General Quarters, by PO1 Lyle Wilkie, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
