Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Sarah Mead | Sailors assigned to USS Gerald R. Ford's (CVN 78) air department, don fire fighting...... read more read more
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As the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) concludes its 11th month of Post-Delivery Test and Trials in the Atlantic, the crew continues to focus on operational readiness and safety. What does it mean to be operationally ready? Is it the number of personnel on a ship? Is it the amount of aircraft onboard? Maybe it’s the amount of weapons stored in magazines prior to outfit on aircraft? Operational readiness is when a unit has achieved the proper personnel, equipment, and training to execute a specific mission. Units like Ford train continuously in many areas to achieve operational readiness, mastering maintenance procedures, deepening in-rate knowledge, and fine-tuning damage control (DC) skills.
The process begins in boot camp, when Sailors receive training in firefighting, dewatering, and other basic damage control efforts, and continues in the fleet, where Sailors are constantly prepared to respond to a casualty. If the ship were to experience an extreme casualty, each Ford Sailor is expected to play a vital role, manning one of ten damage control repair stations, during general quarters (GQ). Ford’s damage control assistant Lt. Cmdr. Tabitha Edwards, a Savannah, Georgia native, explained why damage control and training is so critical to operational readiness.
“In recent years the Navy has seen just how important the damage control training we do plays into the reality of saving our shipmates and our ship,” said Edwards. “The drills enable us day to day to meet the physical and mental excellence that Sailors will need in an actual causality. GQ [simulation] allows us to enter this peak physical and mental training so when the actual GQ alarm sounds or the bells for an actual casualty ring we know we are ready to respond.”
Lessons learned from incidents aboard the USS Fitzgerald (DDG 62) and USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), have prompted the Navy to take a closer look at how ship’s train and prepare for casualties.
“Commander, Naval Air Forces Atlantic, has directed [commands] to train the entire duty section for in-port emergency team (IET) response,” said Edwards. “The two biggest changes to the IET are that all IET members must be qualified in advance damage control and the entire duty section must be ready to respond to a large or second casualty onboard the ship on their duty day.”
Whether in-port or out at sea, Damage Controlman Fireman Francisco Ruiz, from San Diego, assigned to Ford’s engineering department, describes damage control as a team effort everyone must contribute to if units are to be successful in their operational goals.
“When it comes to damage control, no one can do it on their own, especially something like general quarters, it takes the whole ship,” said Ruiz. “Having trust in the person next to you is everything so it comes down to training and preparing for the worst. I think Sailors should take the knowledge gained in completing their personnel qualification standards seriously.”
In the event of an actual casualty, Edwards says it will be the pride and strength of the crew’s resolve to contain damage to the ship.
“It is that pride and comradery that shows when the bells ring or the GQ alarm sounds that we are ready to put out the fires, fix the flooding or contain the causality,” she said. “It is fitting that the crew of Warship 78 is known as “wolverines,” because of the training we hold and when the next GQ alarm sounds, Sailors onboard will bring a ready, physical and mental strength and ferocity like the chain of command has never seen. Train like you fight; fight like you train. We are damage control!”
For more news from USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), visit www.dvidshub.net/unit/CVN78
| Date Taken: | 09.26.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2020 10:45 |
| Story ID: | 378763 |
| Location: | ATLANTIC OCEAN |
| Web Views: | 254 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, To Fight the Ship: Ford Prioritizes Damage Control Training, by CPO Ruben Reed, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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