Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Christopher Koons | Petty Officer 3rd Class David Manders, machinery repariman, uses a "fly cutter" to...... read more read more
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CARIBBEAN SEA — Vital equipment sometimes breaks down on Navy ships, requiring Sailors with the appropriate technical expertise to perform emergency repairs. The Machinery Repair shop onboard USS Wasp is always ready to lend a helping hand in these critical times of need.
"We are the emergency repair shop for the ship," said Machinery Repairman 1st Class (SW/AW) Isaiah Dennison, MR shop leading petty officer. "We fix pumps, motors, valves and many other items. We also run the ship's engraving and locksmith shops."
A recent example of the MR shop's value to the ship was when Wasp's deployment and participation in Southern Partnership Station-Amphib 2009 was delayed due to a leak in a Feedwater Control Valve on a boiler in Main Machinery Room #1. This was caused by the plug in the FCV breaking off.
Once a new plug was acquired, the MR shop, with specific guidance from Wasp's engineering department leadership, ensured the plug fit with the valve properly.
"First, we put the old plug back into the valve to figure out our angle, and then we put in the new plug," said Dennison. "Once we got it to be greater than the original diameter of the old plug, we started 'lapping' the valve, which involved using a lubricating grease to clear up any blemishes on the plug and to create a perfect mating surface between the plug and the valve body. Once we received a 'satisfactory' mark for the valve, we turned it over to the aft engineering pit crew, who put it back into the system and allowed Wasp to get underway."
Events such as this are just one part of the MR Shop's overall job, which involves servicing some of the ship's major technical needs.
"The last time Wasp was in the yards, our shop assisted in repairing three of its Ship's Service Turbine Generators," said Dennison. "We put new studs in place for them, which took about two weeks. We also drilled steam valves in place for the main feed booster and installed cipher locks on the berthing barge the crew slept in when the ship was being repaired."
The MR shop's reputation for excellence extends beyond Wasp to other Navy ships homeported in Norfolk, Va., Dennison explained.
"People from other ships come to us for help because we are one of the larger MR shops on any of the ships in Norfolk," he said. "Many come over to use our engraving services while others take advantage of our locksmith services. Sometimes I go over to other ships to help them out with various issues."
The most difficult jobs members of the MR shop perform are the ones that require them to leave their shop and repair objects in their original workspaces, said Dennison.
"In-place jobs in the engineering main spaces are the hardest because we have limited space and don't have our machines on-hand to ensure complete accuracy," he said. "There's always one factor that can mess us up, so we have to concentrate harder to not make any mistakes. For these jobs, we have to be flexible and be able to use our imagination to figure out how to be as accurate as possible."
It is this need for accuracy that defines everything the MR shop does, said Machinery Repairman 2nd Class (SW) Michael Walker, the shop's assistant leading petty officer.
"The most challenging part of any operation is trying to get the right dimensions," said Walker. "For a machinist, measurements are very important; if we over or under measure something, it can mess everything up. Our motto is 'Measure twice, cut once.'"
For Walker, achieving this kind of precision is what makes his job worthwhile.
"The most rewarding part of our job is seeing a piece that you worked on operating perfectly," he said. "The upper chain of command recognizes us whenever this happens, and I'm grateful for that."
Wasp is currently deployed on Southern Partnership Station-Amphib 2009 with Destroyer Squadron 40 and embarked Security Cooperation Marine Air-Ground Task Force. SPS is part of the Partnership of the Americas Maritime Strategy that focuses on building interoperability and cooperation in the region to meet common challenges.
| Date Taken: | 11.23.2009 |
| Date Posted: | 11.29.2009 15:52 |
| Story ID: | 42130 |
| Location: | USCENTCOM, AT SEA |
| Web Views: | 212 |
| Downloads: | 77 |
This work, Machinery Repair Shop Helps Keep Wasp Running, by PO2 Christopher Koons, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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