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**ALARMS BLARING** General Quarters, General Quarters. All hands man your battle stations. The route of travel is forward and up on the starboard side, down and aft on the portside. Set material condition 'Zebra' throughout the ship.
Hearing this announcement for the first time can be alarming to an unassuming Sailor, this is why the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) will be conducting general quarters (GQ) drills every Friday starting June 3rd in order to prepare the crew to be at-sea ready.
Since IKE’s return from their 2021 deployment, there has been an influx of new Sailors who have never experienced GQ and who may not know what to expect from GQ drills.
“All this is to prepare us for deployment,” said LCDR Luciano Tirado, IKE’s training officer. “Starting this early into the game is to build that muscle memory so if these things were to happen in real life you would be prepared.”
GQ is a condition set aboard a naval warship that signals all hands to go to their respective station.
GQs are usually brought upon by some kind of combat system scenario, said Tirado.
“We have had a lot of turnover with the crew,” said LCDR Andrew Martin, IKE’s damage control assistant . “The focus with the first few GQs is getting the crew comfortable with where they have to go.”
The crew members are expected to arrive to GQ in coveralls with their collar buttoned and pant legs tucked into their socks. Sailors are then instructed to perform the job whether that be a zone setter, hose team member, etc.
“In the beginning it’s going to be slow,” said Damage Controlman 1st Class Rachel Jeffries. “It will happen in a crawl, walk, and run phase.”
IKE Sailors will begin with administrative GQs which will consist of verifying watch bills, getting the crew familiar with their mustering location, getting the crew familiar with what kits to grab and how to inventory them giving Sailors the basic knowledge on how to perform the positions they are assigned.
“Once we get through that, we learn how to set material condition Zebra”, Jeffries said. “So not only are we training damage control training team (DCTT), but we are moving away from in-port emergency team (IET).”
Material condition Zebra isolates compartments to keep the casualty, a calamitous accident, from spreading. During material condition Zebra, the ship is put on a sort of lockdown. All hatches are secured to maintain the safety of the ship. Zebra is expected to be set in 12 minutes.
“Think about the ship as a roll of bubble wrap,” said Master Chief Damage Controlman Joseph Kazimierski, IKE’s fire marshal. “If there is only one bubble and it fills with smoke, the whole ship fills with smoke. By setting Zebra we are making smaller bubbles in between, so now if there is smoke in one of those small bubbles, it’s confined to that area.”
Participation in these drills are important to keep IKE Sailors prepared for any unexpected danger, Jeffries said. The crew will be in a state of alert and will keep the ship in a condition of maximum readiness of a warship.
“Be patient at first because the first few are going to be a little painful,” said Tirado. “It’s getting people used to it after not doing it for nearly a year. There is going to be a learning curve. I just need Sailors to be patient and enthusiastic because the more they participate the smoother the GQ will go.”
Dangers with GQ drills are dehydration and overheating. Staying hydrated is inherently important during this intensive training.
“It's so important to drink water beforehand, so you don't pass out,” said Jeffries. “If you do that the night before, then you don't have to worry about it the day of.”
Sailors on IKE will spend the next few months preparing themselves and their shipmates for all of the ship’s certifications and ultimately for deployment.
| Date Taken: | 05.25.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.12.2023 16:04 |
| Story ID: | 438799 |
| Location: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Hometown: | NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 876 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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