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SOUTH CHINA SEA – The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) completed its 250,000th successful arrested landing, March 19, 2024.
U.S. Navy Cmdr. Brandon Miller, operations officer of Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 11, set the accomplishment, landing an F/A-18F Super Hornet during routine operations in the South China Sea.
“Making the 250,000th arrested landing sends a strong message globally to our allies and adversaries that we can operate anywhere, anytime,” said Miller. “It shows the longevity and resilience we have, exhibiting how we can repeat the process very well and successfully.”
The arresting gear on a carrier is high performance and high impact, handling extreme demands during flight operations. Because of this high demand, the crew works around the clock to ensure the ship can support the aviation mission. Successfully achieving 250,000 traps is a testament to Theodore Roosevelt’s ability to consistently operate in international waters since being commissioned.
“This milestone is significant to me because it means I get to be a part of the ship’s history,” said Miller. “The credit really goes to the crew and everyone involved leading up to this point.”
Conducting 250,000 arrested landings, or “traps” as it’s colloquially referred to on aircraft carriers, is no small achievement – it’s one nearly 38 years in the making, thanks to the aircraft launch and recovery equipment (ALRE) team.
“The ALRE team does an outstanding job, especially with a ship that’s almost 38 years old,” said Capt. Brian Schrum, commanding officer of Theodore Roosevelt. “The team is simply awesome, keeping up with all the maintenance and the amount of work they do every day.”
Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) Mark Jolly, ALRE’s leading chief petty officer, was supervising the event when the historic trap occurred. Jolly praised his crew for their dedication and hard work in maintaining the arresting gear. He said the amount of work they put in every day around the clock, from being undermanned to long watches in hot spaces, is a testament to their character and work ethic.
“This arresting gear crew is one of the toughest crews I’ve seen,” said Jolly. “It was a hot day but it was just as exciting being part of history. My Sailors will be able to share this story for many years to come.”
To celebrate the milestone, Schrum and Rear Adm. Christopher Alexander, commander, Carrier Strike Group (CSG) Nine, joined the ALRE team and crew for some cake and words of congratulations.
Before celebrating the 250,000th arrested landing, the ALRE team got back to work, continuing to do what they do best – there were still more aircraft to land.
| Date Taken: | 03.19.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 05.04.2024 04:50 |
| Story ID: | 470317 |
| Location: | SOUTH CHINA SEA |
| Web Views: | 207 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Theodore Roosevelt Logs 250K Traps, by PO2 Andrew Benvie, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
