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| Press Release Number: ENI200304181 | 18-Apr-03 |
Voyage Repair Team lauded by USS John C. Stennis |
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| VRT cutline The Voyage Repair Team gathers around arresting gear cylinders that they will install aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) when the carrier returns home from deployment. The team includes (front row from left) William Lofton, Richard Valenzuela, Matthew Stephenson, and Richard Gonzalez. Back row from left: Edgar Stonerock, Clyde Anderson, Nestor Dominguez, John Alferos, David Hudson, and Frank San Nicolas who supervises the team. Photo by Scott Janes Voyage Repair Team lauded by USS John C. Stennis By Bill Bartkus NAVAIR Depot North Island CORONADO, Calif. - Thanks to the NAVAIR Depot North Island Voyage Repair Team, USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) completed its aircraft launch and recovery equipment certification ahead of schedule. "The dedication of this core team in the repair and upgrade of various ALRE systems and the increased emphasis towards stringent scheduling requirements enabled Stennis to complete ALRE ahead of schedule. Thanks for your continued support," said Capt. James McDonell in a message to the Depot commanding the VRT. McDonell is commanding officer of the San Diego-based aircraft carrier. "We replaced all four catapults which included arresting gear cylinders," said Ernie Savage, Industrial Calibration Program manager. "Typically we replace two at a time, but because there was a modification - a change that upgraded arresting gear engines - we had to change all four catapults at the same time." Savage said that the Depot's VRT also replaced two catapults aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). And when Lincoln returns to Bremerton, Wash., from a deployment, Savage said that the VRT would replace all four catapults. The VRT artisans worked on both Stennis and Lincoln simultaneously, Savage noted. The Lincoln project took them 40 days to complete, and the Stennis job took five months. Said Savage, "We had never done this type of a project before; this was the first time that we changed four catapults at one time." The six-man team that went to Bremerton worked 10-hour days, every day until that job was finished. "But in San Diego, everyone that we could muster worked in two 12-hour shifts every day aboard Stennis," Savage said. But he did solicit some help from the Non-destructive Inspectors. "The crew did an outstanding job as depicted in the ship's message to the Depot," Savage said. "The VRT crew knew that this was a critical job for the warfighter and they performed admirably." NAVAIR provides advanced warfare technology through the efforts of a seamless, integrated, worldwide network of aviation technology experts. From professional training to carrier launch and recovery; from sensor data to precision targeting and real-time communications; from aircraft and weapons development to successful deployment and sustainment; NAVAIR provides dominant combat effects and matchless capabilities to the American warfighter. |
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