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Sailors Go In-Depth With the DC Zone

Navy NewStand

Story Number: NNS030428-02
Release Date: 4/28/2003 11:17:00 AM

By Journalist 2nd Class Mark Elrod, USS Kitty Hawk Public Affairs

USS KITTY HAWK, At Sea (NNS) -- Zone inspections are not a new thing to shipboard Sailors, but now USS Kitty Hawk's (CV 63) Sailors have a new damage control zone inspection program to help them ensure a high state of damage control (DC) readiness.

The goal of the program is to ensure all departmental damage control petty officers and departmental damage control officers are well trained, and have proper parts and documentation to support a high state of damage control material condition, according to a recently released Kitty Hawk memorandum.

The command already has a zone inspection program focusing on broader aspects of material condition, including electrical safety as well as DC, according to Kitty Hawk Maintenance Support Center Leading Chief Petty Officer Chief Machinist's Mate (SW) Luke E. Sanco.

"The difference is that the standard zone inspections do not go nearly as in-depth as the DC zone will go, where we focus on one type of equipment at a time," said Lt. Cmdr. David C. Borah, Kitty Hawk's damage control assistant.

Another difference between the two zone inspections is that the inspectors for the standard zone inspections are not necessarily DC experts, according to Sanco, who is also Hawk's zone inspection program coordinator. "With the DC zone, DC experts looking at everything."

The team of experts is comprised of the ship's executive officer, chief engineer, damage control assistant, damage control training team coordinator, departmental damage control petty officers and departmental damage control officers.

The DC zone inspections came from a brainstorming effort between the damage control assistant and the ship's executive officer, maintenance officer, chief engineer and Damage Controlman Senior Chief (SW) Timothy Henson, according to Borah.

"Each DC zone is a two-week effort," said Borah. The zones are divided into five phases. Phase one provides training on specific maintenance requirements. The second phase focuses on initial inspections of each departmental space. The third phase focuses on maintenance and pre-inspections. Phase four is the actual DC zone inspection, and phase five is where follow up maintenance is performed to fix any discrepancies found in the zone inspection.

The team's first DC zone inspections focus on watertight doors, according to Borah. "The most problematic area is armored watertight doors," he said. Due to the age of the carrier, "these doors do not have parts support in the Navy's supply system."

"We will get them what they need or get it on order for them. Anything that can't be fixed, or does not operate as designed, is placed on the consolidated ship's maintenance project," said Borah.

The ongoing restoration of Hawk's material condition is an all-hands effort. And the best way for Hawk's Sailors to help with DC is to first perform preventive maintenance exactly as prescribed, according to Borah.

"Damage control equipment is here to save lives, and we should treat it that way," he said.

America's oldest active warship, Kitty Hawk with embarked Carrier Air Wing 5 and Destroyer Squadron 15 recently operated with coalition forces in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, the multinational coalition effort to liberate the Iraqi people, eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction and end the regime of Saddam Hussein.