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TR Underway for Carrier Qualifications

Navy Newsstand

Story Number: NNS030818-02

Release Date: 8/18/2003 9:11:00 AM

By Journalist Seaman Camy Thompson, USS Theodore Roosevelt Public Affairs

ABOARD USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (NNS) -- Sailors aboard USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) have geared up to support two Fleet Replacement Squadrons (FRS) and two Training Commands (TRACOM), as they conduct Carrier Qualifications (CQ) off the Atlantic Coast.

For the next two weeks, TR will launch and recover many of the Navy's newest East Coast pilots. FRS pilots from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106 "Romans" and Electronic Attack Squadron (VAW) 120 "Greyhawks" will be training in F/A-18 Hornets, E-2C Hawkeyes and C-2 Greyhounds. The TRACOM pilots from Meridian, Miss., and Kingsville, Texas, will fly the T-45 Goshawks two-seat trainer, without an instructor.

For some of the FRS pilots, this is their first time flying a non-training aircraft. For others, this is just a refresher course.

"The FRS' are out here conducting initial qualifications, as well as refresher qualifications for pilots who are returning to the fleet for a second or third tour," said Operations Officer Cmdr. Mark Hunter.

In order for an FRS aviator to move into a fleet squadron, the aviator must make 10 day landings and six night landings successfully aboard a carrier, in addition to achieving a passing grade by the end of CQ.

CQ operations mean longer hours and more patience for every TR Sailor involved.

"While we have new aviators out here, we try to give them a little bit more control and special attention," said Air Traffic Controller 1st Class Clint Bates. "We also slow down our phraseology, so they don't get confused over the radio."

With safety in mind, TR's Carrier Air Traffic Control Center and Air Operations Office is manned 24 hours a day.

"Safety is our major concern," said Bates. "That is our No. 1 priority, and that is why they get the special attention."

TRACOM is the training step directly below FRS. TRACOM aviators will only be required to make 10 day landings while on TR.

"The difference is, they will only be doing day carrier landings, but it will be the first time they have ever landed on a ship," said Hunter. "At the end of their training pipeline, they carrier qualify. Then, they'll get their wings and be assigned a type aircraft and move into that FRS."

With new pilots airborne, TR's Air Operations Office is always listening and ready for anything.

"During CQ, we are in constant contact with the aircraft," said TR Air Operations Officer Cmdr. Whitmore Butts. "We don't treat them any differently. If they're flying within 50 miles of the ship we have control."

For TR's flight deck crew, CQ means non-stop flight operations.

"Normally, when we have the air wing embarked, we do what we call cyclic operations," said Hunter. "We launch maybe 10 or 15 aircraft, and then an hour and a half later, (after the 15 have completed their assigned mission), we will launch 10 more and we'll catch those first 15, so there is a break in between (while the pilots are flying their missions). With Carrier Qualifications, it's continuous (a pilot takes off and almost immediately comes back around to land)."

CQ gives TR's saltier Sailors a chance to re-train, and assure that everyone involved is ready for carrier flight operations aboard TR.

"It gives us a chance to show our junior Sailors how we can maintain a level of control and still let the pilots become familiar with the planes they will be flying during actual missions," said Bates. "The higher quality service we provide our aviators, the better they will become to serve our country."