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Big E's V-4 Division Brings on the Fuel

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS051020-13
Release Date: 10/20/2005 2:08:00 PM

By Photographer's Mate Airman Apprentice Michael Stokely, USS Enterprise Public Affairs

ABOARD USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea (NNS) -- USS Enterprise (CVN 65) completed its first replenishment at sea in more than a year Oct. 18, after completing an Extended Selected Restricted Availability (ESRA) at the Northrop Grumman Shipyards in Newport News, Va.

An aircraft carrier must pass several tests to prove its operational readiness following an ESRA. With the recent success of its sea trials, "Big E" was certified to take on 230,000 gallons of fuel. To earn a fuel certification, a lot of evolutions must occur and a lot of equipment must be tested.

“We finished off fuel certification, setting flight deck stations, flushing, fueling and repairing,” said Lt. Mike Garber, division officer of Air Department’s V-4 Division. “We also got a complete certification on all equipment; pumps were tested, purifiers were tested, [communications] were tested, filters were tested - everything was tested by the certification teams, AIRLANT (Commander, Naval Air Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet) and NAVAIR (Naval Air Systems Command).”

Garber said that earning certification required V-4 personnel to work relentlessly through long hours, completing tasks such as consolidating tanks and repairing equipment.

According to Master Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate (AW/SW) Frederick Dryer, leading chief petty Officer of V-4 Division, many of the airmen are fuel repair qualified. These airmen have been going out and performing repairs on pumps, leaks, etc. “They are very much involved in repairing equipment as it goes down,” said Dryer.

After fuel and equipment certifications were completed, Enterprise was ready to take on fuel. V-4 Sailors had completed a great deal of preparations, but the actual replenishment process was still to come.

“Only about 10 percent of the airmen had actually replenished at sea before, but that’s what carrier training qualification is all about,” said Garber. “We gave them a good opportunity to get out there and learn flight deck operations, fueling operations - get a good feel for them.”

As for as the actual replenishment process, Garber said, “It’s a controlled operation. We control it by how many tanks we open at a time and how fast we want to take the fuel on. We start real slow, make sure we test the integrity of the system for leaks and pressure, then we start ramping up.”

According to Dryer, the “purple shirts” (fuelers) were responsible for opening the valves during the refueling. “Since this aircraft carrier has more of a conventional type fuel system, we don’t have a console where we can just hit buttons to open and close valves. The airmen actually have to go to other spaces and open the valves as we take on fuel,” said Dryer.

Garber and Dryer both agreed that V-4 Division got the job done well, from the preparation for certification to the actual at-sea replenishment. “I’m very proud. The airmen were getting the job done and then coming back and asking for more work to do,” said Dryer.

With fuel certification and at-sea replenishment accomplished, Enterprise is closer to being ready to deploy. In light of Air Department’s performance during fuel certification, they are sure to have as much success with their next hurdle, which is the flight deck certification.

Garber said, “We’re happy to be underway.
We’re now doing well working on flight deck certification. V-4 and all of Air Department - we’re all doing what we’ve got to do to get out here and operate.”