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Fort McHenry Supply Department Receives Certification

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS060319-01
Release Date: 3/19/2006 12:50:00 AM

By Journalist 2nd Class David J. Ham, USS Fort McHenry Public Affairs

USS FORT MCHENRY (NNS) -- USS Fort McHenry’s (LSD 43) supply department received its Supply Management Certification (SMC) and also qualified for the Logistics Excellence Blue “E” Award March 2.

SMC is a two-year certification covering all aspects of supply and logistics. Afloat Training Group (ATG) assesses a ship’s merchandise management, ship's services, logistical expenditures, inventories, record keeping, and overall financial integrity.

“Supply’s certification is a testament to the long hours, hard work and the procedural guidance of the leading petty officers and leading chief petty officers within the department,” said Fort McHenry Supply Officer Lt. Cmdr. Timothy J. Nicholls.

In order to be certified, Fort McHenry needed to score at least an 80 percent in all aspects of supply and earn a total score above 85 percent to be eligible for the Logistics Excellence Blue “E” Award. The department scored well above the necessary grades, in all areas, to be awarded the Blue “E”. Supply and Support (S-1) scored 93.2 percent. Food Service (S-2) scored 93.3 percent, the highest marks across the board. Sales and Services (S-3) received an 86.1 percent and Postal scored 87.3 percent.

Nicholls explained that high standards in day-to-day work contributed to the department’s overall success.

“Last-minute preparation cannot alone account for numbers like these,” he said.

In addition to the department’s routine workload and exemplary work ethic, everyone contributed to the preparation for the SMC. Food Service Attendants (FSA) must be recognized for their time put into space preservation and general sanitation, he added. He also noted that S-1 put in many hours to make sure all logistical documentation was readily available for the inspection.

“The Auxiliary Department was able to give us a lot of support,” said Nicholls. “They were able to fix a lot of material discrepancies on a lot of the equipment - discrepancies that ranged from new wiring to fixing the steam lines, to overall daily maintenance.”

Fort McHenry is a dock landing ship forward-deployed to Sasebo, Japan, as part of the Forward-Deployed Amphibious Ready Group.