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USS Ford Enters SRA

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS061006-06
Release Date: 10/6/2006 1:46:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Bruce McVicar, Northwest Region Fleet Public Affairs

EVERETT, Wash. (NNS) -- USS Ford (FFG 54) entered its nine-week selected restricted availability (SRA) Sept. 22 at Naval Station Everett that will be completed in December.

The SRA is a scheduled maintenance period designed to complete major overhauls to the ship, which include expanding the armory, a berthing overhaul, replacing cooling units, refurbishing vertical exterior ladders and building a self-service laundry area.

“The Ford runs an exceptionally effective SRA due to the Maintenance Information Center (MIC),” said Cmdr. Mike Taylor, Ford's commanding officer. “We restructured the ship’s work force to add an entire department called the MIC, dedicated to the SRA. I’m proud of the high degree of effectiveness shown by these Sailors.”

The MIC is a 24/7 command center and the hub of the SRA, which combines designated experts from every work center to staff the department. Their job tracks the progress of various maintenance projects being performed, and they also act as a liaison between the ship’s crew and the contractors.

“The MIC allows one-stop shopping for the ship’s crew and contractors,” said Lt. j.g. Jake Lehman, a MIC officer. “The SRA is a difficult time for the crew. They must perform their jobs as well as assist the contractors.”

Crew members have made an effort to establish a good working relationship with the various contractors they work side by side with.

“We started out to create a partnership between the shipyard, crew and contractors,” said Taylor. “The relationship we have created between the ship’s crew and the contractors is excellent. We go the extra mile in teambuilding to include a Team Ford t-shirt, free coffee and doughnuts and barbecues every Wednesday to feed both crew and contractors”.

As the ship goes through the SRA, areas on the ship are uninhabitable, allowing some Ford Sailors to take advantage of the living in the bachelor quarters on base.

“Having the crew live in the barracks on Everett and Smokey Point is a great idea,” said Torpedoman 3rd Class (SW) Julian White. “It allows us to get away from the hectic work environment on the ship for the duration of the maintenance period.”

Crew members are working to restore the ship and preparing for its return to sea. Some Sailors believe the progress made during the SRA has gone smoothly and camaraderie is building between MIC Sailors and Sailors working within their departments.

“This SRA is going very well and we are getting a lot of needed work done,” said Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class (SW) Michael Jeffery. “The crew and contractors are really helping each other. The MIC Team follows what’s going on, so we can concentrate on our work. This arrangement makes our lives easier.”