Military

Lincoln Achieves Outstanding Grade During TSTA/FEP

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS070822-07
Release Date: 8/22/2007 2:14:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Recruit Kathleen Corona, USS Abraham Lincoln Public Affairs

EVERETT, Wash. (NNS) -- USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) blazed through its Tailored Ship’s Training Availability (TSTA) and Final Evaluation Problem (FEP) Aug. 20, achieving an “Outstanding” grade after 45 days at sea.

TSTA is designed to prepare the ship and crew for full integration into a carrier strike group, and FEP is its final, graded exercise.

According to Cmdr. Chip Gaber, Lincoln’s strike operations officer, TSTA is a 25-day training period broken into three phases.

“Phases one and two are eight days long, phase three is seven days long and then FEP is three days,” Gaber said. “Each phase builds on the last one.”

During TSTA, Lincoln and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 2 and conducted over 1,000 fixed-wing sorties. The team also completed five at-sea replenishments and participated in 18 general quarters (GQ) drills.

FEP is a graded 48-hour evolution. From GQ drills to flying squad drills and mass casualties, the afloat training group graded Lincoln and CVW-2 Sailors on what they learned during TSTA.

Since leaving Naval Station Everett, Wash., on July 7, Lincoln also completed carrier qualifications for the ship’s flight deck, including certification of its precision approach landing system and carrier air traffic control, and performed carrier qualifications for four West Coast fleet replacement squadrons, according to Lincoln’s Operations Officer, Cmdr. Paul Mackley.

“We spent the first two weeks out to sea getting our basic qualifications so that we could move on to the next phase of training,” Mackley said. “We met all of our objectives and got good reviews from COMNAVAIR (Commander, Naval Air Forces) and AIRPAC (Air Forces Pacific). In all, we did 275 arrested landings for our own [flight deck] certification and another 652 for FRS carrier qualification.”

Lincoln hosted a ship’s materials maintenance management assessment assist team from Naval Air Forces Pacific, a Supply Department assist visit, performed two fueling at sea evolutions with USNS Henry J. Kaiser (T-AO 187), and conducted a number of shipwide training evolutions such as man overboard drills, precision anchorages and live fire exercises, including a successful Sea Sparrow Missile shoot that impacted multiple air and surface targets.

Lincoln’s crew was also able to enjoy two full days of liberty in San Diego July 22-24 while the ship took on personnel and equipment from CVW-2 in preparation for TSTA.

With TSTA and FEP completed, Lincoln Sailors can look forward to a few weeks in Everett before the ship goes underway again to continue the next phase of integrated training.