Air Wing rolls during TSTA
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS080604-09
Release Date: 6/4/2008 12:30:00 PM
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Elliott J. Fabrizio, USS John C. Stennis Public Affairs
USS JOHN C. STENNIS, At sea (NNS) -- Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 9 embarked on USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) began going through the first phase of the Tailored Ship's Training Availability (TSTA) with Stennis May 26, and for the air wing TSTA means getting all their pilots proficient in flying missions from the carrier.
"Our main goal and our first priority is to get the air wing both day and night carrier qualified," said Commander, CVW-9, Capt. Sterling Gilliam. "We focus on the basics: landing, takeoffs and operations that affect that."
To earn their carrier qualifications, the squadron pilots must perform multiple launches and carrier landings or traps. This gives them practice on flying procedures they learned during their pilot training and keeps their skills up to date.
"It's depends on when the last time you've been to a carrier was," said Lt. j.g. Laurie Solberg, a pilot with the "Black Knights" of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 154. "I haven't been to a carrier within the last six months, so I needed two day traps, two day touch-and-goes and I need four night traps; however, people that have been to a carrier within the last six months need less traps."
Once pilots have their carrier qualifications they need to keep flying in order to maintain their flight proficiency.
"For the fixed wing aviators, that means one night carrier landing once a week to maintain our night proficiency, which is a very perishable skill," said Lt. Steven Neebe, a pilot from the "Argonauts" of VFA 147. "Basically it comes down to getting the opportunity to get out and keep on flying."
Since last deployment the air wing has gone through many changes and upgrades, and pilots are using the TSTA period to practice some of their new capabilities such as aerial refueling, known as tanking.
"It's a capability that the super hornets always had, but since our squadron transitioned from the F-18C Hornet to the F-18E Super Hornet, it's a new mission that we're picking up," said Neebe. "It's something that is very important to get right. When you're asked to give gas its either because someone's critically low on gas or to provide them with the ability to go ahead and execute a mission."
The ship is also getting a chance to adjust for changes within the air wing, such as their new helicopter squadron, the "Raptors" of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 71.
"We're the first aircraft carrier to operate with two helicopter squadrons on board, so that's something that the ship's handler needs to help workout, with moving all the additional helos around the flight deck and making it all work with our flight ops," said Neebe.
Operating together aboard Stennis gives the air wing and the ship a chance to get used working together again since their last deployment.
"The goal is to build teamwork between all the departments on Stennis and all the squadrons, so we can operate effectively on and off the carrier in an operational environment," said Gilliam.
As TSTA progresses, the air wing will stress training on joint missions between multiple squadrons to improve air wing interoperability.
"For the first time in the air wing we can integrate the squadrons with each other," said Neebe.
"We're practicing cyclic ops by working together with the other squadrons to launch from the carrier, go out and do a mission, and then recovering on the ship at a certain recovery time," said Solberg. "We're trying to make the process all very fluid and natural."
Pilots will also do several missions that practice using ordnance to prepare for an operational environment.
"We're carrying live ordnance, we're carrying practice and real laser guided bombs, and we're also coming up on a missile exercise," said Neebe. "We're going to shoot some air to ground and some air to air missiles, which we don't have the opportunity to do very often."
Each squadron plans to have at least one live fire exercise before the end of TSTA.
"We simulate shooting missiles a lot, but this is a full end system test to see how the ship can provide ordnance and to demonstrating how our aircraft have the capabilities to go out and shoot those missiles," said Neebe.
As the pilots work to practice their proficiency in the various operational aspects of flying their aircraft, the support personnel within the squadrons are maintaining equipment to ensure pilots are able to keep flying through the TSTA period.
"They're constantly working on the aircraft, doing maintenance and making them ready for the air crew to fly, so we can get these missions done and get our qualifications," said Solberg.
By the end of TSTA, the air wing's pilots will have had practice operating aboard the carrier and with pilots from other air wing squadrons.
Keeping its pilots proficient for any operational situation is part of the Navy's effort to maintain an effective fighting force to meet the needs of the U.S. maritime strategy in any war fighting situation.
For more news from USS John C. Stennis, visit www.navy.mil/local/cvn74/.
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