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Essex Completes Light-Off Assessment

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS091027-03
Release Date: 10/27/2009 6:07:00 AM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW) Matthew A. Ebarb, USS Essex Public Affairs

SASEBO, Japan (NNS) -- The forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) passed a three-day light-off assessment Oct. 23 in Sasebo, Japan.

The evolution, conducted by Expeditionary Strike Group 7 (ESG 7) with the assistance of Afloat Training Group Western Pacific (ATGWP), was an assessment of the ship's engineering systems and was aimed at testing the systems' ability to safely resume operation following a nine-week ship's repair availability period.

"We've been preparing for this for about a month now," said Cmdr. Laredo Bell, Essex's chief engineer. "I feel our department did an absolutely superb job here. We take a deep sense of pride and ownership in our equipment and when it comes to these kinds of evolutions, it shows."

"The main thing we wanted to get done was test equipment before we get underway; we have to know it operates as designed," said Chief Machinist's Mate (SW) Jason Griffith. "This assessment involved a lot of repairs and a lot of practice. We did an outstanding job, because I've got the best people in the Navy working down here."

For those Sailors in the Engineering Department aboard Essex, the assessment often meant grueling, 16-hour days filled with drills, repairs and maintenance. While the evolution called for longer hours and more detailed work, it also provided an opportunity for additional on-the-job training.

"I actually learned a lot from this; getting to go into different places while we're cold iron and work on equipment I couldn't normally reach is good training," said Machinist's Mate Fireman Apprentice Jessica Fernandez. "The long hours were hard, but we're used to working hard and we always have fun doing it."

The light-off assessment was one of many preparations made for Essex's upcoming fall 2009 deployment.

Essex, commanded by Capt. Troy Hart, is the lead ship of the only forward-deployed amphibious ready group and serves as the flagship for Combined Task Force (CTF) 76, the Navy's only forward-deployed amphibious force commander. CTF 76 is headquartered at White Beach Naval Facility, Okinawa, Japan, with a detachment in Sasebo, Japan.

For more news from USS Essex (LHD 2), visit www.navy.mil/local/lhd2/.