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Enterprise Sailors Put Anchor on Target

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS100722-26
7/22/2010

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jeffry Willadsen, USS Enterprise Public Affairs

USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea (NNS) -- Sailors aboard USS Enterprise (CVN 65) successfully completed a precision anchorage July 19.

The exercise simulated anchoring off the shoreline of a foreign country while on deployment, or in the event of an emergency at sea.

During the event, the ship is navigated to an exact anchorage point, where the anchor is dropped to the ocean floor. Safety, precision and accuracy are paramount to the exercise, said Cmdr. Christopher M. Saindon, navigation officer aboard the "Big E."

"The goal of the exercise was to get the anchor dropped as close to the anchorage point as we possibly could, and it took the hard work and attention to detail of the Sailors on the bridge and below decks to do just that," Saindon said.

Boatswain's Mate 3rd Class John M. Maynard, the boatswain's mate of the watch during the event, said that communication was the key to the success of this exercise.

"Teamwork is vital to getting the anchor on the mark. Several departments on the ship including Deck, Navigation, Operations, and Engineering all communicated and worked together to make this happen," said Maynard.

Quartermasters plotted the course of the ship, communicating coordinates to the helmsman who guided the ship into position. Boatswain's mates in the ship's foc'sle then readied and released the anchor at the precise moment to put the anchor on the intended anchorage point with accuracy.

"We were right on target," said Boatswain's Mate 2nd Class (SW/AW) Quinton Shoulders, petty officer in charge of the foc'sle during the excercise. "We put the anchor just where we wanted to, and it held in place on the first try. For this being the second precision anchor drill in two years, that's quite an accomplishment."

More than 200 Sailors were involved in the event that lasted more than two hours.

"The point of this drill was to sharpen our skills in preparation for Big E's 21st deployment, and that mission was accomplished," said Saindon.