• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Making the Grade: Carl Vinson Gets CATCC Qualified

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS130219-08
2/19/2013

By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Matthew A. Carlyle, USS Carl Vinson Public Affairs

USS CARL VINSON, At Sea (NNS) -- The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) took another major step toward becoming deployment-ready, earning Carrier Air Traffic Control Center (CATCC) qualifications Feb. 14.

CATCC uses advanced radar systems and communication technology to direct aircraft leaving the ship or returning from a mission and assists pilots in safely landing their aircraft aboard the flight deck.

'The CATCC qualification was an overall team qualification, gauging whether or not Carl Vinson air traffic controllers can work as a cohesive unit in a CATCC environment with live aircraft,' said Chief Air-Traffic Controller (AW/SW) Shannon Lynch, operations department OC division's CATCC chief.

After earning the CATCC certification, Carl Vinson's CATCC team - comprised of air operations, carrier controlled approach personnel, and air transfer officers - is once again qualified to conduct Case III flight operations.

'Case III is at night or during bad weather, when the pilots can't see anything,' explained Air Traffic Controller 1st Class (AW/SW) Alexander McCardle-Blunk, CATCC supervisor. 'During Case III conditions, we're working our hardest. We take positive control of the incoming aircraft and use the radar to guide the aircraft to the ship.'

Even though these operations take place during low visibility, the qualification process was held during the daytime to ensure the safest conditions for all personnel, said Lynch.

'They did two simulated Case III night operations for us to get qualified,' Lynch said. 'Now that we're qualified to work as a CATCC team, we'll do all nighttime operations and daytime operations without any supervision.'

The team had to get recertified because it has not had any live aircraft to work with since the end of Carl Vinson's Western Pacific deployment in May 2012, McCardle-Blunk explained. 'Without going to sea, the ship can't keep its certification. As a CATCC team, we needed to earn this qualification to again be fully-operational for at-sea operations,' he said.

Like much of the ship, the CATCC equipment received upgrades and underwent major maintenance during the ship's seven-month maintenance availability. It was therefore necessary, McCardle-Blunk said, to ensure all CATCC equipment and antennae were working properly.

'All of our scopes are brand new and our keyboard functions have been remapped,' McCardle-Blunk said. 'We have a brand new antenna - the AN/SPN-43 antenna - our primary air traffic control radar. We just got it working perfectly. Before, it was 180 degrees off. Now, we have it working and love it. It's beautiful.'

The CATCC qualification, and all qualifications earned during this nine-day underway period, is a crucial step toward readying Carl Vinson for the nation's tasking.

'Without the CATCC qualification, the aircraft would just sit on the deck,' Lynch said. 'With Carl Vinson, you have a carrier that's fully going through its flight deck certification, its Precision Aircraft Landing System certification, and its CATCC certification, to become an overall-certified carrier. We can be called upon at any moment to go do the job. That makes us a ready carrier, which the Navy always needs.'

For more news from USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), visit www.navy.mil/local/cvn70/.