A tale of two ships
May 18th, 2012 | 3rd Fleet 7th Fleet Life at Sea Maintenance Navy Ships | Posted by Gidget Fuentes
Amphibious assault ship Essex approaches its pier May 17 at San Diego Naval Base, with Peleliu berthed nearby. (Gidget Fuentes/staff) Below, sailors with Bonhomme Richard join in command exercise May 8 in Sasebo, Japan. (Navy photo by MC2 William T. Jenkins)
Let’s face it: Once you step into a new car – or even a previously-owned vehicle, as used-car dealers say – it’s just not exciting to drive older wheels. Classic rebuilt cars, the exception of course. Trading down just isn’t fun.
So we can feel for the sailors and officers of amphibious assault ship Essex, who this spring took the Wasp-class big-deck Bonhomme Richard from their home in San Diego, Calif., and swapped hulls in Japan, where they exchanged ships and even the official Facebook pages with their Sasebo-based counterparts in the Navy’s latest scheduled hull swap. The San Diego-based crew returned to California May 17 aboard Essex, while the Sasebo crew took ownership of Bonhomme Richard and prepared for upcoming patrols in 7th Fleet. Essex arrived on time, but not before colliding with the oiler Yukon as the ship prepared to take on fuel. Repairs, as well as the investigation, are underway.
The BHR, as some call it, last year completed a major overhaul, a shipyard drydock period that included upgrades to berthing areas, new advanced controls for its boilers and some reworking to accommodate the MV-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft the Marine Corps plans to base in Japan.
Essex, meanwhile, has spent the past 12 years in Japan, where duty with 7th Fleet means shorter, but more frequent, deployments than stateside ships usually have – but without the significant shipyard maintenance periods where crews and workers can really spend time and get their hands and eyes on the ship and its innards. Recent years have seen maintenance problems cropping up even as the ship has gotten underway for patrols in the region, and Essex isn’t alone in the aging fleet in suffering from fewer maintenance dollars and high operational tempo.
The Navy decided to send one of its most updated Gators, the BHR, to replace it in Japan, and give the 21-year-old Essex its much-needed rest and repairs back in the states so the ship can continue to serve in San Diego and operate with 3rd Fleet. (The Navy also has little choice, considering the shrinking size of the overall fleet, including its amphibious Gator community that Marines rely on to get them where they need to go.)
But before that happens, Essex and its crew are slated to participate in the high-visibility “Rim of the Pacific” exercises off Hawaii this summer. Essex will be the big deck among 42 ships participating. After that, the crew will get the ship – and themselves – ready for the drydock phased maintenance availability expected to run 52 weeks. In a February interview, Capt. Chuck Litchfield, Essex’s skipper and former executive officer of BHR and, briefly, Essex, lauded the San Diego crew for the work getting Bonhomme Richard through a successful yard period and sea trials ahead of leaving for Japan, “and I expect to be successful again.” The past year was focused on preparing for the hull swap and crew taking on Essex, eyes wide open. “A new ship is something that you have to learn,” he said.
Mismanaged projects and funds? The boss wants to know — through channels
February 23rd, 2012 | Blogs Fleet Forces Command Inspector General Investigation Maintenance Navy Software | Posted by Bill McMichael
Fleet Forces Command chief Adm. John Harvey sure raised eyebrows with his Thursday post on the command blog when he chastised those posting comments about “potential mismanagement of Navy projects and funds.”
Harvey said he wants to know about potential problems — and he’s been one to solicit feedback in the past — but a blog, he said, is not the place to voice serious allegations that, if unresolvable by the chain of command, might be better directed to an inspector general.
Harvey appears to be referring specifically to five comments posted at the tail of Feb. 9 post providing an update on his comprehensive review of all software being used in the fleet, dubbed the “Fleet FAM effort”. The initiative aims “to reverse the damage caused by so many years of undisciplined software management in the Fleet and by the many entities who were able to deliver software applications to the Fleet,” Harvey wrote.
The comments begin with a critical post about Automated Work Notification, a replacement for Organizational Maintenance Management System-Next Generation (asleep yet?), a program used to manage and document surface ship maintenance actions that provides an interface for requesting material and spare parts support for a ship’s installed systems.
The problem, the writer, an officer, complains, is that more than $100 million has been spent on development since 2007, yet AWN “does nothing to ease the burden on the Fleet and help Sailors do their jobs” and, in fact, “increases the burden.” At the same time, the Navy has simultaneously developed a “95 percent solution in-house” that does the job, the writer claims.
A follow-on commenter corrected the first writer, saying more than $175 million has been spent on OMMS-NG since 2005. The writer provided an equally negative assessment, saying the money bought the Navy “pretty much nothing, just a bunch of software that is riddled with security vulnerabilities.” The root of the problem, the writer said, lies with Harvey’s own N43, Fleet Maintenance.
Two additional writers poured it on, with a fifth arguing that both AWN and the in-house solution should be skipped over in favor of the existing Fleet Assessment Support Tool, which with some tweaks could do the job. The money would be better spent hiring more subject matter experts at Regional Maintenance Facilities, the writer said.
To Fleet Forces Command’s credit, the comments weren’t deleted — testament to Harvey’s stated desire to hear about problems. But he’d obviously much prefer to air the dirty laundry out of the public eye.
“I want to be clear that I am still very interested in feedback regarding the various topics we routinely discuss on this blog,” Harvey concluded. “As I said in my last post, deckplate feedback has been absolutely critical for me to identify and address some of the biggest issues in the Fleet. But I want to strongly reiterate that when the issues involve matters such as fraud, waste, abuse and the mismanagement of projects and funds, we need to ensure we’re reporting those matters through the proper channels.”
And the problems already aired? Said Harvey, “My staff has been gathering the facts on the issues identified and will determine whether an official investigation is warranted.”
Down and dirty
September 19th, 2011 | Carrier On-Board Delivery plane Carriers Maintenance Maritime operations Naval aviation Photos Ships Training | Posted by Bill McMichael
The carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower is underway in the Atlantic conducting carrier qualifications for naval aviators, but it’s the unglamorous and often tedious work below decks that keeps the fliers going.
Aviation Structural Mechanic 3rd Class David Zaveson and Aviation Structural Mechanic Airman Eric Bieber of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 5 conduct routine maintenance on an SH-60F Seahawk aboard the carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower. // U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Tony Bloom
A zillion things can go wrong with an aircraft — especially aircraft that operate in a maritime environment and bounce onto aircraft carriers. That requires checking everything from the big stuff to internal leakage.
Aviation Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class (AW/SW) Orrintell Whyte checks for oil leaks on the tail gear of an HH-60H Seahawk of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 5 in Ike's hangar bay. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Albert Jones
All the work has to be tracked.
Aviation Electrician’s Mate 1st Class (AW/SW) Christopher Carbee of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron 5 writes his findings in a log during a final inspection on an HH-60H in the hangar bay of the Eisenhower. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Albert Jones
Then there’s the support for the support — the ancillary work.
Aviation Support Equipment Technician Airman Katrina Everett, right, and Aviation Support Equipment Technician Airman Mark Perkins fix a leak on the hydraulic tank of a spotting dolly in Ike's hangar bay. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nathan Parde
These unsung efforts underpin what everyone is hoping for topside: safe flight operations.
Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 1st Class (AW) Jason Winfrey directs a C-2A Greyhound, assigned to Airborne Early Warning Squadron 120, on the flight deck of the carrier Eisenhower. Ike is currently underway conducting carrier qualifications. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Albert Jones
Ike’s return is on track
July 14th, 2011 | Aviation Carriers Flight deck certification Maintenance Maritime operations Navy Photos Safety Shipyard Unmanned carrier landing | Posted by Bill McMichael
The carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower is enjoying a noteworthy and productive post-availability period at sea.
On July 2, Ike, operating off the Atlantic coast, was the scene of the first fully hands-free carrier landing as an F/A-18D modified to emulate the in-development X-47B Unmanned Combat Air System aircraft touched down under control of an onboard computer network linked to the plane. The aircraft was manned in case something went wrong, but the pilot kept his hands off the controls, the Navy told my colleague Joshua Stewart. See his story in the July 18 Navy Times.
Four days later, the carrier and Air Wing 7 completed flight deck certification, just a week after taking the flattop’s first arrested landing since its 2010 deployment to the Arabian Sea in support of the war in Afghanistan — only three weeks after Ike left Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va., after completing a nine-month planned incremental availability.
On July 7 in Washington, D.C., the carrier was given the Secretary of the Navy’s Safety Excellence Award for large deck combatants.
Meanwhile, the carrier — enjoying a no-fly day Thursday, according to AIRLANT — continues operations in the Atlantic, qualifying new fliers from Fleet Replacement Squadron fliers.
An F/A-18F Super Hornet assigned to the “Gladiators” of Strike Fighter Squadron 106 performs an arrested landing July 13 aboard the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower. // U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nathan Parde.
Almost back in the fleet
June 14th, 2011 | Carriers Maintenance Navy Photos Sea trials Ships Shipyard | Posted by Bill McMichael
The carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower is underway for sea trials following a nine-month maintenance availability at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va.
The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower transits the Elizabeth River in Norfolk, Va., June 13 as it begins Sea Trials. // U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Shonna L. Cunningham
Ike’s planned incremental availability began last summer and was supposed to be done in March. It was extended into June due to major pump overhaul and unexpected winter storms, according to the Navy.
“Today we are absolutely ready to get back to sea,” said Capt. Marcus Hitchcock, Ike’s CO. “You can walk around and see the phenomenal changes around the ship.”
Deck Department boatswain's mates aboard Ike handle mooring lines in preparation for getting underway out of Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Va. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Bradley Evans
Looks like someone is happy to be leaving the yards …
Some good news, for a change
May 26th, 2011 | Amphibious operations Gator Navy LPD-17 Maintenance Navy San Antonio class Ships testing | Posted by Bill McMichael
The much-maligned amphibious transport dock ship San Antonio returned to Norfolk Thursday afternoon after 10 days of sea trials, and commanding officer Cmdr. Thomas Kait seemed like a very happy man during a press availability in his onboard cabin.
“I would characterize it as an A-plus,” Kait told reporters. “I don’t know how many times I said `great’ or said, `This is the first time this ship’s done this in two years’.”
Kait said crew morale was sky-high, “just knowing that their gear worked. All the hard work they put forth over the past two years. I know there were a lot of people rootin’ for us who had left the command over the past six months that put a little blood and sweat into it as well. I know they were cheering for us on shore as well.”
This first of two phases of sea trials was dedicated to validating the main diesel engines. Kait said the ship operated about 80 miles off the Atlantic coast to steer clear of shipping and also kept maneuvering to a minimum, all so as not to throw off the vibration analysis equipment and other engine testing gear. A stepped series of tests, each more intense than the previous step, culminated with a full-power demonstration.
“We went full speed on all four engines for one hour,” Kait said. “We did some rudder swing checks. We shut power to the steering units to make sure they’d hold at a 25-degree rudder — which they did fantastic.” The ship then went all astern, full power, and followed that with the same steering checks performed going forward.
There was a bit of vibration as the ship got to 25 knots and up, Kait said — “which we would expect to see.” He received one report of a sailor standing between two main engines while underway who “said they were purring like kittens.”
Drive train vibration had been an issue when engineers searching for the cause last year discovered misaligned or non-tightened foundation bolts and an improperly installed main reduction gear. The problem, coming atop efforts to repair electrical, lube oil and other systemic problems, forced officials to cancel the ship’s scheduled deployment this year.
Kait, mindful of those issues, was careful not to get overly enthusiastic. “Instead of saying we’re doing great, I’d like to say that we’re getting back to where we should be,” Kait said. “We have a little bit of a checkered past, but I think we’ve overcome that. We’re not doing anything special. We’re following the maintenance requirements cards — just what every other ship does.”
During the second phase of sea trials, which begins in June, more emphasis will be placed on the San Antonio’s combat systems. “We’ll do a lot more maneuvering, to increase our proficiency,” Kait said.
If all that goes well, San Antonio will start preparing for only its second deployment since being delivered in August 2005. Kait said he couldn’t yet say when that might happen but said that the ship will begin the now-standard 20-week basic training phase. Integrated training with other amphibious ships would normally follow. But should a contingency arise, he said, San Antonio will be ready to respond once its flight and well decks are fully certified — probably by the end of summer, Kait said.
A success story, and a lesson learned
April 30th, 2011 | Board of Inspection and Survey Fleet Forces Command Gator Navy leadership Maintenance Navy Personnel Photos | Posted by Bill McMichael
A year ago, the dock landing ship Oak Hill was in poor shape — and that’s by the Fleet Forces Command chief’s reckoning. Beginning in 2005, five deployments in five years, no time for maintenance and inadequate manning had left the relatively young ship with a degraded power plant, endemic corrosion and a whole lot of systems that just didn’t work. A long-overdue yard period, money, lots of outside help and long hours produced a remarkable turnaround Apr. 4-8, when the ship passed its rigid underway material inspection by the Board of Inspection and Survey with flying colors. Oak Hill scored “green” in 16 of 18 functional areas, and “yellow” in the other two. Refurbishment and upgrade work continues, but the ship is just about back up to where officials want it to be. And it’s looking good:
The dock landing ship Oak Hill, on a recent afternoon at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Fort Story. // Photo by William H. McMichael
The lesson learned — or more accurately (over the past two years), reinforced — is that it’s far easier, and the Navy is better served, when ships are maintained on a more even keel. That means, officials say, ships accurately reporting problems, leaders honestly assessing and reporting how much money the Navy needs for ship maintenance, and fully manning ships so that commands can better perform everyday maintenance as well as prepare to fight.
For more detail, see our story in Monday’s Navy Times.
San Antonio: still pierside — but getting there
March 23rd, 2011 | Board of Inspection and Survey Fleet Forces Command Gator Navy LPD-17 Maintenance Navy Photos San Antonio class Ships Surface Force Atlantic | Posted by Bill McMichael
The amphibious transport dock Mesa Verde left its Naval Station Norfolk pier at 9:05 Wednesday morning as the Bataan Amphibious Ready Group began deploying to the Med and the Libya crisis.
As it pulled away, its wake gently lapped up against the starboard-side hull of San Antonio, moored at the next pier over, in what amounted to a love tap. Mesa Verde’s crew might have preferred delivering more of a kick in the rear. The third ship in the class, Mesa Verde had been home only eight months since its last overseas deployment, and it wasn’t supposed to deploy until late 2012. Instead, it was going to sea more than a year earlier than planned in the place of San Antonio — the class’s lead ship. Commissioned in 2006 and plagued by structural and systemic issues during its maiden and only deployment in 2008-2009, it is still getting undergoing repairs.
The amphibious transport dock San Antonio, Naval Station Norfolk, March 23, 2011. // Camera phone photo by William H. McMichael
But there’s light on the horizon. According to the ship’s executive officer, Cmdr. Neil Koprowski, San Antonio is rounding into shape and on April 25 will go to sea for three weeks of intensive sea trials. Koprowski said it’ll be a “full assessment — soup to nuts” — with high visibility. One visitor, he said, will be Adm. John Harvey, commander of Fleet Forces Command, who made the call to hold San Antonio back.
If the ship passes muster, it’ll begin a 20-week basic training phase in preparation for getting back into the fleet’s rotation. Then, in October, another test: a visit from the famously tough Board of Inspection and Survey.
Koprowski, nine months into the job, is optimistic. “We’re excited about getting back out there and showing the world … we’re gonna do good things,” he said.
Navy carrier hosts the Stanley Cup (the hardware, that is)
March 2nd, 2011 | Carriers Hockey Maintenance Morale National Hockey League Navy Photos Stanley Cup | Posted by Bill McMichael
For a lifelong hockey fan like Command Master Chief Gregg Snaza, it was a visit to the sport’s Holy Grail. But he didn’t have to travel far. On Feb. 25, the famous Stanley Cup was brought to his “doorstep” — the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, undergoing a planned incremental availability at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Portsmouth, Va. Here’s the proof:
The Stanley Cup visits the carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower Feb. 25, 2010. // U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Christopher G. Marshall
The 34.5-pound silver-and-nickel alloy trophy — there’s only one, although its shape and size have evolved since it was first awarded in 1894 — annually goes to the National Hockey League championship team, whose members drink champagne out of the topside bowl. Since there’s only one Cup, teams don’t get to keep the trophy, although the team’s name is engraved along with those of other champions. So it’s a sporting icon and for hockey fans, truly something special.
“I’ve played and watched hockey my entire life, but this was the first time I’ve ever had the chance to see the Stanley Cup,” said Snaza. “How very cool … this opportunity was an once-in-a-lifetime chance to get up close and personal with one of the most cherished prizes in all of sports!”
More than 200 sailors and shipyard civilian workers had their photos taken with the Cup. Pretty safe to assume Snaza was one of them.
A new San Antonio-class ship that’s ready to fight
February 16th, 2011 | Board of Inspection and Survey LPD-17 Maintenance Navy Photos Surface Force Atlantic | Posted by Bill McMichael
It took the Navy just five tries to get it right the first time — at least, when it comes to San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ships. Naval Surface Force Atlantic announced Monday that the New York successfully completed its post-commissioning Final Contract Trials Feb. 4.
CORRECTION: SURFLANT incorrectly first reported that the New York is the first of the five ships of the LPD-17 class to be certified for sustained combat operations on its first such evaluation. Rather, SURFLANT says, the ship produced the highest score during the FTC process of all previous San Antonio-class ships.
The class has been plagued with problems ever since its first, the San Antonio, was commissioned in January 2006. Five years and one long-delayed yet mechanically challenged deployment later, the San Antonio remains moored at Norfolk Naval Station, undergoing main propulsion diesel engine repairs and other work, according to Naval Sea Systems Command; the problems are such that the ship was bumped out of the rotation for a scheduled summer 2011 deployment. The first four ships of the class struggled with lube oil contamination and in late 2009 — just after commissioning — a bent crankshaft was found on one of the New York’s four diesel engines.
For the New York, those problems are apparently in the past, with the ship’s major systems having passed muster — after the delay for crankshaft repairs — with the infamously tough Board of Inspection and Survey. FTC inspections begin with two days of in-port checks followed by two days of underway checks including a full-power engine run, steering checks and a ship self-defense exercise.
The ship having “scored the highest” of all other LPD-17 ships on the FCT doesn’t come as much of a surprise, given the class’s history. Still, officials were pleased.
“Completing FCT the first time out has set a new standard for the class,” said Cmdr. Curt Jones, the ship’s commanding officer. “It’s a testament to the progress made and a rise in the level of technical knowledge in the class.”