Page 22. MAINE COASTAL NEWS April 2018 U. S. N N
since the ending of the last yard period," said Nimitz Commanding Offi cer Capt. Kevin P. Lenox. "I have no doubt that this crew will effi ciently and safely execute this DPIA period the same way they executed their last at-sea period." Although some sailors won't be on
board long enough to see this yard period all the way through, it's going to take the work of everyone to get Nimitz back to operations. Nimitz is slated to return to sea May
2019 to perform sea trials in preparation for future operations.
Navy, Coast Guard Divers Recover Tor- pedoes in Freezing Arctic
BREMERTON, Wash. (March 1, 2018) Sailors and Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Interme- diate Maintenance Facility (PSNS-IMF) workers shift the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) from its homeport pier in Bremerton, Wash., to a dry dock in PSNS-IMF. Nimitz is preparing for a planned incremental availability at PSNS-IMF where the ship will receive scheduled maintenance and upgrades. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Ian Kinkead/Released)
Continued from Page 8.
Nimitz (CVN 68) shifted from its homeport pier at Naval Base Kitsap Bremerton to a dry dock at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, Bremer- ton site, March 1. This shift is part of the ship's scheduled
15-month docking planned incremental availability (DPIA) period which offi cially begins March 1, following a six month de- ployment to the U.S. 5th and 7th Fleets. Nimitz took part in multiple operations
during its last deployment. In June 2017, the ship participated in a series of bilateral train- ing operations with the Royal New Zealand Navy to increase interoperability. Exercise Malabar 2017 took place in Chennai, India and the Bay of Bengal, which increased relations and maritime security between the U.S. Navy, Indian Navy and the Japan Mar- itime Self-Defense Force. They also took part in Operation Inherent Resolve, fl ying more than 1,000 combat sorties into Iraq
and Syria, dropping more than 900 pieces of ordnance. Although Nimitz is being moved from
an operational to a maintenance status, the work for the crew does not stop. "We still have to execute the same way
we have been," said Cmdr. Chuck Jones, Nimitz's chief engineer. "This is still our home, and we have to take care of this ship and get it ready for the next deployment." Nimitz will receive upgrades and ren-
ovations to a variety of systems to include steering components, hull preservation, combat systems equipment, aircraft elevator doors, berthing areas and a new stern dock. This will be the ship's most recent upgrade since it's last maintenance period from Jan- uary 2015 to October 2017. With a lengthy and high work tempo
yard period ahead, the crew anticipates 15 ship's force teams to split up 315,000 man hours to get the ship back in fi ghting condi- tion and back out to sea. "This crew performed extremely well
By Lt. Courtney Callaghan, ICEX Public Aff airs
ARCTIC CIRCLE (NNS) -- Divers from U.S. Navy Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit (MDSU) Two, Underwater Construction Team (UCT) One and the U.S. Coast Guard braved harsh Arctic waters to play a critical role during a torpedo exercise as part of Ice Exercise (ICEX) 2018. ICEX 2018 is a fi ve-week biennial
exercise that allows the Navy to assess its operational readiness in the Arctic, increase experience in the region, advance under- standing of the Arctic environment, and continue to develop relationships with other services, allies and partner organizations. During the exercise, the Seawolf-class
fast-attack submarine USS Connecticut (SSN 22) and the Los Angeles-class fast-at- tack submarine USS Hartford (SSN 768) each fi red several training torpedos under the ice. Training torpedoes have no war- heads and carry minimal fuel. After the submarines fi re the torpedoes,
helicopters transport gear and personnel to the location where the positively-buoyant torpedo is expected to run out of fuel. Each torpedo has a location device in order to as- sist in the search. Once found, a 3-4 person team will then drill a series of holes for the divers to enter and exit, as well as one hole for the torpedo to be lifted by helicopter. Once the torpedo is neutral, the divers
place brackets with cables to the top and bot- tom of the body of the torpedo. A helicopter then connects to the torpedo before lifting it vertically out of the hole. The three dive teams completed addi-
tional training in preparation for diving in the unique environment of the Arctic Ocean. The USCG CWID course is a two-week
DISCOUNT POWER TOOLS CORDED POWER TOOLS CORDLESS POWER TOOLS FUELED POWER TOOLS PNEUMATIC POWER TOOLS FASTENERS HAND TOOLS
MATERIAL HANDLING
POWER TOOL ACCESSORIES SAFETY SUPPLIES WELDING SUPPLIES
course in Seattle, Washington hosted by the USCG instructors at Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center (NDSTC) which focuses on the use of equipment and diving operations in harsh Arctic waters. During the course, divers complete a diving practical in Loc de Roc, British Columbia at 5,000 ft. elevation to put environmental stresses on the divers and equipment to acclimate to the cold and altitude. During ICEX, the divers conducted
dives using two diff erent types of diving methods. UCT-1 and the USCG dove with SCUBA equipment, which provides div- ers with an air supply contained in tanks strapped to the backs of the divers. The divers equip themselves with a communi- cation "smart rope" which is a protected communication cable to the surface that acts as a tending line so support personnel on the surface has positive control of the divers and so they can quickly return to the dive hole. MDSU-2 divers used the diving system
DP2 with confi guration one, which provides voice communications and an air supply provided by the surface. This confi guration allows the divers to swap the composite air bottles without the diver resurfacing and without interrupting their air supply. "We decided to use the DP2 system
because it performs in arctic conditions very well," said Navy Diver 1st Class Davin Jameson, lead diving supervisor for MDSU- 2. "The ability to change our air supply during the dive is critical and allows us to stay under the water a lot longer." Not only did the divers have an es-
sential role in torpedo recovery, they were also essential to camp operations. "Prior to torpedo retrieval dives, all the divers on ice helped set up the camp and in the building of two runways (one 1,300 and one 2,500-ft)," Senior Chief Navy Diver Michael McInroy, master diver for MDSU-2. "In the camp, everyone has responsibilities to keep oper- ations on track. The divers worked hard to do their part in and out of the water." MDSU-2 is an expeditionary mobile
unit homeported at Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek-Ft. Story (JEBLCFS) in Nor- folk, Virginia. The unit deploys in support of diving and salvage operations and fl eet exer- cises around the world. The primary mission is to direct highly-mobile, fully-trained and equipped mobile diving and salvage com- panies to perform combat harbor clearance, search and expeditionary salvage operations including diving, salvage, repair, assistance, and demolition in ports or harbors and at sea aboard Navy, Military Sealift Command, or commercial vessels of opportunity in war- time or peacetime. UCT-1 is also homeported at JEBLCFS
and is worldwide deployable to conduct underwater construction, inspection, repair and demolition operations. Seabees operat- ed off the coast of Alaska for the fi rst time in 1942 when they began building advanced bases on Adak, Amchitka and other principal islands in the Aleutian chain. ICEX divers and their support elements
are a proven and vital component to the success of this fi ve-week exercise. The part- nership between the Navy and Coast Guard builds on the foundation of increasing expe- rience and operational readiness even in the one of the harshest regions of the world.
Navy Seeks Savings, Releases Two-Car- rier RFP
From Naval Sea Systems Command Pub- lic Aff airs
WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The Navy re- leased a CVN 80/81 two-ship buy Request for Proposal (RFP) to Huntington Ingalls Industries - Newport News Shipbuilding (HII-NNS) March 19 to further defi ne the cost savings achievable with a two-ship buy. With lethality and aff ordability a top
priority, the Navy has been working with HII-NNS over the last several months to estimate the total savings associated with procuring CVN 80 and CVN 81 as a two- ship buy. The two-ship buy is a contracting strate-
gy the Navy has eff ectively used in the 1980s to procure Nimitz-class aircraft carriers and achieved signifi cant acquisition cost savings compared to contracting for the ships indi- vidually. While the CVN 80/81 two-ship buy negotiations transpire, the Navy is pursuing contracting actions necessary to continue CVN 80 fabrication in fi scal year (FY) 2018 and preserve the current schedule. The Navy plans to award the CVN 80 construction contract in early FY 2019 as a two-ship buy pending Congressional approval and achieving signifi cant savings. Enterprise (CVN 80) is the third ship of
the Gerald R. Ford class and the numerical replacement for USS Eisenhower (CVN 69). CVN 81, not yet named, will be the fourth ship of the class and will be the numerical replacement for USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). CVN 80 began advanced planning and initial long-lead-time material procurement in May 2016.
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