The
Navy's newest amphibious assault ship, USS America (LHA 6), completed
final contractor trials (FCT) April 3. FCT, ran by the Navy's Board
of Inspection and Survey (INSURV), is part of a series of post-delivery
tests the ship has been preparing for since before commissioning. During
the trials, the ship and its major systems are exercised, tested and
corrected as required.
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Ensign Nicholas Haan, America's assistant FCT coordinator,
likened the experience to owning a new car with a warranty about to
expire.
"That is exactly what we are doing right now. The warranty on our
ship, straight from the factory, is going to expire soon, so we want
to catch all the discrepancies we can find, make sure they are all noted
and get them fixed," said Haan. "It ensures the ship builders
are held responsible for the things they need to be held responsible
for."
The four-day trials began March 30 with pre-underway and material condition
checks, followed by at-sea demonstrations of a variety of systems including
main propulsion, engineering and ship control systems, combat systems,
damage control, food service and crew support.
"As damage control petty officers, we have been maintaining and
demonstrating the ship's damage control systems," said Seaman Joshua
Mercer, temporarily assigned to the ship's repair division. "For
example, we maintain fire-plugs, so the inspectors will watch us perform
our maintenance to ensure we are doing it correctly and that our equipment
and systems are up to par. First, they visually check the equipment
(hose, vari-nozzle, wye gate, etc.) as well as the internal integrity
of all parts to make sure everything is working properly and nothing
will break down. Everything needs to work, because if there was a fire,
faulty equipment could mean somebody's life."
Nuclear aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) had representatives
on board to see firsthand what the America crew was doing in preparation
of their own visit from INSURV.
"We brought a team of four other guys to watch different functional
areas, so that we could put a face to the name of the INSURV personnel
and to learn how you guys did things that apply to aircraft carriers,"
said Senior Chief Engineman Robert Zantow, assistant INSURV coordinator
for Stennis. "I think America did phenomenal. I hope Stennis performs
as well as the America crew did, and I know we will as you guys have."
Haan said he was not surprised at how well America's crew worked together
and was excited to help other ships through the process.
"We knew the ship was going to do well; we knew that to begin with,"
Haan said. "We have a great ship, and Capt. Hall said it best when
he said, 'We already know where we are, we just need to show these guys
[INSURV] where we are,' and that's what we did."
"We showed them we are always going to put our best foot forward
no matter what the situation is," Haan added. "America has
set the bar high, and from here on we will maintain that bar and help
others to achieve it too."
After successfully completing FCTs, the ship will head into a maintenance
period known as post shakedown availability (PSA) beginning late Spring.
During this time the discrepancies that were noted will be resolved.
America is the first ship of its class, replacing the Tarawa class of
amphibious assault ships, and is optimized for Marine Corps aviation.
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