The crew of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), emerging from Refueling and Complex Overhaul, completed Phase I of the Crew Certification Process (Crew Cert) April 5 in preparation for returning to the Navy’s operational fleet.
Crew Cert is a mandatory assessment of the crew’s ability to take the ship to sea and deal with emergencies in a non-war fighting scenario.
Representatives from Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic (COMNAVAIRLANT), Carrier Strike Group 12 (CSG12) and Afloat Training Group (ATG), Norfolk came aboard April 4-5 to ensure that the crew is qualified in the basic underway functional areas required to proceed to sea safely.
“They were here to make sure we are training our people properly,” said Lt. Janet R. Bower, assistant training officer aboard TR. “Phase I was their initial review to see how we are doing.”
ATG worked with Shipboard Training Team (SBTT) representatives from Engineering, Medical, Combat Systems, Navigation, Deck, Operations, Supply, Weapons, and Safety departments. Each department had a review of training conducted and training planned to support minimum underway watch qualifications for sea trial evolutions.
The entire process was coordinated by TR’s training department to ensure that Crew Certification Phase I was a success.
“It went well,” said Bower, “To prepare the ship for the two-day event, the training department coordinated with several departments and provided personnel for everything from transportation to data entry.”
Crew Certification Phase II is the next key milestone, and consists of evaluating watchstanders’ abilities during simulated underway operations, to include emergency drills, while giving the crew an opportunity to correct training or procedural deficiencies.
After Phase II, the crew will have a chance to improve on areas that need work and complete required LOK exams and PQS assignments before Phase III.
“We need to get our qualifications to go back out to sea,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 1st Class Rodney Martinez, leading petty officer of the Training department. “The Training department is here to help the TR and crew get back to the fleet where we belong by working as a team.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, April 12, 2013