USS Shiloh prepares for return to sea

Sailors from the U.S. Navy’s Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Shiloh (CG 67) carried out a “fast cruise” exercise at Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY), Yokosuka in Japan on February 12.

A “fast cruise” is a simulation of an underway period, including multiple drills and evolutions all conducted without the ship leaving the pier.

The simulation is designed to prepare the ship and her crew to go back to sea after having been in dry dock for seven months. A sea and anchor exercise, an evolution designed to reflect the ship getting underway from the pier, begins the “fast cruise” process.

Ensign Kelly Maw, the conning officer for the first sea and anchor evolution, said: “The sea and anchor was pretty hectic, as there were a lot of new watch standers and because it has been so long since we have gone through those motions.”

“After a while, everyone settled back into a rhythm and the drills started to run much more smoothly. We had a lot of lessons learned, which will make our actual underway work that much more seamlessly.”

Sailors also performed a number of drills which included loss of steering, low visibility, man overboard, engineering drills and General Quarters, among others.

The day ended with an abandon ship drill in which the entire crew mustered at specified locations on the ship for each of their lifeboats.

Since Shiloh’s last underway there has been a significant amount of turnover for the crew. The “fast cruise” simulation is designed to show the new crew the pace of underway operations to come.

Shiloh is forward-deployed to the 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific.

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