The crew of the US Navy aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) completed their tailored ship’s training availability and final evaluation problem (TSTA/FEP) during a 25-day underway period, returning to their homeport of Naval Station (NAVSTA) Norfolk on November 3.
During TSTA/FEP, ships are put through a rigorous series of drills to test their crew’s capabilities in the areas of damage control, medical, navigation, intelligence, and combat systems.
Truman, along with the embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 squadrons and Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 8 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 28 staffs, completed their first integrated training evolution with the fewest number of general quarters (GQ) and man overboard drills of any carrier so far, according to Truman’s training officer said Lt. Cmdr. Damon Summerall.
The completion of TSTA/FEP is an important step in Truman’s workup cycle, but not the last.
“This sets us up so we can advance to the next phase of training,” said Sumerall. “We’ve proven we have the basic skills so we can move on to training our Sailors for more complex scenarios they’ll encounter during Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX).”
While Truman was completing TSTA/FEP evolutions, the crew was simultaneously conducting group sail with CSG-8, DESRON 28 and guided-missile cruiser Normandy, operating in close proximity and practicing evolutions such as air defense and submarine warfare exercises.