By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class William Pittman
YOKOSUKA, Japan (NNS) - Commander, Naval Air Forces, visited the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) March 8.
Vice Adm. Allen G. Myers came aboard George Washington to hold an office call with the ship's leadership, observe routine maintenance taking place aboard George Washington and meet with members of the crew.
Capt. David A. Lausman, USS George Washington commanding officer, briefed Myers of the ship's accomplishments during the maintenance cycle, giving much of the credit to his crew and civilian contractors.
"We were significantly behind on our maintenance when we pulled back into port, but we recovered because of teamwork," said Lausman. "This ship has both Americans and Japanese nationals working aboard; people from ship's company, from the base and from private companies. Everybody cooperates to accomplish our goals.
"We are ahead because of everybody's communication, cooperation and focus on getting the job done. This is our standard of excellence that is unique to the forward deployed naval force (FDNF) and the support of our state-of-the-art aircraft carrier, so we can be ready to answer our country's call," said Lausman.
Lausman also discussed a situation where the cooperation between the diverse workers came in handy to get George Washington combat-ready in a short time.
"As the Navy's only FDNF carrier, George Washington has to be ready for sea in 24 hours," said Lausman. "This is not a trivial task for a carrier. But, we had a situation where the ship had to be ready for sea in 24 hours. When the call was given, everybody banded together, communicated with one another and focused on one thing: getting GW underway within the specific time frame.
"We were in a ready status well before the 24-hour deadline, and we held that status until we were ordered to stand down. That is a key example of the teamwork that makes George Washington the most unique aircraft carrier in the Navy," said Lausman.
After the office call with Lausman, Myers was given a tour of the ship. He visited several spaces and talked with Sailors to gauge the level of quality of life on the carrier.
"I took advantage of the FDNF opportunity when I served as commanding officer aboard the USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) ten years ago, and I am glad to see that the FDNF magic still exists," said Myers. "I am very impressed but we need to stay focused on all of our maintenance objectives and we need to see this through to completion."
GW is the Navy's only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier, ensuring security and stability across the western Pacific Ocean.
US Pacific Fleet
