By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mark Meredith, USS Enterprise Public Affairs
April 16, 2010 - NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (NNS) -- The crew of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) successfully completed fast cruise April 15.
Fast cruise allows the crew to simulate being underway while still tied to the pier.
The exercise spanned four days ending earlier than scheduled due to the efforts of the crew. Enterprise set a new record completing the evolution in just 36 hours, said Capt. Ron Horton, the ship's commanding officer.
The crew executed underway watch team rotations, man overboard, general quarters, engineering and flight deck drills.
"We've been doing lots of drills to show that we know how to respond to casualties," said Command Master Chief (SW/AW) Dominic A. Musso. "We've been testing out machinery to make sure it's good and operating the way it should be."
The crew also conducted an abandon ship drill that required Sailors to muster with their departments and proceed to their life raft stations.
The drills ensure the crew is ready for sea trials.
"Overall, we did pretty well," said Musso. "As we went through the fast cruise evolution, we got the kinks ironed out. We found out where we had the hiccups, and corrected them so we'll be ready for sea trials."
The ship will next leave Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard and conduct intense at-sea maneuvering and test every system to ensure mission capability.
"I'm extremely happy to be leaving the shipyard after two years," said Musso. "It's been fun to see the whole orchestra finally come together."
With the completion of fast cruise, the crew of "Big E" is looking ahead to sea trials and the testing, evaluation and certification period, known as "workups," as the crew continues to prepare Enterprise for its upcoming deployment.
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