By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Mark Meredith
April 17, 2010 - NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (NNS) -- USS Enterprise (CVN 65) departed Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipyard April 17 to conduct sea trials.
The ship will be testing equipment, running system checks and making certain that Enterprise is ready to be delivered to the fleet.
"It's kind of like buying a car," said Cmdr. Edward M. Galvin, Enterprise's operations officer. "You have to take the car out for a test drive to try out all of its systems. That's what we'll be doing with sea trials: taking the keys from Northrop Grumman and trying the ship out."
Also getting underway with Enterprise during the trials are key members of Northrop Grumman who will help make sure the ship is ready for the open water.
"I am very confident and hopeful that the next place we'll be pulling into will be Naval Station Norfolk," said Galvin. "I think everyone is ready to get back out to sea."
Upon the successful completion of sea trials, Northrop Grumman will deliver the ship to the fleet, and Enterprise will begin preparing for deployment.
"This will mark the culmination of our shipyard work," said Galvin. "At that point, we'll be able to shift our focus from fixing the ship to combat presence, our real job."
After the completion of sea trials, Enterprise will begin preparing for full-scale flight operations.
"The next time we go out will be for flight deck certification," said Galvin.
The end of every day marks another step closer to Enterprise beginning her 21st deployment in her 48 years of service.
Enterprise is currently conducting sea trials in preparation for her return to the fleet.
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