Kearsarge Completes 3M Certification

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Stephen Tate, USS Kearsarge Public Affairs

April 28, 2010 - USS Kearsarge, At Sea (NNS) -- Sailors aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) completed their Maintenance and Material Management (3M) certification April 16.

To date, the ship and crew have passed the Unit Level Training Assessment Certification/Engineering (ULTRA-C and E), Force Protection Initial Assessment and Supply Management Certification with flying colors.

The inspection included numerous shipboard spot checks and an evaluation of 66 work centers by inspectors from Afloat Training Group, Atlantic. Fire Controlman 1st Class (SW/AW) Michael Ziegler, Assistant 3M Program Coordinator, explained that recent training and weekly spot checks gave him confidence in the crew's ability to pass the certification, despite having little time to prepare.

"The current ship's schedule didn't allot much time for us to prepare, so we had to make the most of the time we had," said Ziegler. "We conducted numerous mock spot checks, went through every workcenter's manual, and created a training video that was broadcast on the ship's SITE TV system."

The ship was graded using various criteria, including spot checks, the Current Ship's Maintenance Project, and the 3M binders of all workcenters.

Many Sailors on board had to conduct spot checks with ATG members as part of the certification.

"The spot checks were a little stressful and intense," said Information System Technician 2nd Class (SW/AW) Wall. "Thankfully, the 3M office made sure we were well trained and that we knew what we were doing."

Kearsarge passed the certification with an 89.05 percent and is certified for another two years.

"We couldn't have done so well without hard work and attention to detail from our work center supervisors and 3M assistants," said Ziegler. "Thanks to them, we can put this behind us and move on in our certification cycle."