June 8, 2010 - USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea (NNS) -- Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN65) conducted an at-sea quick draw drill June 6.
The drill was designed to test and train Enterprise's .50-caliber machine gun teams and small caliber action team for the possibility of a small boat or plane attack on the aircraft carrier.
The training evolution consisted of the ship's nine .50-caliber machine-gun mounts and an M240 machine gun manned by the 12-man small caliber action team firing live rounds at two orange inflatable targets.
The purpose of the drill was to test the speed and accuracy of the teams and prepare them for the event of a real attack.
"Our Sailors may be well trained and proficient marksmen on a range, but firing at a moving target on the open ocean is a much different story," said Lt. Lawrence McLin, Enterprise's security officer. "We want them to gain some experience from this exercise and get a feel for what it would be like if they were called to fire upon someone for real."
The drill was part of an annual underway certification process for the gun teams, one that hasn't taken place aboard Enterprise since before the ship began its restricted availability in the Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipyard in Newport News, Va., in early 2007.
"Our Sailors did an incredible job," said McLin. "We sank both targets in a relatively short time, which is more than most ships can say, not to mention one that hasn't done a drill like this in more than two years."
After firing off thousands of rounds of ammunition, the test was completed with flying colors, bringing the ship one step closer to its 21st deployment.
"I'm confident our gun teams are prepared for any emergency our ship might have to face some day, and that's what this drill was all about," said McLin. "They were right on target."
Enterprise is conducting fleet replacement squadron carrier qualifications in preparation for work-ups leading to the ship's 21st deployment.
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