USS ENTERPRISE, At Sea (NNS) -- USS Enterprise (CVN 65) Sailors successfully completed the ship's longest at-sea period Sept. 9 since their spring 2010 departure from the shipyard.
During the 37-day underway mission, Enterprise accomplished many goals necessary to prepare for its upcoming 21st deployment, including completing a tailored ship's training availability (TSTA) and final evaluation period (FEP), both of which are required before a ship may deploy.
During TSTA and FEP, Enterprise conducted more than 200 drills to increase the ship's operating efficiency, enhance Sailors' response to personnel and equipment casualties and enabled effective integration between Enterprise and Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1.
The drills included general quarters, mass casualty, major conflagration, man overboard, flight deck and hangar deck drills and other drills across all warfare areas.
Afloat Training Group (ATG) evaluators were aboard the ship to assess the execution of TSTA and FEP during the underway period. By the end of the examinations, feedback from ATG was excellent and stated that the crew had exceeded all expectations.
"Everyone aboard Enterprise played a critical role in the success of TSTA/FEP," said Lt. Cmdr. Vanessa Givens, the ship's training officer. "The integrated training team, as well as each individual training team, dedicated countless hours to develop the training scenarios. It was really up to the crew to demonstrate the ability to combat battle damage and personnel casualties."
In the midst of the challenging TSTA and FEP, the ship also successfully completed its supply management assessment (SMA).
SMA was an extensive, three-day evaluation of Supply Department's food service performance conducted by the ship's type commander, Commander, Naval Air Force, Atlantic.
The purpose of the SMA was to prove Supply Department's ability to handle serving an entire embarked crew while deployed for significant periods of time.
"Every Sailor and Marine aboard did remarkably well during this at-sea period," said Capt. O. P. Honors Jr., Enterprise commanding officer. "To accomplish everything we did in the timeframe we did and with the external factors we had to plan around, such as multiple hurricanes, the outstanding results across the board are the combined efforts from the most seasoned khakis we have to the blue shirts. I am so proud of this crew."
This milestone is especially significant in light of Enterprise's recent two-year stay in the Northrop Grumman Shipyard in Newport News, Va., making the Navy's oldest ship unavailable to contribute directly to the fight for an extended period of time.
"Enterprise has come a long way since we left the shipyard, but we're not finished just yet. We have a couple more underway periods before Enterprise goes on her first deployment in nearly three years. I have no doubt that we will exemplify the motto of our carrier, 'Ready on Arrival,'" said Honors.
Now that the legendary aircraft carrier has completed this critical stage in its workups, the next step is a composite unit training exercise (COMPTUEX). COMPTUEX is an exercise meant to bolster the strike group's joint warfighting capabilities. Following COMPTUEX, Enterprise will engage in a joint task force exercise (JTFEX), a set of simulated combat scenarios in a real-time environment.
After the completion of JTFEX, Enterprise will be fully prepared for deployment.
Enterprise is conducting work-ups and flight deck operations in preparation for its upcoming deployment.
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