GW 'Ultra' Sailors Complete ULTRA-S

By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Beverly J. Lesonik, USS George Washington Public Affairs

WATERS NEAR GUAM (NNS) -- Sailors aboard the U.S. Navy's forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) completed Unit Level Training Sustainment (ULTRA-S), Sept. 10.

Thirty-one Afloat Training Group (ATG) personnel came aboard the ship to evaluate the ship's training teams and watch standers by conducting a thorough review of the ship's material and administrative readiness to conduct training which included an assessment of the ship's ongoing training programs and watch team replacement plans.

"The entire crew was involved in the successful completion of the ship's evaluation that consisted of a plethora of drills and two general quarters, including a Chemical, Biological and Radiological (CBR) drill that we did extremely well on," said Lt. Cmdr Nicholas Long, George Washington's training officer. "Among the many drills we completed, we did Combat System drills, Damage Control events, Weapons events and Security's antiterrorism force protection event."

ULTRA-S is a four-to-five-day annual graded event that concluded the Forward Deployed Naval Forces carrier Unit Level Training. ULTRA-S serves as the primary assessment event to ensure George Washington's standardization of Type Commander and Commander, Seventh Fleet requirements.

"We follow checklists and grade Sailors on their actions," said Lt. Ernesto Villanueva, an ATG member. "The week was very productive and the ship's crew was very cooperative. There is always room for improvement and we challenge Sailors to keep reading through training manuals and checklists to stay proficient."

ULTRA-S acts as the final evaluation period of George Washington's training cycle that began in March 2014, and consisted of five major training assessments.

"The training teams did a good job in previous assessments, and I believe it allowed us to be prepared for ULTRA-S," said Long. "The ship, as a whole, had excellent scores and a majority of our graded events were above 90%. Our success is a testament of the hard work and effort of the training teams, watch standers and the rest of the crew."

George Washington and its embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5, provide a combat-ready force that protects and defends the collective maritime interests of the U.S. and its allies and partners in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.