John C. Stennis sets sail for inspection survey

PACIFIC OCEAN – The crew of USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) is making final preparations for an assessment by the Board of Inspection and Survey – called “INSURV” – beginning July 21. The inspection, which takes place once every five years, will assess Stennis’ material condition using known Navy standards to determine readiness in multiple areas.

July 16, 2015 2:28 pm
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Sailors from USS John C. Stennis’ (CVN 74) Deck department 2nd division demonstrate proper use of a phone and distance line. The line is used during underway replenishments to show the distance between two ships. The crew is currently preparing for the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey
Sailors from USS John C. Stennis’ (CVN 74) Deck department 2nd division demonstrate proper use of a phone and distance line. The line is used during underway replenishments to show the distance between two ships. The crew is currently preparing for the Navy’s Board of Inspection and Survey

By Jonathan Jiang

Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class

PACIFIC OCEAN – The crew of USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) is making final preparations for an assessment by the Board of Inspection and Survey – called “INSURV” – beginning July 21.

The inspection, which takes place once every five years, will assess Stennis’ material condition using known Navy standards to determine readiness in multiple areas.

“The biggest thing I can say for the crew is know your equipment, know how to operate your equipment, know basic navy standards for the material condition of your spaces and strive to exceed those standards,” said Lt. Cmdr. Todd Nelson, from Orlando, Florida, Stennis’ INSURV coordinator.

Stennis began preparing for INSURV nearly a year ago. Department heads and work center supervisors learned what the inspection would entail and sailors were designated as INSURV coordinators for different departments. Demonstration teams formed to show that the crew knew how to properly use the equipment they’ve been maintaining.

“We’ve put in a lot of hours bettering the material condition of the ship and confirming the proper operation of the ship through demonstrations,” said Nelson. “I feel confident that we will perform well.”

During this period, Stennis sailors designated as INSURV trusted agents logged 18,194 material discrepancies that have gradually been corrected throughout the year. As of July 14 there were only 1,721 remaining.

“It’s a little overwhelming at first,” said Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Mechanical) 3rd Class Timothy Lium, of Seattle.

Lium was responsible for ensuring that the abandon ship life preservers for the entire ship were INSURV ready and trained the crew on how to properly perform maintenance on them.

“I’m definitely proud of the crew,” said Lium. “They started to realize that it’s about the ship and not them. It really showed that people actually cared about getting it done and showed improvement and pride in their work.”

INSURV is scheduled to begin at 4 a.m. on Monday. The inspectors will check 473 line items on the schedule of events and observe 1,134 demonstrations.

Line items include tasks as small as ensuring the proper operation of a fire pump and larger scale events such as detect-to-engage demonstrations to test proper usage of the ship’s self-defense systems.

A team of five assistant INSURV coordinators, Lt. Shannon Shaw, Senior Chief Engineman Robert Zantow, Cryptologic Technician (Collection) 1st Class Joseph Graves, Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Shelby Eby and Electronics Technician 2nd Class Aubrie Strasters, will support Nelson and coordinate all of the inspection items.

Stennis is scheduled to complete INSURV on July 23 and will then focus on completing the Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX).

COMPTUEX tests the mission readiness of deployable assets and focuses on improving integrated unit capabilities, better preparing warfighters to operate forward.

“INSURV and COMPTUEX are both critical milestones following a major maintenance period as we prepare for deployment,” said Capt. Mike Wettlaufer, commanding officer of Stennis. “Once completed, we expect to be certified and ready to protect American interests on the waters of the world.”

For more news from USS John C. Stennis visit www.stennis.navy.mil or www.facebook.com/stennis 74.

 

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