George Washington Completes Successful Ammunition Onload

PACIFIC OCEAN (NNS) -- The U.S. Navy's forward-deployed aircraft carrier completed an at-sea ammunition onload June 23 with the Military Sealift Command dry cargo and ammunition ship USNS Charles Drew (T-AKE 10).

USS George Washington (CVN 73) received nearly 900 pallets of ordnance via vertical and connected replenishment.

"It's important that we do an ammunition on-load prior to receiving the air wing so that we have a full stock of ordnance for any assigned mission," said Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Jordan Ore, from G-3 weapons division.

Weapons and deck departments were manned and ready by 4:00 a.m., waiting by the hangar bay doors and on the flight deck for the ammunition to arrive.

"It took the efforts of the entire weapons department coming together," said Chief Aviation Ordnanceman Keith Foshee, G-2 division's leading chief petty officer. "Each division has a vital role to ensure we receive the correct ordnance and the amount we need."

The crew on-loaded and stowed the ordnance for movement to the ship's weapons magazines in 13 hours, a feat that normally takes one and a half days.

"This was planned about six months out," said Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class Ronald Pierre, G-1 division's armament weapons support equipment leading petty officer. "We had to determine which magazine each type of ordnance would be placed, what the best transfer route would be, how everything would get to the ship and how we would orchestrate the evolution to ensure everything reached its destination."

Safety of personnel was a primary concern due to the amount of moving equipment used in this evolution.

"A lot of planning goes into ensuring it's a safe environment and evolution," said Pierre. "The main thing is safety. We have safety briefs and we make sure everyone has gone through training and is qualified to handle the different types of ordnance."

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


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