The aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) is undergoing a maintenance and material management assessment (3MA) to evaluate the ship's 3M program, June 26-30.

3MA is a prelude to the maintenance and material management inspection (3MI) and will evaluate GHWB's 3M program.

"Our 3M organization assesses the ship's ability to self-evaluate and train," said Master Chief Fire Controlman Michael Smith, GHWB's 3M coordinator. "The inspectors will do that by exercising all elements of our program and train us on any deficiencies to better prepare for 3MI."

The 3MA inspection team consists of senior enlisted personnel from Commander, Naval Air Forces Atlantic (CNAL). They observe random planned maintenance system (PMS) spot checks and validate the ship's ability to self-repair and conduct proper zone inspections. They also review GHWB's 3M administration.

"During these next few days, the inspectors assess to see where the ship is with their spot check knowledge and to see how our administration is doing," said Senior Chief Electrician's Mate Keith White. "The inspectors also test the knowledge of each department's work center supervisors and their division officers. Training is given afterwards which only makes the crew better."

Assessments like this ensure GHWB's ability to schedule and conduct preventative maintenance and remain fully operational in a forward-deployed environment.

"Based on the overall results of the assessment, training is provided for areas that need improvement and any high fail items," said Smith. "Basically, how well we do keeps GHWB in the fight? That will be answered this week."

The inspectors gave on-the-spot training, providing beneficial feedback for junior Seniors, which make them more confident in their ability to perform the check correctly.

"It's was nerve-wracking, but I learned a lot from it," said Interior Communications Electrician 3rd Class Sarah Bonds. "The inspectors were helpful because they weren't trying to fail us, but help us learn what to look out for and how to fix them."

While 3MA is a guided evolution meant to train and prepare Sailors, it's still a graded exercise and is important to the ship.

"Ultimately, 3MA helps determine if we are self-sustaining and knowledgeable enough to keep the ship in warfighting shape," said White. "We've received a lot of training before deployment, including 3M training. The 3MA inspection determines whether all our training paid off."

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