With the Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV) right around the corner, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) is pushing through to the final inspections next week with a series of fast cruises and short underway periods.

Sailors throughout the ship are practicing demonstrations, preparing their spaces, and organizing equipment to be ready to play their parts in the upcoming assessment.

Ike's Deck department has been ensuring much of the ship's equipment-anchors, flotation devices, replenishment-at-sea gear and rigid-hull inflatable boats- are functional and in good condition.

"Deck has already checked more than 5,200 rubber duckies, 500 life jackets and 65 kapok [life preservers]," said Lt. Cmdr. Rod Little, Ike's first lieutenant. "We've also been laying out all of our underway replenishment (UNREP), forecastle and mooring gear."

Deck department's area of responsibility encompasses a considerable amount of the ship's vital equipment and systems.

"We've done a lot of things, everything from the stern dock all the way to the anchors up on the forecastle," said Boatswain's Mate 1st Class Jordan Lindholm. "It's a forward to aft, port to starboard evolution. We're really taking the time to get into the nooks and crannies of all our equipment to bring it out of layup, where it's been the past few years while Ike has been in the shipyard."

While this may seem a daunting task, Lindholm said Deck department's Sailors are rising to the challenge and demonstrating extraordinary levels of motivation.

"We've done a lot of preparation," Lindholm said. "We wake up and breathe INSURV. We go to bed and dream about INSURV. Every day, when we go down to the mess decks, we eat INSURV. Every moment that we have, we are really focused on getting ourselves ready. I keep a picture of the XO right next to my computer, so he's watching me every day when I write that work list to help me think about INSURV."

Deck is currently in the process of doing a mock inspection, which Little said will enable them to identify any potential problems or weaknesses that may have been overlooked during previous maintenance and upkeep.

"Everything we own, equipment-wise, we're laying it out and doing a double check on it to make sure that it's ready," Little said.

Little said Ike crew members are asserting their readiness and they are poised to take ownership of their ship and their schedule prior to Ike's upcoming deployment.

"Their efforts have been tremendous," Little said. "When I walk around the ship, I see the effort from all the different departments."

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