Refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) is a marathon, not a sprint, which is why it takes ship’s force, shipyard workers, and contractors to get the work done and bring an aircraft carrier back to life for 25 more years of service.

The crew of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73), has made significant strides in the production aspect since arriving to Newport News Shipyard in August 2017. This is becoming more and more evident with the refurbishment of the ship’s spaces, a task that is vital in returning the ship to an operational status.

“It is important to recognize this work because these junior Sailors, most of whom this is their first command, did not join the Navy to be in an overhaul environment,” said Lt. Joal Fischer, from Newark, New Jersey, an operations department division officer assigned to George Washington. “The work they complete is not glamorous, however it is necessary for this ship to complete its mission. I want to highlight their contributions because it often gets overlooked.”

The preventative maintenance (PM) teams aboard George Wahington work in conjunction with one another to complete the various steps in overhauling the ship’s spaces. PM 11 (berthing team), PM 12 (paint team), and PM 13 (deck team) each play an important role in making the ship habitable again.

“Our PM teams have just completed work on the 03-235-3-L berthing,” said Fischer. “03-235-5-L is slated to be a berthing for the Inport Emergency Team (IET) when the ship reaches its undocking milestone. The ship will not be attached to the [floating accommodation facility], therefore rapid response teams will need to be berthed on the ship to accommodate a timely response to emergencies.”

RCOH is the most intricate shipyard availability that George Washington will undergo during its service life. Even though every evolution of RCOH is mapped out well in advance, Sailors are encouraged to work ahead of their schedules.

“On time may be good for some people, but we like to stay ahead,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 3rd Class Bryant Aimour from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, a PM 11 team leader. “Whenever one team completes their berthing, they will go help another team. We’re constantly helping each other out. I think that’s a part of the reason that we’re able to stay ahead of schedule. Our leadership gives us compliments all the time, but to us we’re just doing our job. We appreciate the recognition, but our progression is a testament to how we all work as a cohesive unit.”

While the larger projects of RCOH such as refueling the nuclear reactors, installing new aviation equipment, and hull work may get a majority of the recognition, it is important to not understate the value of the work done by George Washington’s PM teams.

“If you can’t live on the ship, you can’t take it out to sea,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Equipment) 3rd Class Robert Ickes from Los Angeles, a PM 11 team leader. “We’re pretty much looking out for everyone who’s going to be going out on underways and deployments on this ship in the future. Going out to sea can be tough. If you don’t have to worry about your light not working or your locker not being able to be locked, and you have a nice rack that was just built, that’s a nice little additive to make your time out to sea a little smoother.”

As the ship reaches the undocking milestone and progresses forward toward completion of the overhaul, berthings and office spaces will be critical to George Washington regaining operational status and contributing to the Navy's global presence.

Get more information about the Navy from US Navy facebook or twitter.

For more news from USS George Washington (CVN 73), visit www.navy.mil/.