Every single item received or sent by the Nimitz-Class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), be it a part or clothing item or fuel, is overseen by the careful planning of Supply Department’s S-8 division.

The Logistics Specialists in S-8 division, fondly known as Super 8, manage and store supplies ordered from all 20 departments onboard Abraham Lincoln. When a repair parts petty officer (RPPO), a designated Sailor in charge of ordering supplies for their respective department, submits a request for materials, S-8 determines if those materials are aboard the ship or if they need to be ordered. When ordered shipments are received, S-8 on-loads the supplies via crane operations and then performs turn-overs with the departments to which the parts belong.

S-8 has over 20 store rooms where parts or other supplies delivered to the ship are kept. The store rooms are grouped into collective locations aboard Abraham Lincoln: Main One, Main Two, Main Three, Coordinated Shipboard Allowance List (Q-COSAL), Maintenance Support Package (MSP) and Flight Clothing.

“On a single day, we can receive as much as 10 pallets worth of supplies,” said Logistics Specialist 3rd Class Nicholas Thomas. “A lot of it is heavy stuff that we sometimes have to carry by hand all the way down to the fourth deck. It’s hard but rewarding work.”

Main One primarily manages office products, while Main Two handles repair parts for departments and Main Three manages both hazardous materials (HAZMAT) and bulk supplies such as paper. Q-COSAL primarily handles parts for Abraham Lincoln’s reactor department. MSP handles aviation parts. Lastly, as its name suggests, Flight Clothing handles jerseys, flight deck boots and pants.

Supplies that are stored in these store rooms are usually hand-carried into the spaces. Some of the spaces are located as far down as the seventh deck, where a combination of crane and elevators are used to assist in transporting some of the heavier items safely and effectively down to the store rooms.

Still, some items are not sent to the store rooms. The most recognizable storage for S-8 is in hangar bay three. Known as “The Mountain,” this collection of supplies and parts is a mix of materials that cannot be stored below deck, such as hydraulic fluid and aviation stores. These supplies create a massive, organized pile - hence the name.

When in port, S-8 is in charge of crane operations that receive or send out supplies or parts. Out to sea, S-8 is a part of every single replenishment at sea (RAS). S-8 personnel must always be present to properly receive the supplies that arrive on Abraham Lincoln. During a RAS, S-8 personnel drive the forklifts to transport the pallets of supplies in the hangar bay.

“During a RAS, S-8 personnel are the only ones who take all the stores and strike them down into the store rooms,” said Chief Logistics Specialist Candice Lewis. “It’s a lengthy process that involves taking the stores and going as far down as the seventh deck. Our Sailors have no problem doing that. They have been performing above and beyond storing them and inventorying them accurately.”

In the past year alone S-8 has managed an estimated 2,000 pallets of supplies for the ship just from RAS’s.

“We are the backbone of the ship for supply,” said Logistics Specialist 1st Class Dorian Walker. “Nothing leaves or comes aboard without S-8 knowing.”

Sailors in Super 8 work every day to ensure the ship is supplied properly. S-8 plays a major role when it comes to the logistics of Abraham Lincoln and for the many departments that make up the crew. Whether it’s the simple management of supply or collection, they help the crew get everything they need to complete their mission aboard the ship.

Abraham Lincoln, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12, is currently moored at Naval Station Norfolk undergoing a pierside shipyard availability.

CSG 12 subordinate commands include Abraham Lincoln, Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 7, the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser Leyte Gulf (CG-65) and ships assigned to Destroyer Squadron 2: the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Mitcher (DDG 57), USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81), USS Gonzalez (DDG 66), USS Mason (DDG 87) and USS Nizte (DDG 94).

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