"Patch that pipe! Patch that pipe!" Sailors clapped and cheered their shipmates on as they competed in the ship's second damage control (DC) Olympics aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), March 24.

The special training environment tested Sailors' ability to combat shipboard casualties with six events that ranged from donning firefighting equipment to patching a burst pipe.

"We're practicing a lot of damage control basics in a slightly different environment than a general quarters out at sea," said Abraham Lincoln's Executive Officer Capt. Amy N. Bauernschmidt. "All of this goes back to the basics; all of the six stations are a lot of the basics that we need for every evolution. This just reinforces the good ground work and the good foundation that we started at basic phase training."

The damage control training that takes place during a general quarters drill involves simulated casualties, such as flooding and fires, throughout the ship. Sailors practice their response to isolate the damage and combat the casualty. During the DC Olympics, Abraham Lincoln Sailors were able to practice the same drills onboard the ship while fostering healthy competition between the 10 repair lockers.

"This is the most rewarding experience of my DC career," said a group of Sailors assigned to repair locker 1F.

Sailors demonstrated their ability to don firefighting gear and chemical, biological, and radiological (CBR) equipment in a timely fashion, patch burst pipes, reel fire hoses, perform medical carries, and demonstrate their level of knowledge during the event.

"DC olympics are beneficial to Sailors, because it gives a chance for Sailors to put their hands on some of our newer equipment that we have onboard the ship, for example, the M-50 gas mask and CBR equipment that is associated with it," said Damage Controlman 1st Class Carlos Beltran, a damage control training team member. "It really boosts morale. All of the lockers want to compete against each other and win. They're having fun and learning something from it."

For Sailors aboard a ship, damage control training is a way of life. Whether it is the in port emergency team, underway flying squad, or all hands participating in general quarters drills, Sailors must know how to fight to save the ship.

All the lockers tried their best but the reigning champions of repair locker 3 once again prevailed. While the engineers took home the bragging rights, everyone was a winner because all hands were able to conduct training while having fun on a Saturday out at sea.

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