The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) successfully served as the delivery ship for a fueling at sea with the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Mason (DDG 87), Aug. 6, as part of Abraham Lincoln’s Tailored Shipboard Training Availability and Final Evaluation Problem (TSTA/FEP).

TSTA/FEP is a two-week assessment by Afloat Training Group (Atlantic) that evaluates Abraham Lincoln’s operational readiness and carrier strike group integration.

This completed milestone demonstrates that Abraham Lincoln, the flagship of Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12, is able to provide fuel to ships in the strike group during underway operations.

“I’m very proud of the planning, preparation and performance of my team during this rare evolution,” said Cmdr. Stephen Aldridge, Mason’s commanding officer. “From Mason’s pilot house, to the fueling station, to the engine room, along with Lincoln Nation, all teams came together and executed a safe fueling.”

The 6,000 gallons of JP-5 fuel that Mason received marked the first time in seven years that Sailors aboard Abraham Lincoln have fueled another vessel via its fuel delivery station.

“The fuel we received from Abraham Lincoln is not the typical fuel we use aboard a guided-missile destroyer, but because of the ship’s design, we are actually able to use it in our main engines to power the ship.” said Lt. James Hough, Mason’s chief engineer.

The fueling at sea evolution with a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier posed new challenges for Mason, a crew that typically replenishes underway with logistics ships.

“Today one of the hardest things was just to bring the fuel hose over,” said Ensign Calvin Cass, Mason’s 1st Lt. “We needed a few more line handlers than normal due to the angular differences between the two ships, but our crew pulled together and made it happen.”

When the two ships are parallel, a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier stretches more than 600 feet past an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, according to Cass.

Abraham Lincoln’s fueling assessment proved to be a valuable learning opportunity for Mason’s crew. “Very few members of the crew had experienced this evolution, and it was a great experience for all of us,” said Boatswain’s Mate 2nd Class Joshua Armentrout, the captain of the rig that received the fuel. “We had a lot of fun conducting this evolution.”

The coordination between the two ships helped further integrate the two CSG 12 ships.

“This was good practice to help us integrate with Abraham Lincoln,” said Cass. “When you’re on a team, it’s good to know that your teammates are preparing the same way you are. And due to this preparation, when the time comes, the ships in our strike group will be able to perform at the same level. That’s how you produce winning teams.”

Cass also said he believes that this successful between Abraham Lincoln and Mason will provide a foundation for increased synchronization with each other during CSG 12’s future deployment.

“Small victories like today show that integration is going well,” said Cass. “As we stack small victories together in our preparation, the end result will be a highly successful strike group. I am thoroughly excited to see that Abraham Lincoln has been preparing as hard as we have been, and we are going to be ready for any operational tasking that comes our way.”With Lincoln's successful completion of TSTA/FEP, CSG 12 can now further integrate the ships in the strike group, elevating operational readiness and maritime capabilities to answer the nation’s call.

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