A team of 13 budget specialists from USS Harry S. Truman's (CVN 75) Supply Department have been working long hours to ensure the ship's financially ready for the new year and its upcoming deployment.

"Whether it's maintenance items or consumables, if you need a bolt or a nut, Sailors have to come to [supply's S-1 division] to get that request fulfilled," said Logistics Specialist 2nd Class Deandre Pollard.

S-1 is overall responsible for managing the budget and acquiring all the ship's needs, helping maintain the ship's readiness to defend against increasingly dynamic, high-tech and aggressive global threats.

S-1 is aiming to hit the ground running this year with the management of the ship's finances being of the upmost importance during the first couple months.

"In just a five-day period we've probably spent upwards of $5 million on numerous supplies for the ship, as well as its Sailors," said Lt. Jon Okonak, the S-1 division officer. "Depending on distributional funds, it could go up from there."

So far, Truman received more than $16 million for stock replenishment and more than $3.3 million for aviation supplies.

Handling the budget, as well as acquiring supplies, can be a lot work, but the Sailors involved are ready and willing to get the job done.

"It can be difficult," said Logistics Specialist 1st Class Marlene Walton. "There are late nights sometimes, but the work is necessary and it's neat to see it all in action."

Once a department's repair parts petty officer submits a request, S-1 then screens the items in order to make sure they are being budgeted correctly prior to disbursement.

"When we get funding from out type commander (TYCOM), Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic (CNAL), we have to figure out how to prioritize the money that we receive," said Walton. "We figure out which requirements are most important that need to be filled and in what aspects."

The finish line is in sight for the S-1 Sailors.

"On average, we've been leaving [the ship] around 8 p.m.," said Chief Logistics Specialist Bruce Johnson. "We worked most weekends preparing for the end of fiscal year closeout, totaling over 2,000 man hours."

Truman is currently moored at Naval Station Norfolk preparing for Tailored Shipboard Training Availability and Final Evaluation Problem (TSTA/FEP).

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