At first sight it may look like a floating barracks building, but the Floating Accommodation Facility (FAF) will provide the crew of aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) with some quality-of-life services while they prepare for refueling complex overhaul (RCOH) maintenance.

The FAF arrived adjacent to GW onboard Naval Station Norfolk, Jan. 5. Soon the ship will be deemed uninhabitable, which means certain things like berthing and meals will no longer be available on board due to the amount of ship force and contractor work taking place.

The FAF is a non-self-propelled, 300 foot barge designed with a four-story building attached to it topside. It will provide messing, office, classroom, medical, dental, and limited crew berthing for duty personnel.

The new addition at Pier 12 means the normalcy of some things will change. One major adjustment will be meals beginning Feb. 3.
Sailors will be required to pay for all meals with their Navy Cash Card, to include coffee or snacks. Meal rates for military are $3.45 for breakfast, $5.55 for lunch, and $4.85 for dinner, which totals $429.35 for those who choose to eat every meal on the FAF every day of a full month. Enlisted Basic Allowance for Sustenance is currently $368.29 per full month.

"The big takeaway is this will require some budgeting on your end, as well as good self-awareness of how many meals per month you will be eating on board during work and duty days," said Cmdr. Kerri Yarbrough, GW supply officer. "If you currently eat most meals on the ship while we're in port and plan on using BAS to cover your food bill, you need to plan for the meals you eat on the ship, as well as the number of meals you will prepare for yourself in the barracks or out in town."

In addition to meals on the FAF, the barber shop and ship's store will move as well. The hours of operation will mirror the current ship hours.

Hazardous material pick up will not take place on the FAF. Supply department will announce the location at a later date. Gym equipment is being moved off the ship, so Sailors will utilize base gyms.

Another major change will be the move of medical and dental.

"We will not be able to provide specialty care (oral surgery/root canals) on the barge; those will be consulted out to clinics in the area," said Chief Hospital Corpsman Nelson Lasage, GW dental leading chief petty officer. "Members will be consulted to the clinic and will have an appointment made to complete the surgery."

Some of medical department's auxiliary services will be reduced and/or will no longer be available, such as x-rays. Sailors will be sent to Naval Medical Center Portsmouth to complete.

"Patients will continue to be consulted out to other medical treatment facilities in the Hampton Roads area as deemed necessary by GW Medical providers," said Senior Chief Hospital Corpsman Venita Johnson, medical department's leading chief petty officer. "We still serve as the primary care manager, and services for other locations should only be done via consultation from GW medical except in case of an emergency."

While change may bring some growing pains, it won't impact their commitment to providing the "Spirit of Freedom" with top-notch care.

"Medical's goal is to continue to provide clinical support as needed with little to no impact on GW Sailors," said Johnson. "If you encounter any concerns, please utilize the customer service surveys to let us know what we can improve and/or what we are doing well."

The GW security department will implement additional security measures on the FAF.

"There will be additional random antiterrorism measures implemented, increased inbound and outbound baggage checks, security rovers, and increased loss prevention measures in place," said Chief Master-At-Arms Mark Collins, security division leading chief petty officer.

The FAF will provide a lot of valuable services, including personnel and administrative support.

"The personnel office will move between January 21-27," said Chief Personnel Specialist Brad McAnuff, personnel division leading chief petty officer. "We will have half of our staff since we can't fit everyone on the FAF, so we ask for your patience as we set up shop on the FAF and Newport News. Customer service and ID cards will be on the FAF. The processing of personnel requests will take place in Building 2600 in Newport News. Pick up and drop off will occur on the FAF."

XO admin doesn't have a definitive date to move to the FAF, but their business rules will remain the same.

"Everything we currently do will take place on the FAF," said Chief Yeoman Kevin Putnam, executive admin division leading chief petty officer. "We will process everything on the FAF, so there shouldn't be any delays in processing. We ask departments to stick to our timeline requirements so we can continue to process paperwork in a timely fashion."

The FAF will augment the ship in many ways, and GW Sailors will witness and take part in many mission and duty requirements aboard the FAF to better serve the Spirit of Freedom crew now and throughout RCOH.

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