Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) conducted a fire drill to test the ability of the crew; Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka (CFAY); Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Japan (CNFJ) Fire and Emergency Services Department; Ship Repair Facility and Japan Regional Maintenance Center (SRF-JRMC); and American Red Cross Disaster Relief personnel to integrate for a possible real-world situation, Jan. 18.

"Performing mainspace training drills underway is one thing, but this drill forced me to look at how we will operate while in dry dock from a different perspective," said Chancellorsville's Flying Squad Team Leader, Damage Controlman 3rd Class Hannah Goodin, from Anderson, Texas.

The requirement for this coordinated fire drill was the result of an incident aboard USS Miami (SSN 755), a Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine.

On May 23, 2012, Miami caught fire as it was undergoing an extensive overhaul during a 20-month maintenance cycle. After the incident, the U.S. Navy mandated integrated damage control assessment drills be conducted within 30 days of any Navy vessel entering a dry dock period.

Damage control assessment drills must also occur every six months thereafter to ensure the crew and supporting base forces are trained to prevent a recurrence of the ill-fated submarine. During maintenance availabilities, ships do not have the same capabilities to combat a fire as they would have at sea. For this reason, it is crucial ships have backup plans and support to combat fires while in the shipyards.

"The crew did an outstanding job with this exercise and were great to work with," said CNFJ Fire and Emergency Services Department's drill instructor, Chief Michael V. White, one of the drill assessors.

White, who has been conducting and assessing the CFAY drills for more than a year, said he enjoyed seeing the areas of improvement his team learned from Chancellorsville Sailors and looks forward to continuing work with them in the following months.

"The crew did an outstanding job of applying their training, which involved a lot of moving parts," said Chancellorsville's Damage Control Team Leader, Damage Controlman Senior Chief Christopher Langteau.

Chancellorsville is assigned to Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 5 supporting security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.

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