Sailors assigned to the supply department aboard the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) successfully completed the Commander Naval Air Forces, Supply Management Inspection (SMI) with an overall score of 93.6 percent, April 13.

SMI is an inspection that takes place during the Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) phase of a ship's deployment work-up cycle, and is divided into two sections; readiness and services.

The overall score comes from 15 different functional areas ranging from food service and hospitality, to customer service and disbursing.

"SMI is CNAF's way of certifying supply department to go out on deployment," said Master Chief Culinary Specialist Stephen Boos, a native of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. and supply department's S-2 division leading chief petty officer. "It's all about facts and figures, however, it's more about the people than anything else."

The overall objective of SMI is to prove that all 13 supply divisions are capable of serving the crew properly and supporting the strike group and its mission at sea.

Boos said this was the third and final assessment before Nimitz' upcoming deployment. Prior to SMI, Nimitz underwent Training Assist Visit (TAV), when coming out of the yards, and Supply Management Assessment (SMA), during Tailored Ship's Training Availability (TSTA).

"Supply department came together as a whole. The command also gave us the support we needed to get the job done," said Boos.

The inspection normally takes place over a four-day period, however, due to a compressed schedule, Nimitz completed the assessment in three days.

The department's overall score keeps Nimitz eligible for the Battle "E," and keeps supply department eligible for a consecutive "Blue E."

"If you look around at anyone in supply department, everyone is happy and smiling now because we were able to prove we are doing our job professionally and doing it right," said Boos.

Nimitz is currently underway conducting COMPTUEX with the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group in preparation for an upcoming deployment.

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