"Underway, shift colors." The 1MC loudspeaker sounds the announcement as the aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) (GW) gets underway for the last time in 2016.

Sailors say their last goodbyes to their loved ones, before they have minimal communication for the next three weeks, but the Sailors aboard GW are accustomed to this lifestyle.

Sailors aboard GW spent 142 days out to sea in 2016 qualifying to operate the F-35 Lightning II, conducting carrier qualifications for 526 pilots, completing various shipboard inspections, burials-at-sea, and a swim call. GW also became a patchwork quilt of Sailors, with approximately one-third of the crew coming from deployment with GW, one-third coming from deployment with USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) (TR), and the rest transferring from various commands.

"The logistics involved with crew swapping two carriers, let alone three, are grand, complicated and hard to estimate," said Ens. Anton Ekman, a divisional officer in Engineering Department. "Given the obstacles to overcome, I thought the transition was smooth and the lessons from all three hulls benefited operations overall."

As GW and TR Sailors began to bond as a single team, the crew continued to work to find more efficient methods to accomplish their mission.

"We have the best crew in the fleet, and you don't have to take my word on that," said Capt. Timothy Kuehhas, commanding officer. "Every single visitor we have on the ship comments on the material condition of the ship. Every single person that comes aboard tells me that they are surprised that the ship is the next one up for Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH). She's coming up on 25 years of service and she looks great That's a huge compliment."

"It's one thing when distinguished visitors who have never seen another ship [comment], but when the 3M inspection team comes on board and says 'You have the best ship going into RCOH,' that's when you know it's true, and that means the crew really took pride in their ship," added Kuehhas.

At the end of 2015, GW Sailors and TR Sailors who were headed to George Washington were expecting the ship to begin RCOH maintenance in 2016. However the schedule changed, pushing RCOH back to 2017 and the crew went underway 11 times throughout the year.

"The most apparent accomplishment is the fact that the GW ran a year past when it was supposed to," said Ekman. "It's amazing to make a machine run like that. The challenges this crew has had to overcome and the ingenuity they displayed while doing so amazes me. This ship contains countless spaces, machines, piping, electrical wiring, and so much more. This crew was able to take that multitude of material well past its intended replacement date. I'm proud of each and every one of them."

The time spent out to sea gave many Sailors the chance to conduct underway training like the helmsman and master helmsman qualifications. Also, Sailors had more opportunities to earn warfare qualifications.

"I've seen Sailors working on qualifications harder than ever," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Ileana Marrero Rivera. "Especially these new Sailors who haven't had the opportunity before and may not again for a while. It makes me proud to be a part of a crew dedicated not only to their own success, but also the success of others."

The crew was given a rare opportunity in August, when the winds, weather and waves came together to create the perfect environment for a swim call. A swim call is a day where Sailors can line up in the hangar bay and have the chance to jump from an aircraft elevator into the ocean and swim to the ship's stern dock.

"My best experience this year was swim call," said Rivera. "To feel gravity pulling you down until you hit the water, it was invigorating. I feel lucky because not everyone gets to experience that, but I did."

In October, GW held a family day cruise when more than 1,000 guests were invited to get underway with the ship to experience Navy life and an air show from the flight deck.

Just days later, GW was scheduled to go underway to conduct carrier qualifications when Hurricane Matthew headed toward the Caribbean islands. GW was called to get underway and in position to render aid to the affected countries in Matthew's wake.

The crew offloaded all of the supplies for the carrier qualifications and loaded up the equipment necessary to support 17 helicopters and more than 200 pallets full of humanitarian aid/disaster relief (HA/DR) supplies overnight, as the strike group prepared to go out to sea indefinitely.

"My biggest thing was that quick turnaround for the Haiti relief," said Seaman Anthony Pratt. "I was on duty the night before. Seeing how we fast we got prepared to go out there just tells me how ready we actually are, if anything did happen. It really surprised me to be honest. I didn't think we were going to be able to pull it off, but we really did. For me, personally, that was pretty cool."

GW's readiness toward the Navy's mission was also exemplified through the advancement of its crew members. In 2016, GW advanced a total of 417 enlisted Sailors to the next pay grade from the Navy's advancement exams.

"I studied and it finally paid off," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Daeon Farrar. "I plan to continue to study and help out others in my division. My rate's advancement was at 10 percent so I feel really proud, and it's a stepping stone for me to get to where I want to be."

While some Sailors experienced career milestones, other Sailors experienced many trials and tribulations between balancing the Navy's mission requirements and family.

"The hardest part of the year was dealing with being separated from my husband for our first six months of marriage," said Rivera. "I came off of deployment and went right into work-ups, and then dealt with finding us a place to live and all of the struggles that go into house hunting, so not having him there was really difficult. He was stationed in San Diego and getting ready to get out of the Navy, but it was amazing when he finally came home later in the year."

Though this year has provided many challenges, the crew has continued to persevere and overcome them.

"I think when you look back at how many underways we've done, it's a lot of pulling in and out of port, and every time we pull in and out of port it's a challenging evolution," said Kuehhas. "The operations we had with carrier qualifications and getting 526 pilots qualified, that's incredible."

"We began 2016 looking at the challenges ahead of us. It was a bit daunting," added Kuehhas. "Now looking back and realizing that not only did the crew meet the challenge, they led it flawlessly, which is amazing, but it was not unexpected from this crew. They did it safely without any crunches on the flight deck. With all the jets we had on the flight deck, we never had one jet bump into another."

Along with overcoming challenges, fortunate circumstances happened as well. Many Sailors expanded their families during the work-up period.

"It was really hard with all the schedule-changes this year," said Pratt. "I had a kid on the way, and a daughter who's starting to realize when dad's gone. It's hard to plan ahead. It was hard and draining, but I managed to be there for the birth of my son and that was probably my proudest moment this year. My chain of command was really supportive, and not a lot of Sailors get the opportunity to be there for their child's birth."

While this year has had ups and downs and schedule changes, GW is about to start its Shipboard Consolidated Offload and Outfitting Plan (SCOOP) and move into the yards for a four to five year Refueling Complex Overhaul (RCOH). Many Sailors are waiting to see what that means for them and how it will affect them in the future.

"I see another challenge," said Kuehhas. "That's the Navy though. You are always preparing for the next challenge. You don't wait for it. On top of the things we've been doing as a crew up until now, you are already planning for the next challenge. Most of the crew has been very much engaged in preparing for RCOH. Believe me, they've established 30,000 job control numbers, and they've been doing that on top of everyday operations."

"Preparing ahead of time will lead to further milestones," said Kuehhas. "The crew is already doing a lot of work to get ahead of it."

After completing its final underway period of the year, the ship's 1MC loudspeaker sounded, "Moored, shift colors," as George Washington arrived home, Dec. 17. The command's Family Readiness Group (FRG) hosted a homecoming celebration on the pier to mark the occasion, providing coffee, cocoa, and a warm welcome back to homeport.

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