Afloat Training Group Atlantic boarded USS George H.W. Bush (CVN
77) March 14 to evaluate the ship's ability to go to sea as part of
Phase III of Crew Certification.

Crew Certification Phase III is the process by which the ship, Carrier
Strike Group 2, supported by the Commander Naval Air Force Atlantic, and
ATG, ensures the crew is qualified and the carrier is ready to proceed
safely to sea, following a maintenance period.

Crew Cert III plays a vital role in the ship's mission readiness by
assessing the basic underway functional areas required to proceed to sea
safely. This includes safety, damage control, man overboard drills and
navigation drills.

"Having the ship complete Crew Cert III means that the ship and her crew
are ready and capable of handling any situation be it combat, medical,
damage control or anything else thrown at her, and it's a big step
towards us reaching our goal of returning this ship to sea," said Chief
Aviation Ordnanceman (AW/SW) Orlando Swinger, the departmental leading
chief petty officer for the ship's training department.

During Crew Cert III, evaluators spent two days evaluating the crew's
state of training during simulated underway operations emphasizing
emergency drills. This is an essential process to ensure that a ship is
ready to proceed to sea safely with a qualified crew upon completion of
new construction or a repair period greater than nine months.

"Crew Cert III evaluates whether the crew is ready to protect the ship
from any casualty that may occur," said Swinger. "It is a major test for
all of the ship's departments."

Engineering department's Damage Control division is evaluated on
their ability to train the ship's crew in proper damage control and
firefighting procedures.

"ATG makes sure we are capable of both fighting the ship and training
our crew," said Damage Controlman 3rd Class (SW/AW) Jonathon Hill. "We
train anybody and everybody in everything damage control. Right after
new check-ins go through indoc [command indoctrination] they come
straight to us for damage control training."

Medical department is also affected by the Crew Cert process.

"The Crew Certification III team evaluates us on the administration side
and everything from the training component to the practical applications
of medical while we are fighting the ship," said Ship's Nurse Lt. Cmdr.
Marcelo Centaure. "They are making sure we are qualified and ready."

With Crew Cert III complete, GHWB will continue to prepare for the other
milestones required to return to an operational status, specifically a
Fast Cruise and Sea Trials, a four-day underway period to test the
carrier's systems and overall mission readiness.

George H.W. Bush is currently undergoing maintenance during
a planned incremental availability at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in
Portsmouth.

For more news from USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77), visit www.navy.mil/local/cvn77/.