Aviation machinist's mates assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower keep its embarked air wing, Carrier Air Wing 3, mission ready by maintaining and repairing jets to support the ship's primary mission to launch and recover aircraft.

Working out of the Aviation Intermediate Maintenance Department's jet shop, Ike's aviation machinist's mates are specifically responsible for maintaining the operational readiness of jet engines.

They connect aircraft engines to a test cell to track fuel flow, temperature and the vibrations of engines to ensure readiness for service.

During the ship's recent Composite Training Unit Exercise, AIMD tore down and rebuilt its first engine since Ike concluded a 23-month shipyard availability in August 2015.

"This engine is significant because it was the first time we tore the engine down after so long in the shipyard," said Aviation Machinist's Mate Airman Keith Kost. "Sometimes, you get a little nervous because you're working with very expensive equipment. You don't want to strip anything, you don't want to break anything, and you really want to read the [publication] so you know what you're doing step-by-step."

The engines are divided into several component parts called modules. Each module is dedicated to a particular part of the engine's function. For example, the afterburner is a module that delivers more fuel into the engine, which boosts the aircraft's thrust by more than 50 percent.

"The jet shop overhauls the 414 and 404 engines for the Super Hornets and the legacy Hornets," said Aviation Machinist's Mate 2nd Class Steven Vasquez. "We take all of them apart and put them back together with new parts. We basically find the issue that the engine was sent in for and swap it out, making it useable again."

Although the engines are incredibly sturdy, a single foreign object getting inside an engine can damage or ruin it.

"If an aircraft is down solely because the engine has been damaged by [foreign object debris], yet we are able to fix it, it gives us a real sense of pride," said Aviation Machinist's Mate 3rd Class Austin Crim. "It's great!"

For more news from USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), visit www.navy.mil/