Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV), the Honorable Richard V. Spencer, visited the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) during its composite training unit exercise (COMPTUEX) Feb. 25.

The visit marked Spencer's first embark on an aircraft carrier during an operational exercise. While speaking on the ship's 1MC, Spencer said Truman's Sailors have proven they are ready to deploy in support of our nation.

"It is a sincere privilege to be serving alongside you all today and to get a recap of the training you have been doing for the last 28 days," said Spencer. "I've heard and know you all have been working tremendously hard, and the rewards will all be yours. You are the tip of the spear - remember that. You are going to go out and deploy while carrying the U.S. flag around the globe. The Truman is representing the country and doing an absolutely fantastic job doing it."

During his visit, Spencer observed accessors and mentors from Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 4 as well as Sailors participating in COMPTUEX scenarios from Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group (HSTCSG), during one of the most complex afternoons in the month-long exercise. In addition to experiencing the high-velocity training environment, the secretary also toured a number of Truman's spaces and had a chance to interact with many of the 5,600 Sailors on board.

"I was honored to meet the Secretary of the Navy," said Aviation Machinist Mate 1st Class Stacy Thomas, assigned to Truman's aviation intermediate maintenance department. "It was even a greater honor to show him how hard my Sailors have been working and how we operate as an intermediate level facility afloat."

According to Commander, Carrier Strike Group 8, Rear Adm. Gene Black, Spencer's visit was an opportunity to demonstrate the progress HSTCSG has made during the exercise in operating as one team, tackling a complex training scenario.

"For the last three weeks, we've been working towards this stage of the exercise, where we truly test our ability to win a high-end fight against a peer adversary," said Black.

COMPTUEX is the final stage of pre-deployment workups for HSTCSG. This evolution caps off more than seven months of training to ensure the team is ready to deploy.

"It's a privilege to have SECNAV aboard," added Black, "to see firsthand how our strike group is working through these scenarios to prepare for deployment."

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