Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center (MARMC) managed the $13 million SRA, which was conducted at BAE Systems Ship Repair in Norfolk.

Major work completed included a complete overhaul of the ship's port boat davit; gas turbine generator (GTG) resilient mounts replacement; tank repairs; rehabbing auxiliary room #2 escape trunk, which was a first aboard a cruiser; replacing flight deck tie-downs and other modernization projects.

This SRA was one of more than 20 availabilities MARMC has either ongoing or scheduled for this year. The team credits the Ship's Force for helping overcome a lot of early challenges and playing a crucial role in ensuring this SRA was successful.

"The MPA (main propulsion officer) was fantastic," said Korbe. "The crew took on some jobs where they could. They really jumped through hoops to make things happen and they took a lot of the load off of everybody."

Morley says they also had to adjudicate growth work during the avail.

"You have to keep everybody informed. That is the key." said Morley. "I told all the Shipbuilding Specialists (SBSs) you need to know what the other SBSs are doing. Everybody needs to keep track of everybody's tasks, not just your own. Everybody needs to know what's going on throughout the ship - it's all about teamwork."

Leyte Gulf got underway for the first time since November when it departed Naval Station Norfolk for sea trials May 15. The team says it is satisfying to see the ship finally leave the pier.

"We're all former Sailors," said McCombs. "So the help and comfort of this crew is important for us because somebody did the same for us when we were out there defending the country. We take pride in seeing the Sailors get underway and get the back to doing what they are trained to do."

But they know it is just the beginning. Morley is already planning for the next continuous maintenance availability (CMAV).

"It feels great but it's an ongoing process," Morley said. "There is a lot more work to do before they deploy next year, so we're starting to ramp right back up."

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