Rear Adm. Bruce Lindsey, Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic, embarked aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) underway, Oct. 15, to present the ship with the 2016 Battle "E" award.

"You are the best aircraft carrier on the east coast - that's what the Battle "E" says - and, in my mind, you're the best aircraft carrier in the United States Navy," said Lindsey.

Along with congratulating Truman's 2016 performance, Lindsey said the crew has continued their excellence.

"Fantastic job and well done," said Lindsey. "That goes back to your deployment, but this year you also put your nose to the grind stone and came out a day early from a very arduous planned incremental availability. That is hard work - I know how hard of work that is, CNO knows how hard of work that is and so does Admiral Davidson. You've strung together essentially two years of sustained superior performance, that's fantastic record."

The Battle "E" is awarded annually to ships in the United States Navy based on effectiveness over 15 different areas of operation in competition. Before qualifying for the evaluation, ships must earn a minimum of four of the six Command Excellence Awards: the Maritime Warfare Excellence Award, Engineering/Survivability Excellence Award, Command and Control Excellence Award, Logistics Management Excellence Award, Ship Safety Award, and Efficiency Excellence Award.

During his visit, Lindsey not only presented a plaque to Truman's senior leadership, but toured the ship to express his appreciation to the individual crew members.

"I cannot thank you enough for what you have done, what you're doing today and what you will do in the future," said Lindsey. "There are about 300,000,000 people in America and about 300,000 Sailors - you are in the 99.9 percentile of all Americans who can and did willingly raise your right hand to support our country. For that, there are not enough words that I can say to thank you. Never forget how special each and every one of you are."

Truman is currently underway conducting Tailored Shipboard Test Availability and Final Evaluation Problem (TSTA/FEP) in preparation for future operations. For more news from USS Harry S. Truman, visit http://www.facebook.com/usstruman.

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For more news from USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), visit www.navy.mil/.