Sailors aboard USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) returned home to Naval Station (NAVSTA) Norfolk, Nov. 3, after successfully completing their Tailored Ship's Training Availability and Final Evaluation Problem (TSTA/FEP) during a 25-day underway period.

"Through preparation, training and proper execution of our plan, we managed to meet all of our requirements for TSTA/FEP," said Lt. Cmdr. Damon Summerall, Truman's training officer. "Not only did we meet the requirements, but we did so in record timing."

During TSTA/FEP, ships are put through a rigorous series of drills to test their crew's capabilities in the areas of damage control, medical, navigation, intelligence, and combat systems. Truman, along with the embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1 squadrons and Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 8 and Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 28 staffs, completed their first integrated training evolution with the fewest number of General Quarters (GQ) and Man Overboard drills of any carrier so far - drawing praise from the Afloat Training Group (ATG), added Sumerall.

"I'm really happy [with Truman]," said Senior Chief Operations Specialist Mark Bell, carrier training liaison officer for ATG Norfolk. "We've been reporting back and forth every day about the great things that Truman and the other ships in this strike group are doing. We're looking forward to what they'll do on deployment."

The completion of TSTA/FEP is an important step in Truman's workup cycle, but not the last.

"This sets us up so we can advance to the next phase of training," said Sumerall. "We've proven we have the basic skills so we can move on to training our Sailors for more complex scenarios they'll encounter during Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX)."

While Truman was completing critical TSTA/FEP evolutions, the crew was simultaneously conducting Group Sail with CSG-8, DESRON 28 and guided-missile Cruiser Normandy, operating in close proximity and practicing evolutions such as air defense and submarine warfare exercises.

With the ship and its crew one step closer to being fully deployable, continuing to train and maintaining mission readiness should be the ultimate goal, added Bell.

"The best advice I can give is to keep up the motivation right to the end," said Bell. "When you're motivated, positive and open to recommendations, you make sure Truman comes out on top. All this training comes back to a purpose - you can go out there and perform well in an uncertain environment."

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