The aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) has completed Shipboard Coordinated Offload and Outfitting Plan (SCOOP) and is now in the Smart Start phase.

Smart Start marks the beginning of the refueling and complex overhaul (RCOH) maintenance period. During this time, the ship will remain at Naval Station Norfolk, and the prep work that can be conducted in Norfolk is done to prepare the ship for RCOH prior to its arrival in Newport News Shipbuilding.

"On January 30, we started an Early Start period ahead of Smart Start due to time critical Reactor department repairs," said Ens. Stephen Hall, the assistant ship maintenance manager. "Smart Start lasts until the ship goes to Newport News for RCOH."

The crew will see the ship establish temporary systems, remove fuel/lube oil and Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) aboard, removal of the ship's habitability support to include food service, berthing with the exception of the Inport Emergency Team, Automatic Data Processing Local Area Network access, and portions of Air Conditioning, lighting and power, removal of decking, offload of Combat Systems equipment, and construction of the Work Control Complex.

With lots of work to do, the Spirit of Freedom crew should continue to work hard and get tasks done in a timely manner.

"The work we do now will make our lives easier when we pull into the yard, and it will make the lives of "Crew 3" easier when they are trying to complete RCOH," said Hall.

RCOH is no easy feat, but team George Washington is up to the challenge, setting the bar high for future carriers going through RCOH.

"GW has already established the reputation for doing this right and ahead of schedule," said Lt. Cmdr. James Leasure, George Washington's reactor maintenance officer. "We will be the first truly successful RCOH if we can continue this for the next four years. If you think you have free time, look around and find your Shipmates that need help and stay engaged. If you work hard when you're here, and play hard when you're not, there will always be time for both, but if you don't give it your all when you're here it will slowly creep into your personal time to get caught back up."

Conducting the work in Norfolk instead of Newport News allows the Navy to save money and reduce the total time of RCOH for the ship.

The crew of George Washington is taking advantage of the work available early in this Smart Start phase thanks to the efforts of those Sailors involved in staying ahead of schedule. Leading the way ahead of other carriers is allowing George Washington to relieve some of the rush of work we will get upon entering Newport News Shipbuilding.

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