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Day One | DayTwo
| Day Three | Day Four
| Credits
Day Four- February 16, 2009
The
“clean sweep” broom
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At about 8:15 a.m., I head up to the O8 level
on the island with Chris Oxley and Gaylon
Montgomery one last time – to watch the broom
raised on the mast for the return to Norfolk. Danny
Fitzpatrick is the first to arrive, three-headed
broom in hand. Fitzpatrick, who works in the Waterfront Support
Services Dept. (X36) and is “the keeper of the broom,”
explains that it is the same broom that was used on USS
Truman and USS Reagan. We have a few minutes
until the VIPs arrive, so I ask Danny how the trials have
gone for him. “Overall, this has been enjoyable,”
he says. “It’s something that everybody should
do at least once if they have the opportunity, but for most
guys, it’s a one-time thing.” Moments later, the
VIPs start to arrive to watch the broom raised. There’s
Matt Mulherin, sector vice president and
general manager, Newport News; Ken Mahler,
vice president, Navy Programs; Scott Stabler,
vice president, CVN 77 Program; Rolf Bartschi,
chief nuclear engineer and vice president, Waterfront Nuclear
Engineering and Test; Jim O’Brien,
director, Test Engineering; Capt. Ralph Soule,
Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Newport News; and, of course,
Capt. Kevin O’Flaherty, commanding
officer, CVN 77. After a quick photo, they shuffle inside
from the cold so Fitzpatrick and Ken King
can raise the broom. Ken, an Apprentice in the CVN 77 Carrier
Construction Dept. (X05), was hand-picked for the task by
Dru Branche. “I was proud,” he
says. “It was an honor.” – Jim
Roberts
Builders’
Sea Trials outbrief
It is day four – mid-morning on the last day of the
trial. The broom is flying. The team is assembled to evaluate
the completed testing, to hear how it went. As about 60 people
-- shipbuilders, crewmembers and government evaluators --
are sitting in readyroom No. 9, Trial Director Jim
O’Brien kicks off the meeting.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is our last underway brief,”
he says. “As Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding President
Mike Petters has said, we know that these
ships will go into harm’s way, and it is our job to
make sure that the sailor has what he needs to do that. We
all need to do our best to make sure the U.S. Navy has the
resources they need. That is what this trial is about.
“There have been over 300 tests and demos successfully
completed -- with still 14 more are ongoing and will finish
up just about the time we pull up to the pier today. We have
achieved a very high completion rate on our test plan. This
may be the highest percentage completion we have ever seen
on a new construction trial,” he said.
“There is still a lot more work to be done, but everyone
should be proud of this achievement and very proud of this
ship and her crew,” he said.
“This is my first carrier trials,” said PMS 312
Test Director Capt. Frank Simei. “I
watched very impressive teams working together these past
several days. The test program was very ambitious, and there
were not a lot of surprises -- this is a good thing. I was
very impressed with the crew, with the professionalism of
Navy and industry.”
Captain Kevin O’Flaherty, commanding
officer, has the last words: “For the Northrop Grumman
shipbuilders, I am very glad we got to this point together.
This is my last day at sea on this ship, and it gives me great
pride to say these were great trials, this was a great experience.”
- Margaret Mitchell-Jones
A
message from Scott Stabler
 View
Video
At 9:30 a.m., Scott Stabler, vice president,
CVN 77 Program, makes the following announcement on the ship’s
PA: “Good morning. On behalf of Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding,
I’d like to offer my congratulations to all who worked
to plan and execute a very successful builder’s trials.
As was the case during construction, the team came ready to
play, worked long hours to overcome obstacles, and ultimately
proved this ship completely seaworthy. On her return to Norfolk,
we’ll be flying a broom from the mast, the shipyard’s
traditional way of indicating a clean sweep of builder’s
trials objectives. You should all be very proud of your accomplishments,
a culmination of many years of team effort. I would also like
to directly congratulate Capt. Kevin O’Flaherty
and the crew of George H.W. Bush. We worked hard
to build you a good ship. You brought it to life and proved
it could be a great ship. We look forward to working with
you to drive the program to delivery, shakedown and fleet
introduction.” – Jim Roberts
A
chat with the purser
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If the Trial Center is the “nerve center”
for all of the shipbuilders’ test activities, the Purser’s
Office, six decks above, is the same thing for their berthing
and meals and any other personal issues that arise while at
sea. When there are no issues to resolve, the Purser’s
Office becomes an impromptu social spot, where shipbuilders
gather to grab a drink or a snack (potato chips and Soft Batch
cookies) and pass along the latest “gouge.” Shelton
“Shane” Laws served as the CVN 77 purser,
leading a group of 26 shipbuilders – 13 people on-board
and 13 people ashore – some of whom logged 30 hours
the first day. “Everything went wonderful,” he
says as the office is packed up around us. “The purser’s
staff did an excellent job. You couldn’t ask for a better
crew. It was just a great trial by a great staff and a great
team working with our staff.” When I ask what was his
favorite part of the sea trials, he says, “For me, as
a shipbuilder, I had never been able to sit down and watch
the AFFF testing on flight deck. That was pretty incredible
for me to see how all that came to life.” A couple of
nights before, Shane had been entertaining a group assembled
in the Purser’s Office with stories from his days as
a pit crew member for NASCAR driver Ricky Rudd. I ask him
if he had heard who won the Daytona 500 on Sunday, and he
says a senior chief had gotten the word: Matt Kenseth. –
Jim Roberts
“Quality
and excellence”
The crew “mans the rails” as the
ship crosses the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel. Although it
is much colder and windier than the day we left – there
are even snow flurries! – a few shipbuilders walk the
flight deck and take in the sights as the ship returns to
Norfolk and is tied up to Pier 14. I take the opportunity
to talk to a few more employees about their experiences on
the sea trials. Everyone has great comments, but the one that
stands out to me the most comes from David Wilkins,
a young designer who worked on the oil and water separators
(OWS) systems. “The biggest thing I’ll remember
about this trip,” he says, “is the commitment
Northrop Grumman displays as far as quality and excellence.
And the sailors – they were great. They showed us an
unbelievable amount of hospitality. Just to see these guys
out at sea and see what they do everyday – day in, day
out – and how they protect our waters is amazing.”
– Jim Roberts
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