US Navy aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) started sea trials on August 11 after completing its planned incremental availability (PIA).
John C. Stennis entered PIA in February with the largest work package ever planned for a six-month availability for a Nimitz-class carrier, requiring more than 2,800,000 man-hours of work between ship’s Sailors, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, and contractors.
The US Navy said that, through teamwork and expert management, the ship was able to get underway ahead of their originally planned departure date.
“With the extraordinary support of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, USS John C. Stennis has not only returned to sea to complete the most ambitious six-month carrier availability ever attempted, but has done so three days ahead of schedule,” said Capt. Gregory Huffman , John C. Stennis’ commanding officer. “I am tremendously proud of the hard work and dedication required to reach this milestone, and look forward to seeing the ship and crew in action as we begin our at-sea training cycle.”
The goal of PIA is to overhaul and rejuvenate the ship, improving operational systems as well as the quality of life aboard the ship. The work package included items ranging from upgrades to the ship’s navigation systems and refurbishing crew berthing spaces.
John C. Stennis sailors are now embarking on the final step of PIA: taking the ship out to sea to demonstrate its new, repaired and refurbished systems working as designed.
“The crew is motivated to get the ship back out to sea,” said Palmer. “We are very eager to complete this successful PIA and get us out there to where we belong.”
John C. Stennis is underway conducting sea trials as part of a planned incremental availability at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility, during which the ship underwent scheduled maintenance and upgrades.