Ring! Ring! Ring! Here come the
necessary supplies you have been waiting
for all of deployment. They’re coming right
down the conveyor, ready to be unloaded
and disbursed to the crew. The items being
disbursed could be the care package from
your mom, your favorite food in the galley,
or a pallet of Monster for restocking the
vending machines are finally here.
The engineering department’s
auxiliary division aboard the Nimitz-class
aircraft carrier USS George Washington
(CVN 73) is working to bring the vertical
package conveyors back into operation to
serve the crew and move essential goods
like food stores up and down the decks of
George Washington.
“We are doing system operation
testing to make sure our safety,
mechanical, and electrical operations
run smoothly,” said Chief Machinist
Mate Chet Barnett, a chief petty officer
assigned to auxiliary division aboard
George Washington. “We are also weight
testing, as well; that is where we load up
our vertical package conveyors with 250
pounds per skid, then we move them up
and down.”
To achieve this operational milestone,
Sailors, shipyard workers, and contractors are all working together spending thousands of combined man hours to turn
this into reality.
“Half of the auxiliary division is
currently working on the vertical package
conveyors,” said Barnett. “We have Sailors
working on this from the catapult shop,
outside repair, boat shop, 02N2, and
hydraulics shop. It is all hands evolution in
terms of auxiliary division.”
Once all of the testing, maintaining,
and safety checks are completed, these
conveyors can be used for the necessary
day-to-day usage.
“We are updating and maintaining all
11 conveyors on the ship right now to ensure
they are all safe and ready to be used to
transport the needed materials throughout
the decks,” Machinist Mate 3rd Class Glenville Bell, assigned to the engineering department aboard George Washington.
These conveyors have a few main
purposes, including moving materials from
the hangar bay all the way down to the sixth
deck, or from the sixth deck back up.
“Our vertical package conveyors are for
anytime we do an underway replenishment
or replenishment-at-sea. We can
successfully move objects from the hangar
bay down to whatever deck they desire
the goods to go to,” said Barnett. “It could
be food, supplies, parts, and paint being
conveyed down the decks.”
The vertical package conveyors, once
running again, will be here to serve the crew
for the next 25 years, ensuring supplies get
to their designated locations.
“I feel great about everyone working
together to complete this evolution,” said
Barnett. “It’s the reason why I do this job. It
is wonderful to see Sailors working together
to get George Washington back out to sea.”