No rest for crew as they restore carrier Carl Vinson

NORFOLK

Question: What's harder than building an aircraft carrier from scratch?

Answer: Rebuilding one from the frame up after a quarter-century of constant, punishing use.

After 43 months at the shipyard in Newport News for its refueling and complex overhaul, the Carl Vinson is nearly ready to re-enter service.

"It's like taking a '57 Chevy and doing a frame-off restoration," said Capt. Ted Carter, the ship's commanding officer.

Aircraft carriers are built to last 50 years, with one major overhaul at about the halfway point. The Vinson, commissioned in 1982, is the third Nimitz-class carrier and the third to undergo the service.

The work involved nearly every piece of the ship. Crews from the carrier and Northrop Grumman Newport News refueled the Vinson's two reactors and upgraded the flight deck, catapults, combat and communications systems, and island.

They refurbished the propellers, propeller shafts and rudders, and the electrical distribution and propulsion plant systems. They replaced thousands of valves, pumps and piping components and painted the ship's 1,000-foot hull.

In the carrier's aft mess deck, Capt. Mike Ropiak, the ship's supply officer, said the overhaul gave the crew a chance to redesign the eating spaces, allowing for more food stations and shorter lines as the ship feeds thousands of sailors four meals a day. It also allowed for the installation of a new porcelain floor and flat-screen televisions.

In the medical ward, Cmdr. Christopher Lucas, the senior medical officer, showed off the ship's new seamless decking, which creates a more sanitary space. The ship now boasts technology, such as laparoscopic and ophthalmic scopes, which, combined with better communications links to shore, allow doctors to perform more procedures while under way.

During the overhaul, crews removed the entire top of the island - the tower on the flight deck where officers direct flight and ship operations - and replaced it with reconfigured spaces and a new mast to handle modern sensors.

On Thursday, Carter showed off the new primary flight control, which sits at the very top. The space now has larger and more numerous windows, giving the air boss and mini boss a 270-degree view of the flight deck below during air operations.

Carter attributed much of the overhaul's success to his crew, nearly all of whom have joined the ship during its time in Newport News. Of the nearly 3,000 sailors who entered the yard with the carrier in 2005, about 20 remain. This massive restaffing effort has been vital to establishing pride of ownership, Carter said.

"You don't replace the crew this totally ever again," he said. "They're like second-half-of-life plank owners."

The ship pulled into Newport News in November 2005, and work began under a $1.94 billion contract. The total cost of the overhaul is just over $3 billion, including materials and equipment purchased under previous contracts.

Carter took command of the carrier in the shipyard in October 2006, less than a year into the overhaul. He said his operational background as an F-4 and F-14 pilot with more than 1,800 carrier landings, including 80 on the Vinson itself, prepared him well for the work.

"I know what the end needed to look like," he said.

Unlike other crews who spend much of their tours deployed, Carter and his team instead have had to learn all about shipbuilding, testing and certification.

"At the end of the day, we're making sure the ship is operational," he said.

The overhaul took three months longer than scheduled. Some of this delay, Carter said, was because shipyard workers and resources were diverted to finishing the George H.W. Bush, the 10th and final Nimitz-class ship.

He added that, since the Vinson's crew was able to provide a portion of the manpower, the money the Navy saved on outside labor allowed the overhaul to stay within budget despite the delay.

The carrier returned last week from four days of sea trials. It is due to go out again this week before heading back to the shipyard for a four-month post-shakedown maintenance period.

The Vinson is expected to leave the shipyard for good in December. In February, it begins its return to the West Coast. It ultimately will be joined by Carrier Air Wing 17. Carter, however, will have moved on.

Last month, he was selected for the rank of rear admiral. On Tuesday, he will relinquish command of the Vinson. On Wednesday, he will become commander of U.S. Joint Forces Command's Joint Enabling Capabilities Command.

"It's certainly bittersweet," he said. "I'd like to stay a few more months."

But with the ship getting under way again next week, he said it's best to have the new commander aboard, ready for the next step.

"As much as I'd like to stay," he said, "it's the right time to go."

Matthew Jones, (757) 446-2949, matthew.jones@pilotonline.com