USS Stennis returns to sea after shipyard stay
By ED FRIEDRICH | The KitsapSun (Tribune News Service) | Published: August 12, 2017
BREMERTON, Wash. – USS John C. Stennis departed for sea trials Friday morning after a long maintenance period at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility.
While at sea, the crew will assure that the aircraft carrier's new, repaired and refurbished systems are working as designed or if more work is needed, said shipyard spokeswoman Mary Ann Mascianica.
"The ship's force and the shipyard team made an enormous effort to get the Stennis done and ready for whatever comes her way next," she said. "We're excited to see her go out on sea trials today and are expecting positive results. They did a remarkable amount of work in a short time to have the ship be ready to go back to sea."
The ship returned from its last deployment on Aug. 14, 2016. In February, sailors and workers began the largest work package for a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in a six-month period, requiring more than 2.8 million man-hours of work.
The goal of what the Navy calls a planned incremental availability is to overhaul and rejuvenate the ship, improving operational systems and the quality of life aboard the ship. The work package ranged from upgrading the ship's navigation systems to refurbishing crew berthing spaces.
The other aircraft carrier based at Naval Base Kitsap, USS Nimitz, is in the middle of a deployment, currently in the Persian Gulf.
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