Cutlines

Frank San Nicholas, with NADEP North Island, left; John Pichler, from Puget Sound, Wash., center, and Bob Truex, with Naval Air Engineering Station Lakerhurst, N.J., set the vertical height on a catapult rail aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68). Photo by Danny McGeehee

John Pontecorvo, Code 6.2.4.3, preheats the metal on the upper rails. Photo by Danny McGeehee

As John Pontecorvo preheats the metal, Shawn Hayman and Jeremy Stensrud from Puget Sound, Wash., fine drill the rails on the catapult. Photo by Danny McGeehee

VRT mans the (catapult) rails aboard Nimitz

By Bill Bartkus
NADEP North Island

Have Voyage Repair Team, will travel!
But in this case, certain members of Naval Air Depot North Island’s VRT didn’t have to travel far. The VRT is busy working aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68), at her homeport at the North Island Naval Air Station, alongside artisans from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Wash., and Naval Air Weapons Center, Lakehurst, N.J., who are here to help NADEP North Island work on a job of major proportions.
The VRT is realigning all four catapults on the nuclear-powered carrier that arrived in San Diego in November following an overhaul in Newport News, Va.
“We’re working on four catapults at the same time. Normally we work on no more than two catapults at one time,” said Buddy May, Code 6.2.4.3.
“The job is so massive,” said Bill Pitcher, Code 6.2.4.3, “that we’re working 24/7. We have about 30 people total working around the clock seven days a week,” said Pitcher. The majority of the crew works during the day.
Well before the ship arrived in San Diego, Navy officials asked the Depot if artisans could repair the catapult rails. “We told them that we could help them but not without some help ourselves,” said Pitcher. After determining what needed to be done and how many people would be needed, Pitcher said engineers, Carrier Field Service Unit (CAFSU) and artisans sat down as a group to determine the best course of action.
“We made up work teams and mapped out what we needed to do,” Pitcher said. He said that the project is taking an enormous amount of work. “The amount of bolts that we have to drill out, plus welding and realigning, takes a good amount of time.”
Pitcher said that artisans initially started the project when the ship docked at the naval air station. They were supposed to complete the job in mid-March. But as the engineers have come in with more data, the completion date has been moved back 30 days to mid-April. “There is no way we can finish this job with only the people that we have (at NADEP North Island, Puget Sound and Lakehurst). It’s that much work. This job has increased to such gigantic proportions that it’s unbelievable.”
Pitcher said that the job isn’t so bad for NADEP North Island employees. “We get to go home every night to our families. We’re working two 12-hour shifts a day, but we get to go home. But those who are here from Puget Sound and Lakehurst are looking at extending their stay here from two months to three months or more. They don’t get to go home every night but back to their hotel rooms.”
Artisans working on the project include aircraft launch and arresting device mechanics (ALADs), welders, riggers, machinists.
There are eight people from Puget Sound and 18 from Lakehurst working alongside NADEP North Island on the catapults. “But we’re asking for more help from wherever we can get it,” said Pitcher. “This job has grown so big.” To the best of his knowledge, Pitcher said that the Depot VRT has never handled a job of this magnitude before.
“It has been quite rewarding to see personnel from different commands come together as one with the same goals,” said Ernie Savage, Code 6.2.4.2, program manager for the Navy Calibration Laboratory and the Voyage Repair Team. “This is a true demonstration of what teamwork is all about.”
Pitcher said that the VRT is working on this project while some other team members are working elsewhere on other projects.