The Bush

I was just curious and looking up information on "sea trials" and "fast cruises," and I found this article just written today specifically regarding John's ship, the USS George H. W. Bush (CVN 77). Read Article: Bush Sea Trials Are Delayed Once More

Here are some snippets:

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding officials said last month that the carrier was due to depart for builder's sea trials in late January. But the company now says the Bush is due to depart by the end of February.

Operational testing to prepare the ship for trials revealed "discrepancies" that the Navy required to be resolved before allowing the carrier's force to begin an intense training period called "fast cruise," which readies sailors to take the Bush to sea, the Navy said.

That period is under way and the Navy expects builder's trials to commence "shortly thereafter."

Commissioned on Jan. 10 at Naval Station Norfolk without being completed, the Bush must pass two sets of sea trials before the Navy officially accepts the ship. The trials, operational tests conducted at sea over a few days, are used to demonstrate that the ship's two nuclear propulsion plants and other systems function properly.

The two sets are typically spread over one or two months.

The final set of trials and delivery "will follow this spring," said Alan Baribeau, a Navy spokesman.

Northrop had targeted mid-March for the Bush's delivery. It remains unclear whether the most recent delay will push back the Navy's acceptance of the 1,092-foot-long carrier.

The Navy said Thursday that the Bush "remains on schedule for operational training in late 2009, with operational deployment beginning in 2010."

I don't know, I guess reading this makes me feel a little closer to John, and in-the-know about what's going on. I then starting reading about sea trials on wikipedia, and there was a submarine (the USS Thresher) that was doing deep diving trials in 1963, when it sunk with all 129 members drowning off the coast of Massachussetts, 8400 ft underwater, where it remains to this day. Pretty scary. John isn't on a submarine though so they won't be doing any diving.


Here is some information I found on the USS Reagan (CVN 76) and the trials they did before deployment, which is probably what the Bush will be doing this year:

It was a “clean sweep” for the Ronald Reagan. Over four days in early May the Reagan ventured to sea for the first time for builder’s trials and successfully endured an aggressive series of operational tests that demonstrated the ship’s awesome capabilities and performance.

Navy crews and shipbuilders performed wide-ranging tasks. They steered the ship in high-speed conditions, dropped the massive anchors, operated radars, tested numerous ship systems and completed many other jobs too long to list.

Proud. Pleased. Satisfied. Shipbuilders used words like these to describe their feelings about the Reagan at sea, recalling how far the ship has come since the Navy awarded the contract nine years ago.

This Nimitz-class carrier with its many new technologies and innovations, including a bulbous bow for improved hull efficiency, proved it would be an asset to the Navy and the nation.

The builder’s sea trial accomplishments offered a sign of what would come with acceptance trials over two days in late May — another success. With June 20 marking the delivery of the ship, one last grand event remains. The Navy will commission the ship as the USS Ronald Reagan July 12.

So, it looks like the Bush has finally started this fast-cruise, and they will probably be done on monday or tuesday. But we don't know when they will be able to come home, because they will be doing sea trials soon after, and thats when they actually will go out on open water and test the ship's strength. Hope you all enjoyed reading this- it's sorta my therapy!