USS MOBILE BAY (CG 53) recently completed an eight-month Extended Dry-docking Selected Restricted Availability (EDSRA) at National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) in San Diego, California. The highlight of this availability was the successful installation of the SMART SHIP and All-Electric alterations. This is the first time that both of these actions have been performed simultaneously. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair (SUPSHIP) San Diego, serving as the Naval Supervising Authority (NSA), provided oversight for this lengthy overhaul and headed up the extensive integrated team who managed all repairs and alterations.
As the test platform for Pacific Fleet reduced manning initiatives, MOBILE BAY will utilize data obtained during the two alterations in order to
develop their modified manning levels. Numerous other jobs and alterations were also performed during the EDSRA.
To manage an availability of this complexity, SUPSHIP San Diego and Southwest Regional Maintenance Center (SWRMC) established a project team located at the contractor facility directly next to the contractor management team. SUPSHIP Project Manager Bob Krings and SUPSHIP
Project Officer LCDR Tom Hekman headed this team consisting of the Port Engineer, two on-site shipyard representatives, four SUPSHIP Ship Building Specialists, a dedicated Quality Assurance (QA) specialist, and a dedicated
SUPSHIP Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO). Also present were NAVSSES representatives from Combatant - Homeport Engineering Team (CHET) San Diego, a Smart Ship management team from NAVSSES Philadelphia, a NSWC Combat
Systems Project Engineer and team, as well as numerous AIT representatives.
Also providing key leadership for the integrated team was LCDR Ron Oswald, USS MOBILE BAY EDSRA Coordinator.
This simultaneous installation of SMART SHIP and All-Electric required extensive Ship's Force training to ensure the correct operation of new
equipment. In addition, MOBILE BAY was a returning forward deployed unit that had experienced a crew exchange just a few months prior to the start of the availability. To overcome the challenges presented, the NAVSSES EOSS
validation team arrived early and stayed late to provide the crew with
accurate operating procedures early to facilitate training. The Northrop
Grumman SMART SHIP installation team also conducted 12 days of intensive crew training under the direction of NAVSSES installation managers Summer Clark and Bill Anderson.
More recently Mobile Bay served as the tour ship for the 2001 Fleet Maintenance Symposium hosted by the American Society of Naval Engineers
(ASNE) in San Diego. The Symposium, entitled "Fleet Maintenance in an Increasingly Digital World," allowed the crew of Mobile Bay to showcase their Smart Ship and All Electric alterations. Mobil Bay's Commanding Officer, Capt. Peter B. Opsal, gave a general session presentation and this was followed by a discussion period and ship tour. VADM G.P. "Pete" Nanos, Jr., commander of NAVSEA, and RADM Roland Knapp, PEO-Aircraft Carriers, were
among the 200 plus guests who toured the ship.