The crew of USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) got the 90,000-ton nuclear powered aircraft carrier underway March 24, for the first time in almost seven months. Stennis will be underway for approximately five days to conduct a testing phase as the final part of the ship's major maintenance period. Sea Trials is the final assessment of the ship's material readiness and ability to rejoin the fleet as an operational unit. After all of the ship's systems, installations, and repairs have been tested, inspected and validated, Stennis' major maintenance period, officially called docking planned incremental availability (DPIA), will be complete. "The crew of USS John C. Stennis is ready and excited to take the ship out to sea," said Stennis' Commanding Officer, Capt. Brad Johanson.