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USS Abraham Lincoln Sailors learn all kinds of Navy acronyms during ship's work-up cycle NAVY WIRE SERVICE (NWS) - November 8, 1999 - by JOC Joe Staker, USS Abraham Lincoln public affairs USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN, At sea, (NWS) -- FEP, PIA, ORSE, and ITA -- all these are Navy acronyms. What do they all mean? In the lifecycle of a ship, Sailors get to know what many of those acronyms mean. In fact, Sailors onboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) will be dealing with many of these acronyms in the near future. Abraham Lincoln recently departed Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and is preparing for its next major Western Pacific/Arabian Gulf (WESTPAC) deployment, currently scheduled to commence in mid-Aug. 2000. The abbreviated catch phrases mark snippets of time in the ship's Interdeployment Training Cycle (IDTC). This began after the six-month Planned Incremental Availability period (PIA) ended Sept. 15. The crew recently completed a Carrier Assessment of Readiness and Training (CART) "fast cruise" on Naval Station Everett. Practice scenarios simulated situations requiring fire and flooding response and culminated in a mass casualty drill. During the current underway period, the ship is undergoing a Tailored Ship Training Availability (TSTA) and a Final Evaluation Period (FEP). Representatives from the Afloat Training Group Pacific (ATG) are onboard to conduct training pertaining to almost every aspect of shipboard operations. DCC Robert Simmons, ATG team leader, commented upon the number of new crewmembers onboard the aircraft carrier and stressed the importance of the current training phase. "The watchstanders need to do damage control training in steps," Simmons said. "Right now, each repair locker [fire and flooding response team] can handle a drill that involves their own area -- in each drill they will simulate putting out a fire, and everyone will be happy. Later they will be able to handle more complex scenarios, and do it more effectively." "In a real damage control situation, repair lockers have to work together," he explained. "Fire and flooding crosses through warfare areas and across artificial boundaries. If something affects a weapons area, they may cooperate to rig casualty power to launch the next missile. Eventually they start to see that everything onboard affects everybody, and that we are 'fighting the ship' as a whole." The aircraft carrier is expected to be in port over the holidays. Once underway again, a two-day Undersea Warfare Exercise (CUEX) and a Comprehensive Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX) will take place off the coast of southern California, followed by an Integrated Training Assessment (ITA) and Operational Reactor Safeguards Examination (ORSE). During ORSE, an independent inspection team officially certifies that the operation of the reactor plant meets stringent safety guidelines. This certification will be revalidated four times throughout the year. Following those drill sets, air operations will shift into higher gear with Carrier Air Wing carrier qualification flights (CVW CQ) and Fleet Replenishment Squadron carrier qualification flights (FRS CQ). These qualifications will be followed by an inport period for Shore Intermediate Maintenance Activity (SIMA) availability and a Combat Systems Readiness Review (CSRR). Over the summer, the ship will participate in a Joint Task Force Exercise (FLEETEX/JTFEX) while preparing for deployment. Crew leave and the onloading of supplies will take place during a Pre-Overseas Movement (POM) period, leading up to WESTPAC 2000, and bringing the cycle to a close. At that point, the ship will be fully prepared to deploy to any point in the world in support of U.S. foreign policy. -USN-