Source: United States Navy
Sailors assigned to weapons department acquired the ordnance, consisting of 30,000 rounds of small arms caliber ammunition, from the Navy Munitions Command Atlantic Detachment (NMCLANT) Yorktown.
“We use the ordnance to maintain security for all personnel aboard the ship and for the ship itself,” said Chief Master at Arms Jonathan K. Vitron, from Seaside, Oregon, the security operations chief aboard George Washington. “It helps maintain our firearm qualifications and proficiency for when the need to use force arises.”
The evolution included Sailors from weapons department bringing onboard the ordnance with members of the security department setting up perimeters to ensure safety of the crew and the ordnance.
“During this evolution, ordnance and weapons department handled the small arms, with security department making sure certain areas were secure and people weren’t going where they shouldn’t,” said Lt. Cmdr. Brian J. Garcia, from Humble, Texas, the ordnance handling officer aboard George Washington, highlighting the logistics involved in the process.
During the onload, the crew took inventory three times: before departing NMCLANT, on the pier, and finally on the ship, before transferring the ordnance to the temporary magazine, where it will be monitored on a regular basis.
“We are required to take magazine temperatures daily. We record them and submit them with our twelve o’clock reports for the command duty officer and assistant command duty officer to review,” said Garcia.
The regular replenishment of on-board small arms ordnance is crucial to help maintain force protection of the ship and ensure that security can keep up with weapons qualifications, resulting in improved safety for all.
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