NukeWorker Forum
Career Path => Navy Nuke => Navy:Staying In => Topic started by: _ELT_ on Sep 20, 2005, 05:47
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I'm looking for information about serving onboard a PCU CVN. I've been at a "seagoing" command for just over three years now. I was onboard for the last three years of the RCOH of CVN-69 and am now looking to transfer. My detailer put out that the PCU George H.W. Bush will be manning up soon and I was wondering if anyone could tell me what life would be like if I were to go that route.
If there are any ELT's who have served a pre-com, let me know what you thought...
Thanks!
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To expound on my question, or maybe clarify. I've been reading some info on the Bush - the requirements and such. When it says "In Service" as in: Member must spend 24 months at command (PCU Bush) after unit is placed "in service".
Does this mean after commissioning? hmmmm...
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My precomm days were 20 years ago, but "in-service" does not mean commissioning. As far as what you can expect, the PCU command will form while the ship is still owned by the builder. There will be no operating equipment aboard the ship, no fuel in the reactor, and you may find yourself entering it for the first time through the bottom. The basic structure of the ship and all the large equipment will already be there, but you won't own it. Most of your time will be spent in training, putting together the manuals and stuff... basically reinventing the wheel. Get in touch with your counterpart on some other ship of the class and steal everything from the survey maps to the PMS schedule. Take all their training lesson plans, exam bank questions... the whole nine.
From your post, it seems to me that you are already on a similar ship, if not one of the same class. This means that you will be one of the "old-hands" and expected to teach the ship's workings not only to nubs but to officers and senior enlisteds from different ships.
We all (those of us coming from seagoing commands) got sea pay despite the fact that our ship was still high and dry. The newbies started getting it some time later. For rotation purposes, PCU duty is neutral. It counts as sea time for some things and shore time for others, but always to your benefit as I remember. Since the ship is not yet habitable, you will probably get housing allowances or barracks depending on your marital status. Of course, I was a sub sailor, and we always got those anyway.
Your schedule will probably start out with "bankers' hours" to start, then progress into shift work to support testing and bringing systems on-line. Finally, you'll have the same duty day schedule as what you are used to when the ship becomes more operational. You'll essentially be morphing from a shore-duty type of billet into full on sea-duty.
Your post didn't specify, and I'm not up to speed, but if the 69 is on it's way out of the fleet, you will basically just be doing the same thing in reverse.
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Ok, this is a topic that I am qualified to answer.
I served on Lincoln, then went over to Precom the Reagan. I have since put my package in for the Bush Precom. Just waiting on orders at this point.
I posted the message here 'bout halfway down:
http://www.nukeworker.com/forum/index.php/topic,5702.0.html
Here goes.
First, the inservice date is set around the time of crew habitability. To give you an idea of what time frame that might be, consider this timeframe from Reagan.
August 2000 : initial manning...first nukes report.
March 2001: Christening
May 2001: Reactor Dept move aboard ship.
September 2001: Shift work begins.
October 2002: Crew move aboard (messing onboard, etc).
Nov 2002: RSE (certifies Reactor Dept)
May 2003: First underway (sea trials).
July 2003: Commissioning
Keep in mind we were *delayed*
You can count on inservice to be a few months before commissioning, after the sea trials.
The 24 month OBLISERV is standard for precom, but it was not enforced on Reagan. Some are pointing to the failure to enforce the OBLISERV as the cause of several problems that have occurred since. My detailer says that the OBLISERV is going to be strictly enforced on Bush.
As far as sea pay goes, I did not receive sea pay until crew moveaboard, and I came from a sea command. However, I did receive COMRATS, so it pretty much equalled out. However, my sea counter kept rolling. The duty counts as sea time for rotational purposes.
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We just at MMCM Low on board and he said that there short on package's and need more. So they've extended the dead line. Just get in touch with your detailer and have him email the details on what neads to be in the package. You department CC should have the info also if there compdent.