The crew of the USS Carl Vinson began work Friday on a $300 million upgrade that will keep the ship in San Diego for the next six months.
What the Navy calls a “planned incremental availability period” will include both maintenance and upgrades to the ship’s computer network to make sure the giant carrier can complete it’s 50-year service life.
“A lot of work and coordination went into planning for this maintenance period,” said Mark Warner, Carl Vinson maintenance program manager. “After completing such a long deployment, the ship needs a bit of work. It is our goal and mission to support the crew and assist with keeping the ship mission ready.”
Many Vinson sailors will be temporarily reassigned to teams focused on specific maintenance, including painting, tiling and repairing watertight doors, to build expertise and assure these maintenance tasks are completed on time.
“Many Sailors living on the ship were relocated to a berthing barge so that spaces can be renovated and improved,” said Capt. Karl Thomas, Carl Vinson commanding officer. “A significant amount of work goes into maintenance periods so that our ships stay technologically relevant and ready to answer the call.”
Nicknamed “America’s Favorite Carrier,” the Vinson was the ship from which Osama Bin Laden‘s body was buried at sea.
