George Washington (CVN 73) - Naval Cruise Book

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IM-4 Division « » From starting aircraft to moving supplies. IM-4 Division played a vital role in the day to day operations of George Washington's second deployment. Responsible for the maintenance of over 500 pieces of “yellow gear, this hard working division furnished the support equipment used for aircraft starting, servicing, maintenance, handling and fire fighting as well as maintaining the material handling equipment needed for underway replenishments. Aviation Support Equipment Technicians, or “AS’s,” worked on a wide variety of equipment with many different applications. Perhaps the most familiar item the AS's are responsible for was the aircraft crash and salvage crane located on the flight deck. Without this piece of equipment to remove disabled aircraft from the landing area, all flight ops would stop in the event of a crash leaving many aircraft stranded in the air with nowhere to land. When George Washington departed Norfolk in January, IM-4 Division was 100% ready to support the air wing. All of the aircraft tow tractors, spotting dollies and jet engine start units, which were used by the Air De- partment for aircraft starting and handling, were fully operational. Additionally, aircraft jacks, hydraulic test stands, mobile electric power plants, hydraulic fluid dispensing units, jet engine transportation trailers, ejection seat dollies, various skids, and numerous other support items required by the embarked squadrons were all readily available for use by aircraft maintenance personnel. To be able to maintain such an array of equipment, all AS’s must have knowledge of electronics, hydraulics, air conditioning and refrigeration, internal combustion and gas turbine engine mechanics, and production control mainte-nance management. To acquire all of this training was no easy task, but the division met or exceeded all training requirements. A lot of hard work and training has really paid off. From the Combined Aviation Maintenance Supply Effectiveness Evaluation in December, where the inspectors noted. “Still the best Support Equipment Division Afloat in the Atlantic Fleet”, to subsequently maintaining a 95% Support Equipment availability rate throughout the deployment, IM-4 has lived up to the claim of being the “Best of the Best.” ENS Joseph Henry ASCS(AW) Steven Clemens ASC(AW) Gerald Tripp ASI(AW) Dale Davis AS1 Gary Parker AS1 Michael Reid AS2 William Billingsley

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ATAN Lael Huff ATAN Reggie Ketler AEAN ATAN ATAN AZAN Jamie Locke Michael Matta Kevin McNulty Eric Minshall ATAN ATAN ATAN ATAA Guillermo Rodriguez Raymond Smithers Daniel Steele Jeremy Highfill

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Richard B khimer Gregory Bu. Curtis Clittc Steven Freeman AS2(AW) Michael Lawson AK2 Richard Neely AS2 Brian Scott AS2 Dwight Simmons AS2 Robert Thompson AS2 Ronald Widney AS3 Southanome Frichithavong AS3 Roland Garcia AS3 Jeffrey Gargetic AS3 Louis Nemes AZ3 Marcellus Jackson AS3 Zachary Johnston