BREMERTON, Wash. –
Almost 90 U.S. Navy Reserve Surge Maintenance Sailors will deploy throughout February to various shops and locations to support Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility work, and to expand their warfighting readiness.
According to Lt. Cdr. Erin Spindle, PSNS & IMF and Northwest Regional Maintenance Center SurgeMain officer in charge, Code 900Z, SurgeMain, SurgeMain Sailors started arriving Feb. 2, and will support work at PSNS & IMF Bremerton; IMF Everett Detachment, aboard USS Nimitz (CVN 68) and in Yokosuka, Japan.
She said they will focus on supporting work, Nimitz and USS Michigan (SSGN 727), while being deployed primarily throughout Shop 11, Shipfitter; Shop 38, Marine Machinist; Shop 51, Electricians; and Shop 67, Electronics Technicians. The Sailors are assigned to jobs throughout PSNS & IMF based off their military rating and their mobilization billet.
While SurgeMain Sailors have deployed to PSNS & IMF annually for several years, Spindle said the current geopolitical situation is helping focus their efforts this year.
“SurgeMain is expanding their training to focus on warfighting readiness,” she said. “Their ability to support down range will prove of great value to the command during times of conflict.”
To that end, some of the Sailors kicked off this year’s deployment with realistic combat-oriented medical training similar to U.S. Army Combat Lifesaver Course training.
General military training aside, some SurgeMain Sailors have civilian careers that help prepare them for the work they do here. Others have accumulated decades of experience supporting the Navy.
“Some of them work in the shipyard as civilian employees,” Spindle said. “Some of them have been in the SurgeMain program for 20 years. Some of them are journeyman-level technical experts in their civilian careers. Others are now or have participated in the Navy Afloat Maintenance Training Strategy program, which provides them with extensive knowledge of various mechanical, electrical and structural competencies, similar to a union apprenticeship program.”
Established in 2005, SurgeMain has more than 2,000 reserve Sailors across 75 units. Created to augment the Navy’s civilian shipyard workforce in times of need, SurgeMain Sailors have technical and trade backgrounds that allow them to have an immediate, positive impact on operations. In addition to their direct work on availabilities, SurgeMain Sailors also provide valuable technical overhead support, using skills from their civilian experience to perform critical machinery maintenance, return needed equipment to service and fill key supervisory roles within the shipyard.