WEBVTT 00:05.130 --> 00:07.297 Hi my name is George Albert Kessler Jr 00:07.297 --> 00:10.160 uh G E . O R . G . E . Kessler K . E . 00:10.160 --> 00:12.360 S . S . L . E . R . Okay . And your 00:12.360 --> 00:14.690 title ? I'm the Executive Officer of 00:14.690 --> 00:17.970 Uss . Prudence DDG 1 11 . Now were you 00:17.970 --> 00:19.970 involved with PC excrement from the 00:19.970 --> 00:22.026 very beginning ? I was involved from 00:22.026 --> 00:24.081 the very beginning actually received 00:24.081 --> 00:26.248 orders the same time as the commanding 00:26.248 --> 00:25.910 officer . Received orders in April of 00:25.920 --> 00:29.130 2009 . And our first official event was 00:29.130 --> 00:31.980 in May of 2009 when we came up for the 00:31.980 --> 00:34.147 key Elaine and bath Maine . Now he had 00:34.147 --> 00:36.480 to kill a how many people in your group . 00:36.740 --> 00:38.860 How many sales ? Two 00:40.040 --> 00:42.250 The captain and Iowa that we're the 00:42.250 --> 00:44.620 only two members who were on board at 00:44.620 --> 00:46.731 that point we had about eight members 00:46.731 --> 00:49.550 of the crew who had received orders and 00:49.560 --> 00:52.380 we got them actually set up in san 00:52.380 --> 00:56.200 Diego about the same month . So we were 00:56.200 --> 00:58.256 the only two there . We actually had 00:58.256 --> 01:00.422 another ship who is under construction 01:00.422 --> 01:02.478 there indeed . As you Wanna nine who 01:02.478 --> 01:04.644 attended the key lane with us but very 01:04.644 --> 01:06.811 very small contingent at that point in 01:06.811 --> 01:10.750 time . Great . Great . How had 01:11.340 --> 01:13.396 is this your first pre commissioning 01:13.396 --> 01:15.618 unit ? No it's not . I had the pleasure 01:15.618 --> 01:17.784 of being the pre commissioning weapons 01:17.784 --> 01:21.000 officer on DDG 89 . The USS must in and 01:21.010 --> 01:23.450 took her from her christening through 01:23.460 --> 01:25.738 post employment shakedown availability . 01:25.740 --> 01:27.796 So you kind of knew what you were in 01:27.796 --> 01:29.907 store for . I did . I had a good idea 01:29.907 --> 01:32.184 what what I was in store for . However , 01:32.184 --> 01:34.296 Mustard was commissioned and built in 01:34.296 --> 01:36.351 Pascagoula Mississippi . So I got to 01:36.351 --> 01:38.920 see the other side of life with Bath 01:38.920 --> 01:41.630 maine and uh see uh Bath built his best 01:41.630 --> 01:45.460 built . Great . Great . Now tell me 01:45.630 --> 01:49.470 when ah when 01:49.470 --> 01:52.920 these when you took this job on and you 01:52.920 --> 01:55.087 have to build your crew up , what were 01:55.087 --> 01:57.309 some of the challenges that you you had 01:57.309 --> 01:59.364 to deal with ? There are a number of 01:59.364 --> 02:01.087 challenges with building a pre 02:01.087 --> 02:03.253 commissioning crew specific challenges 02:03.253 --> 02:05.587 for spruance different than other holes . 02:05.587 --> 02:07.698 Is that we have two brand new systems 02:07.698 --> 02:09.970 that change the training pipelines and 02:09.980 --> 02:12.130 how we set up the crew one is our new 02:12.130 --> 02:14.340 machinery control system . That system 02:14.340 --> 02:16.229 actually provides this additional 02:16.229 --> 02:18.284 automation and training capacity and 02:18.284 --> 02:20.284 the engineering plant . The schools 02:20.284 --> 02:22.396 weren't established for that system . 02:22.396 --> 02:24.229 So we are sending people through 02:24.229 --> 02:26.340 training both at the contractor level 02:26.340 --> 02:28.451 and also training in philadelphia and 02:28.451 --> 02:30.360 trying to establish a baseline of 02:30.360 --> 02:32.550 knowledge uh for our guys and gals who 02:32.550 --> 02:34.717 are working on that system . The other 02:34.717 --> 02:36.883 system that is new for us is we have a 02:36.883 --> 02:39.290 new electronic navigation system and 02:39.290 --> 02:41.401 that brand new system integrates both 02:41.401 --> 02:43.650 our ships control systems , consoles 02:43.660 --> 02:45.610 and the pot house along with the 02:45.610 --> 02:48.180 electronic navigation systems and we 02:48.180 --> 02:50.880 call it an ibn S integrated bridge 02:50.880 --> 02:53.300 systems and navigation and that system 02:53.300 --> 02:55.467 doesn't have any training for it . And 02:55.467 --> 02:57.467 so we actually ended up sending our 02:57.467 --> 02:59.411 navigator to the train the trainer 02:59.411 --> 03:01.640 courses provided by the contractor and 03:01.640 --> 03:03.807 have used him as our primary trainer . 03:04.340 --> 03:06.860 Now I was told that this is the first , 03:07.840 --> 03:10.007 what ? This is the first bridge of its 03:10.007 --> 03:12.173 type and please don't make me say it , 03:12.173 --> 03:14.420 I want to hear you say it . So uh , 03:14.430 --> 03:16.430 this is the first bridge navigation 03:16.430 --> 03:18.541 system of its type in the fleet . And 03:18.541 --> 03:20.763 what it has done is has taken our basic 03:20.763 --> 03:23.400 functions of helm control , so steering 03:23.400 --> 03:26.380 the ship of propulsion control so how 03:26.380 --> 03:28.491 fast we're gonna go through the water 03:28.491 --> 03:30.880 and taking our electronic navigation 03:30.880 --> 03:33.400 system . GPS along with electronic 03:33.400 --> 03:35.860 charts and integrated into one system 03:36.340 --> 03:38.340 that provided , provides us greater 03:38.340 --> 03:40.451 functionality for the content officer 03:40.451 --> 03:42.562 for the officer of the deck . It also 03:42.562 --> 03:44.451 provides us the ability to reduce 03:44.451 --> 03:46.562 manning and optimize the way that our 03:46.562 --> 03:48.562 bridges man . The other significant 03:48.562 --> 03:50.784 benefit this system gave us was it gave 03:50.784 --> 03:52.951 us an additional training system which 03:52.951 --> 03:55.118 we can while pier side we can actually 03:55.118 --> 03:57.284 take and put a bridge watch team up in 03:57.284 --> 03:59.396 the pot house and we can actually run 03:59.396 --> 04:01.340 them through navigation and seeing 04:01.340 --> 04:03.507 anchor details . We can also have them 04:03.507 --> 04:05.500 go into a full mission bridge uh , 04:05.510 --> 04:07.820 scenario in which the watch team 04:07.830 --> 04:10.020 interacts with other ships as to deal 04:10.020 --> 04:12.187 with contact avoidance as to deal with 04:12.187 --> 04:14.409 stationing problems . And that gives us 04:14.409 --> 04:16.630 the ability to train more often and 04:16.680 --> 04:18.791 develop proficiency in our watch team 04:18.791 --> 04:20.958 that we otherwise wouldn't have . Very 04:20.958 --> 04:23.050 interesting , very interesting . Uh 04:24.240 --> 04:27.850 sure the , you know , people say that 04:28.240 --> 04:31.200 ship is just just a lot of metal put 04:31.200 --> 04:33.580 together And the heart of the ship is 04:33.580 --> 04:35.636 really the crew . Tell me about your 04:35.636 --> 04:37.802 crew that have built up our crew is an 04:37.802 --> 04:39.802 amazing group of individuals . They 04:39.802 --> 04:41.747 come from all across the world and 04:41.747 --> 04:43.858 across the United States . We've been 04:43.858 --> 04:46.080 brought together . The crew average age 04:46.080 --> 04:48.136 is somewhere between 24 and 27 years 04:48.136 --> 04:50.247 old . About 40% of our crew has never 04:50.247 --> 04:52.469 been to see on a ship before . And that 04:52.469 --> 04:54.636 includes very senior individuals whose 04:54.636 --> 04:56.802 rights didn't bring them to see . Uh , 04:56.802 --> 04:59.024 and very junior individuals . So it's a 04:59.024 --> 05:01.136 brand new crew that has come together 05:01.136 --> 05:03.191 in a big way . The pre commissioning 05:03.191 --> 05:05.024 processes . Uh , interesting and 05:05.024 --> 05:07.024 difficult in which you started in a 05:07.024 --> 05:09.247 building and various locations . At one 05:09.247 --> 05:11.413 point , we had contingents in parts of 05:11.413 --> 05:13.747 our crew and seven geographic locations , 05:13.747 --> 05:15.858 all operating trying to learn , study 05:15.858 --> 05:17.858 and and get together and built as a 05:17.858 --> 05:20.024 single unit . We just moved aboard the 05:20.024 --> 05:22.024 ship in June and were able to start 05:22.024 --> 05:23.913 functioning as a team . It's been 05:23.913 --> 05:26.070 nonstop since June 15 on training and 05:26.070 --> 05:28.520 developing and certifying systems . Uh , 05:28.530 --> 05:30.252 the team has certified both in 05:30.252 --> 05:32.419 engineering and damage control in anti 05:32.419 --> 05:34.474 terrorism and force protection and a 05:34.474 --> 05:36.770 navigation . We received the best score 05:36.770 --> 05:38.770 in the way of any pre commissioning 05:38.770 --> 05:41.430 unit to date . We also were able to 05:41.430 --> 05:43.430 certify and navigation , electronic 05:43.430 --> 05:45.597 navigation faster than any ship in the 05:45.597 --> 05:47.763 fleet . And that's just a testament to 05:47.763 --> 05:49.819 the young men and women that we have 05:49.819 --> 05:52.360 working force here on Spruance . What's 05:52.360 --> 05:55.080 that away ? I'm sorry . Ella has line 05:55.080 --> 05:57.080 off assessment . One of the primary 05:57.080 --> 05:59.024 things that you have to accomplish 05:59.024 --> 06:01.136 before a ship can sail away from Bath 06:01.136 --> 06:02.858 Maine is you have to pass your 06:02.858 --> 06:05.024 engineering light off assessment . And 06:05.024 --> 06:07.024 so what that is is a combination of 06:07.024 --> 06:09.024 damage control , equipment and gear 06:09.024 --> 06:10.969 testing inspections . And then the 06:10.969 --> 06:13.080 entire engineering plant goes through 06:13.080 --> 06:12.940 what we call hot checks , which is 06:12.940 --> 06:14.890 equipment that's lit off and cold 06:14.890 --> 06:16.946 checks , which is equipment prior to 06:16.946 --> 06:19.112 light off . And once we've passed that 06:19.112 --> 06:21.050 we've run to drill teams through 06:21.060 --> 06:23.500 scenarios , evolutions in which we 06:23.510 --> 06:25.960 simulate casualties and we run the 06:25.960 --> 06:28.250 entire fire party through a main space 06:28.250 --> 06:30.480 fire , a simulated main space fire to 06:30.480 --> 06:33.040 ensure that the ship , God forbid 06:33.040 --> 06:35.151 something should happen would be able 06:35.151 --> 06:37.820 to combat that far frank trade . And if 06:37.820 --> 06:40.330 you can last question , if you can tell 06:40.330 --> 06:42.441 me just a little bit about the ship's 06:42.441 --> 06:45.040 namesake . Yeah , so Admiral Spruance 06:45.040 --> 06:47.900 was , as most people would no , the 06:47.910 --> 06:50.021 victor of Midway . Well , he was also 06:50.021 --> 06:52.243 considered the quiet warrior . That was 06:52.243 --> 06:54.410 the title was a biography and also the 06:54.410 --> 06:56.577 mechanical man . Consider those things 06:56.577 --> 06:58.688 because he was a man of preparation . 06:58.688 --> 07:01.530 He focused on education . He focused on 07:01.540 --> 07:03.596 being willing to accept the changing 07:03.596 --> 07:05.540 face of war . That was changing in 07:05.540 --> 07:07.707 World War Two . With the advent of the 07:07.707 --> 07:10.390 aircraft carrier and the Development of 07:10.390 --> 07:13.630 the submarine and its place in warfare . 07:13.660 --> 07:16.630 The advent of amphibious assault . He 07:16.640 --> 07:18.807 authored the island hopping campaign , 07:18.807 --> 07:20.807 which was so successful against the 07:20.807 --> 07:22.862 Japanese and basically though he was 07:22.862 --> 07:24.807 the prototype for the 21st Century 07:24.807 --> 07:27.029 Naval Officer . Everything that we look 07:27.029 --> 07:29.251 back to with his preparation , with his 07:29.251 --> 07:31.362 view on logistics , with his focus on 07:31.362 --> 07:34.820 self education leads us to all the 07:34.820 --> 07:36.990 attributes we want to aspire to as 07:36.990 --> 07:40.910 naval officers , great commanders or 07:40.920 --> 07:43.070 anything that I didn't ask you that 07:43.080 --> 07:45.480 you'd like to tell us on camera about . 07:46.490 --> 07:48.434 What I do want to say is it's been 07:48.434 --> 07:50.546 amazing for me to watch our ship come 07:50.546 --> 07:52.990 together as a team to the most 07:52.990 --> 07:55.101 memorable things for me that I've had 07:55.101 --> 07:57.430 on this ship . One was the actual first 07:57.430 --> 08:00.000 reenlistment I did on spruance , which 08:00.000 --> 08:02.056 was out back in san Diego at the pre 08:02.056 --> 08:04.222 commissioning unit . And that was with 08:04.222 --> 08:06.444 for an FC two . Now FC two Sparkman and 08:06.444 --> 08:08.500 just his motivation and excitement . 08:08.500 --> 08:10.222 He's our star swimmer and just 08:10.222 --> 08:12.389 excitement and willingness to serve in 08:12.389 --> 08:14.444 dedication to the navy already . But 08:14.444 --> 08:16.444 then the other thing was to see our 08:16.444 --> 08:18.278 teams come together . We've done 08:18.278 --> 08:20.500 something on spruance , which I haven't 08:20.500 --> 08:22.556 done on other ships which are damage 08:22.556 --> 08:24.722 control team . That was impossible for 08:24.722 --> 08:26.833 all the maintenance . We actually set 08:26.833 --> 08:28.944 them apart , pulled them off of the , 08:28.944 --> 08:31.111 their watch teams separately and built 08:31.111 --> 08:33.222 them into a team for damage control . 08:33.222 --> 08:35.900 So that team is coalesced and formed 08:35.900 --> 08:38.670 into a unit . It's broken down barriers 08:38.680 --> 08:40.624 across the different departments , 08:40.624 --> 08:42.736 across the different rates . Everyone 08:42.736 --> 08:44.847 has a better understanding of what we 08:44.847 --> 08:46.958 do and how we do it and have it has a 08:46.958 --> 08:49.550 better acceptance of the hard work that 08:49.560 --> 08:51.560 each rate puts in and how we form a 08:51.560 --> 08:53.920 team . And that coming together as a 08:53.920 --> 08:55.976 team has really been amazing here on 08:55.976 --> 08:57.920 spruance and as a testament to how 08:57.920 --> 08:59.864 we've had the success we have at . 09:00.040 --> 09:02.262 Thank you commander . Thank you so much 09:02.262 --> 09:04.484 for your time . Thank you . Thank you . 09:25.040 --> 09:26.040 Mhm . 09:32.340 --> 09:33.340 Yeah . 09:51.240 --> 09:52.240 Mhm . 10:02.640 --> 10:03.640 Mhm . 10:07.940 --> 10:08.940 Mhm . 10:42.740 --> 10:43.740 Yeah . 10:49.840 --> 10:50.840 Yeah . 10:58.140 --> 11:01.740 Yeah . Yeah . 11:11.240 --> 11:11.450 Mhm .