LCS crews: Mission-ready 'family'

SOUTH CHINA SEA – Being aboard one of the newest ship classes of combatants in the Navy is “literally a place where everybody knows your name,” said Engineman 2nd Class Eric A. Torres, assigned to the Independence-variant Littoral Combat Ship USS Gabrielle Giffords (LCS 10). Working on an LCS is “similar to working with family. We see each other as brothers and sisters, instead of co-workers.” Manning aboard an LCS consists of 70 sailors. “We get put through a rigorous training cycle … that ensures when sailors get to the command, they can hit the ground running,” said Chief Quartermaster Jarrod Collins, “and that training ensures when sailors (arrive) they can hit the ground running.” LCS training guarantees sailors understand every detail of their job requirement and the importance of being versatile, he continued. Everyone pitches in. Minimal manning requires sailors have multiple collateral duties. “One minute I could be handling my primary duties,” said Collins, and next in engineering or on deck to assist with performing a task. “We have to be mission-ready at all times,” said Torres, “which makes communication … that much more important” so that everyone’s on the same page. The LCS also encourages sailors to reach beyond a normal scope of responsibility, enabling them to become adept at handling a wider array of taskings for their careers. Attached to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 7, Gabrielle Giffords is on her rotational deployment to the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations in support of security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. (Source: DESRON SEVEN 04/2/20) Gulf Coast Note: LCS 10 was built at Austal USA's shipyard in Mobile, Ala.  https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=112761