The U.S. Navy's USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier, departed from its home port to begin Tailored Ship's Training Availability and Final Evaluation Problem.

The programs are unit-level training designed to prepare the ship and its crew for full integration into a carrier strike group. The evaluation will measure sailors' proficiency in a variety of operations, including recovering from casualties, damage control, and combat readiness. The performance will be assessed by Afloat Training Group Atlantic.

"All the Sailors, from ship's company to the air wing and carrier strike group, have been training toward these critical assessments," said the vessels's commanding officer, Capt. Paul C. Spedero Jr. in a statement. "While they're certainly ready now, this training will afford them the opportunity to get even better."

During the Tailored Ship's Training Availability portion, sailors will be tasked with responding and recovering from casualties and sharpening damage control. For the Final Evaluation Problem, crews will conduct combat missions such as flight operations in addition to surviving casualty control situations.

The training event will mark the first time the carrier will integrate with Carrier Strike Group 10, Carrier Air Wing 3, and additional embarked ships from Destroy Squadron 26.

ATG inspectors will measure the crew's expertise until they are deemed proficient across all areas.

Austal USA launches fourth Independence-class LCS
Mobile, Ala. (UPI) Nov 23, 2015 - Austal USA has has launched the future USS Omaha, a new Independence-class littoral combat ship for the U.S. Navy.

The vessel was rolled out of its assembly bay at the Austal shipyard onto a barge in mobile, Ala., last week, taken down the Mobile River to a floating BAE Systems drydock and floated off.

Austal said the Omaha is now back in the assembly hall for further outfitting, christening and testing.

"That this precisely choreographed launch event has become commonplace in Mobile is a sign of the maturity and stability of the LCS serial production line," said Capt. Tom Anderson, LCS program manager.

"I look forward to the future USS Omaha completing the test and trial process en route to delivery to the fleet."

The Omaha is 413 feet long and will have a range of about 4,300 miles at 18 knots. The ship's maximum speed is 44 knots. It is a modular, reconfigurable ship capable of carrying three types of mission packages: surface warfare, mine counter-measures, and anti-submarine warfare.

The Omaha is the fourth ship in a block-buy contract with Austal. The Montgomery is preparing for builders' trials; the Gabrielle Giffords was christened in June and is currently completing system testing; the Manchester is under construction and will be launched next year. The Tulsa will have her keel laid before the end of this year.