It Takes Team Work to Open Essex Gym

SAN DIEGO (August 16, 2024) After being closed for nearly two years due to a drydocking selected restricted availability (DSRA) maintenance period, the main gym aboard amphibious assault ship USS Essex (LHD 2) reopened, August 16, 2024.

From floor repairs to new equipment, a new gym onboard Essex has been a long time coming. At the beginning of the gym project, when the old, worn-out gym equipment and floor mats were removed, it was discovered that the gym flooring was corroded and floor repairs became the main priority.

“The deck was super corroded in two areas, on the starboard (right) side and in the middle of the gym,” said Sara Krise, Essex’s afloat recreation specialist, or more commonly known as Fun Boss.

Fun bosses run the Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs on ships and are responsible for the programming of recreational events, sports and special events and activities for military personnel serving at sea to help reduce the stress of deployment and improve morale. One major MWR program is the gym.

With a high quality and well-maintained space a primary concern, said Krise, it was important that proper maintenance be performed before any new floor mats and gym equipment were brought in; which meant that the entire floor needed to be properly sanded and painted.

Unfortunately, due to a rushed deadline, paint not drying correctly and the wet paint accidentally being walked on, a month’s worth of floor repairs needed to be done twice. In the Navy, something as simple as painting a floor takes a lot more steps than simply paint-to-floor. Between finding volunteers to help, coordinating the closing of specific spaces on the ship and getting approval for cold-work (painting) so that it doesn’t interfere with hot-work (welding), a month’s worth of work took about four months, according to Master at Arms 1st Class Michael Norval, who graciously volunteered his time to help.

According to Krise, Norval wasn’t originally involved with the work in the gym. When it became apparent that the floors in the gym needed to be redone, she reached out to the Security department simply because they own the space.

“MA1 Norval did an amazing job at ensuring the deck was resanded and repainted,” said Krise. “He sort of, just, took it upon himself to make sure the work got done, which was fantastic.”

Norval recruited two Sailors specifically to help, Operations Specialist 3rd Class Yajaira Espinoza Soto and Airman Mika Dotterweich.

“I asked these two Sailors to help out because they are the most motivated and reliable and they have a similar drive as I do to make sure the job gets done,” said Norval.

Espinoza Soto and Dotterweich are currently assigned to security as part of in-port security forces (ISF), where their primary responsibility is armed watch standing to protect the ship and their fellow Sailors. All of the assistance they provided was performed during their breaks in-between watches.

“It really wasn’t much of a bother, you just have to take initiative and work together as a team,” said Espinoza Soto.

Dotterweich had much of the same sentiment.

“If you’re coming into work, you’re going to be working no matter what,” said Dotterweich. “I’d rather be helping someone out during my off time, plus, it helps the time go by faster.”

An upgrade of about $170,000 in new gym equipment and about $200,000 in new floor mats is no small feat. Lt. j. g. Jonathan Contreras, who helped with the MWR program, assessed the equipment needs of the gym and placed the order for the new equipment through Deployed Forces Support Program (DFS), Krise coordinated with Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) to ensure a crane was available to assist with the onload of the new gym equipment while also working with Capt. Russell Everitt, executive officer of Essex and Master Chief Charles Parker, command master chief of Essex, to coordinate ship’s personnel to assist with bringing on the new equipment.

The onload and placement of the new gym mats would have taken the MWR team 36 hours to complete, according to Chief Air Traffic Controlman Erin Gladwin, MWR’s “Fun Chief” onboard Essex.

When the duty section of the day pitched in to help, that was cut down to only a two-hour working party. In addition, NAVSUP was able to crane all of the new gym equipment from the pier to the flight deck of the ship, and volunteers of the ship’s crew hand-carried it down to the hangar bay and up two flights of stairs to the gym.

“It took a lot of teamwork from junior enlisted all the way up the ranks to senior officers to get the gym ready at the level it was completed at. Even though it wasn’t mandatory, a lot of people took time out of their schedule to make it happen,” said Gladwin.

Krise has enjoyed revamping the ship’s gym and aspires to make it custom to Essex.

“My intent with the gym is to make it one-of-a-kind,” says Krise. “While gyms are all kind of the same, I want to make it custom-tuned to the Essex with the best equipment and best placement of everything.”

In the future, Krise plans to order additional equipment to continue filling out the available space in the gym. She is also considering the idea of having a few “mini gyms” around the ship, dependent on approval from departments who own specific spaces, to allow for even more opportunities for Sailors to get a quick workout in.

Now that the gym is open, Krise is already planning events such as an “Aloha Challenge”, which runs from September 9 to September 30 and encourages Sailors to run, row or bike 25.21 miles to win a prize, mirroring the fact that Hawaii is 2,521 miles away from San Diego. She also plans to initiate “1,000 Pound Clubs” and other events to encourage camaraderie with fellow shipmates and to help Sailors feel proud of the gym.

For Norval, the gym is one of the most important departments of the ship and it means a lot to the crew as a whole to have the gym open again.

“The two most important departments that I see, that are kind of the heart of the ship, are the galley and the gym. The galley is the left ventricle and the gym is the right ventricle; and I love this ship. I love every Sailor on this ship. I think that they’re all excited for this and that the opening of the gym will increase morale,” said Norval.

Essex is home ported in San Diego conducting a maintenance period to upgrade and refurbish many key systems aboard.

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