USS Cowpens Leaves SRF-JRMC Dry Dock
By Lt. j.g. Maxwell Schmidt, USS Cowpens Public Affairs
July 16, 2010

The guided-missile cruiser USS Cowpens (CG 63) exited dry dock 6 at Commander Fleet Activities Yokosuka July 7, after replacing the blades and other components on board the ship. Cowpens entered the dry dock June 9 to repair a non-metallic grinding noise on the port shaft, which was discovered at the end of a selective repair availability in May.

Ship Repair Facility-Japan Regional Maintenance Center (SRF-JRMC) Yokosuka, removed the blades from each of the two propellers and conducted repairs in the strut bearings.

“The ship is at a level of material readiness that it has not achieved in a long time,” said Capt. Robert Marin, Cowpens commanding officer. “The ship and the crew are ready to get back to operating at sea.”

During the dry dock period, Cowpens also conducted a standardized pier side maintenance and restoration (SPMR), a $1.2 million periodic overhaul on both 5-inch gun mounts.

The repairs made are instrumental in Cowpens certification to perform in naval surface fire support (NSFS) missions.