Yellow Sea - The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS John S. McCain (DDG 56), nicknamed the "Big Bad John," continues to maintain material readiness while out at sea.

The crew has continued to maintain and improve the material condition of the ship since completing, and scoring above average on the Type Commander Mid-Cycle Inspection (MCI) earlier this year. The ship plans to return to Yokosuka, Japan later this year in a better state of material readiness than when it departed.

"We are not letting this deployment eat away at our material readiness," said Cmdr. Jessie Sanchez, the executive officer of McCain. "We continue to maintain our upkeep, so that when we come back, we are just as good if not better than when we left."

Since getting underway, Big Bad John has closed over 350 maintenance and repair jobs with at least 100 of those jobs being classified as "depot-level" jobs. Depot-level jobs are maintenance jobs that are considered beyond the capability of ship's forces, and, are typically conducted in the ship-yard or by contractors. The repairs included 403 discrepancies discovered during the MCI.

"In the past month, from the beginning of June to the first of July, we have completed over 204 jobs," said Chief Warrant Officer Joshua Patat, a maintenance material officer aboard McCain. "Over 40 percent of the jobs were depot-level jobs and yet our guys completed them. These jobs are normally done in port, yet, we are finding ways to overcome this and be self-sufficient."

McCain's Repair Division conducts on average 180 hours of preventative maintenance a week on all their equipment.

"This is the fifth ship I've been on," said Chief (Select) Gas Turbine Systems Technician (Mechanical) Matthew Squazza. "It is the most ship-shape ship I've been on and it's because of the crew onboard always pushing to get the job done. Coming to a ship this old and in this good of a condition speaks for itself."

McCain's readiness continues with daily maintenance that in turn brings the crew closer to the goal of returning in better shape than before.

McCain, assigned to Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 15, is forward deployed to Yokosuka, Japan in support of security and stability in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.