An Afloat Training Group has conducted a Unit Level Training Assessment-Sustainment on the USS John C. Stennis prior to the aircraft carrier’s return to Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton.

The service branch said Thursday the ULTRA-S test was performed to help John C. Stennis achieve mission readiness and prepare the aircraft carrier’s capacity to carry out a variety of missions.

ATG observed, assessed and evaluated the sailors’ shipboard watchstanding, warfighting and damage control capacities through drills that determined the quality of CVN 74’s ongoing training programs and mission readiness.

“We want to know that the fleet can trust this particular ship to sustain itself in any kind of casualty,” said Dominic Gamez, Petty Officer 1st Class and ATG assessor.

“What we are looking for is safety compliance, that all safety procedures are going well and while combating a casualty, how well the motivation is and [to] make sure they meet the particular wickets we are looking for.”

ATG deemed USS John C. Stennis as prepared to conduct future tasks after the ULTRA-S that covered general quarters drills that requires sailors to report to damage control repair lockers, prepare the ship for damage as well as seek out and respond to simulated casualties.

Gen. Mark Milley, U.S. Army chief of staff, has said he predicts the future of the service branch will not include divisions, corps, tanks or Bradley fighting vehicles and bear little resemblance to its current state in 25 to 30 years.

He told the annual Association of the U.S. Army meeting that nation states will fight to protect their interests the same way conflicts over territory or resources are present today, the service branch said Thursday.

“I suspect that the organizations and weapons and doctrines of land armies, between 2025 and 2050, in that quarter-century period of time, will be fundamentally different than what we see today,” said Milley.

“We must invest in hardening our systems and, equally important, train on the techniques of operating with limited electronics.”

Milley noted the Army needs to update current thinking, training and fighting strategies as well as learn to utilize new methods to communicate, produce water or devise replacement parts.

The U.S. Air Force has unveiled a new office with responsibility over strategic development functions in support of the military branch’s development planning and experimentations initiatives.

The Air Force Strategic Development Planning and Execution Office will work to aid senior-level decision makers in efforts to build on agility and structure strategies through development planning and testing efforts, the military branch said Monday.

The office will also conduct live exercises, experiments, wargaming, modeling and simulations and virtual/hardware prototyping to help address potential warfighting needs with the use of existing platforms, concepts and emerging technologies.

Jack Blackhurst, director of the new office, said the branch aims to encourage closer relationships between the operational, science and technology, acquisition and requirement communities.

Gen. Ellen Pawlikowski, commander of the Air Force Materiel Command, said the Air Force Research Laboratory will help provide air, space and cyber multi-domain support to the office.

She added the Air Force’s development planning efforts aim to connect operational warfighters and doctrine professionals with the acquisition and technology communities.

The Energy Department has deployed teams of emergency responders to monitor energy infrastructure as Hurricane Matthew hits Florida.

DOE said Thursday the department’s responders are communicating with other responders and the energy sector to support the government’s restoration efforts.

DOE works with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Homeland Security, Transportation, Defense and Interior; as well as state agencies and energy companies impacted by the hurricane.

Energy and utility organizations have prepared additional crews and equipment for emergency restoration work in case of outages.

Companies have also deployed sensing and monitoring technologies to support restoration efforts.

The Energy Department also is monitoring the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to confirm readiness should a major supply disruption occur.