In the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, an outbreak aboard the aircraft Theodore Roosevelt generated national headlines — and embarrassment — for the US Navy.

WASHINGTON: As the country begins its third year battling the coronavirus, the US Navy’s top surface warfare officer says that if there’s a silver lining to the operational challenges presented by a global pandemic, it’s that it has pushed the service into being more self-sufficient.

“It helped us identify ways to train better that have actually led to helping us to produce more ready ships,” Vice Adm. Roy Kitchener told reporters Friday during a roundtable prior to the Surface Navy Association’s annual symposium this week. “Everything from port visits to readiness, we became more self-sufficient.”

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Kitchener cited industry technical representatives as an example. Pre-pandemic, if a ship had a serious issue with one of its systems, the service could fly industry contractors aboard to assist. Since that is impractical with COVID restrictions, it forced sailors to take more responsibility in troubleshooting. In all, Kitchener said, the coronavirus “did change how we operate.”

“We continue to evolve with it,” Kitchener said. “But we are getting a little bit back to what I would say — if there is any such thing — normal operations or standards with our ships.”

The Department of the Navy, perhaps moreso than the other services, has had a rough run with COVID-19. Early in the pandemic, an outbreak aboard the aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) sidelined the ship, and a letter from then-commodore Capt. Brett Crozier leaked to the media, embarrassing Navy leadership and resulting in acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly’s resignation. Meanwhile, by the numbers, the Marine Corps has been the slowest to vaccinate its force compared to the other branches.

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Talking about the recently discovered omicron variant, Kitchener expressed confidence in the service’s ability to cope.

“We know we can manage omicron… Do we have sailors on ships that are deploying that have it? We do. And we manage it through all the protocols,” the admiral said. “We still use masks. We have specific protocols for quarantining” and all ships are capable of contact tracing.

Despite legal challenges, the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate has remained intact and a vast majority of servicemembers have been vaccinated. For those who haven’t, with the deadline to get jabbed passed, the services have begun discharging those who refuse the vaccine and lack an exemption. In late December, the Marine Corps said it had removed more than 200 Marines for failing to get vaccinated, while more than 95% of active duty is partially or fully vaccinated. Meanwhile, the Navy last week said it had processed 20 “entry level separations.”

An entry level separation represents a sailor being removed from service within their first six months of enlisting.

Asked if discharges over vaccine requirements have caused him problems with filling billets, Kitchener told reporters, “I know [the chief of naval personnel] is tracking that kind of stuff … But I haven’t seen any impacts to date.”