For those with experience, how is this one different than most refits, besides longer? Is there something acutely taxing about this particular one, or are all down-time conditions similar?
Predominantly it is longer. Added to that is the fact that this is a nuclear ship. When a conventionally powered ship is in an industrial availability, the engineering plant does not have to be "manned" and supervised by ships force 24/7 but nuclear ships live by different rules. The Navy chooses to have this be the regular ships company instead of say, civil servants who "run" nuclear plants in overhaul for a living.
This is currently being heavily discussed on a private SWO social site. In general, ships in overhaul are not good places to live as there can be no power, no heat, no hot water, sometimes no water at all, sewage issues to say nothing of industrial workers traipsing through your sleeping/eating areas at inopportune times and many more issues.
In some instances, the Navy moves crews off of ships onto mobile "Berthing barges" which are floating temporary headquarters where they can sleep and the ships cooks can prepare food, etc. They too can have all of the same heat/water/sewage issues as the ship in overhaul.
Just FYI, most of the berthing barges date from WWII or before and there had been almost no money spent on them in decades.
Just a reminder that WWII era berthing/habitability standards are well below what is considered acceptable today but the crew of the George Washington would be LUCK to have them instead of living aboard their ship. Alas, an Aircraft Carrier crew is probably too large for the berthing barges.
Full Disclosure, my first ship after post USNA schooling was a ship being built in Newport News and it is a pretty dismal place for sailors. We were
fortunate that our berthing compartments were still being built so the crew was in leased apartments out in town. We came back for three more "availabilities" while I was aboard during which the crew continued living aboard and it was indeed a pretty bad place to be.
It was definitely a challenge for me as a Div O and in our case, we were there for months, not years.