U.S. NAVY PHOTO BY MASS COMMUNICATION SPECIALIST SEAMAN APPRENTICE GITTE SCHIRRMACHER
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AN AIRCRAFT CARRIER HAS often been described as a small city, from the fire department, hospital, police department, and electricity and telecommunications utilities to the gym, 7-Eleven and Starbucks®. And this city has an airport – a pretty busy airport! It’s different from a normal city because this one will go to sea for months, travels around the world, and is always prepared for any contingency – including combat – that may be required by the nation and the Navy. The crew of the Navy’s newest warship represents the best of America, from every state and territory, from big cities and small towns, from coasts to the plains to the mountains, from sea to shining sea. They represent virtually every Navy career field and specialty, at all levels of experience and expertise, so as to fight, and if necessary, save their ship. USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) is truly a marvel of technology, but it is so much more than that because of its crew of talented, well-trained, and dedicated men and women. Navy enlisted ratings are categorized in the fields of administration, aviation, construction, deck, engineering, medical, technical, and weapons. Navy enlisted personnel received technical training or attend various schools to prepare them for their jobs while assigned to ships and submarines, aircraft squadrons, shore installations, construction battalions, SEAL teams, or other Navy commands. They must also learn and practice the skills needed to work as a team aboard ship for standing watches, navigating the ship, fighting fires or controlling damage, or launching and recovering aircraft. Some crewmembers
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PREVIOUS PAGES: Sailors in Air Department’s V-3 Division aboard Pre-Commissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) line up during general quarters on the flight deck. ABOVE: Seaman Apprentice Khalilah Smallwood, assigned to PreCommissioning Unit Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), pours steamed milk into a cup for a macchiato in the ship’s coffee shop. An aircraft carrier has been compared to a small city, and with the help of the Navy League and generous donors, this small city has its own coffee shop.
wear devices showing that they have qualified as parachutists, divers, or air crewmen. Virtually all of these career fields are in some way represented on board Gerald R. Ford. Aboard Gerald R. Ford you will see members of the crew who earned warfare qualifications. The basic officer warfare qualifications are aviator, naval flight officer, surface warfare officer, information dominance, and submariners, with many variations of those qualifications, such as for supply or medical personnel. Enlisted personnel may be “qualled” as enlisted aviation warfare specialist (EAWS), or enlisted surface warfare specialist. Administratively, the crew is structured into departments, and then divisions, which align to the skills and jobs they perform aboard Gerald R. Ford. They may stand watches with their division, or in some cases, stand watches on the bridge or the in-port duty sections that include individuals from multiple divisions. Crewmembers up on the flight deck will wear shirts that denote the different jobs they are performing. The personnel in purple are refueling aircraft; the maintenance personnel and cargo handlers are wearing green, as are the sailors operating USS GERALD R. FORD
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