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the catapults and arresting gear, while the catapult officers are in yellow; the red shirts are handling weapons or part of the crash crew; and the white shirts are medics or safety observers; aircraft handlers are in blue; and plane captains wear brown. Watches are often performed in addition to their assigned jobs within their division. So the daily routine varies for different members of the crew. There’s always something going on. Fortunately, there is also time to work out, relax, write home to families and friends, watch a movie, or sip a cup of coffee. But between their division jobs, watch-standing, eating and sleeping, compartment cleaning, working on qualifications, and studying for advancement, everyone on board USS Gerald R. Ford is busy, and everyone’s contribution is important to the operation of the ship.
SUPPLY DEPARTMENT HAS EVERYTHING YOU NEED … INCLUDING A SMILE Capt. (Sel.) Julie Treanor is the ship’s supply officer, managing the logistics for the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier. “As the ship supply officer, I have 12 different divisions. I run the entire ship’s budget; own all of the material that is associated with the ship; feed all of the sailors; pay the crew; provide every single part for the ship and the air wing; am responsible for all of the hazardous materials; run the post office; and deliver all of the ‘hotel services,’ such as the barbershops and the laundry, as well as the Ship’s Store, which is kind of a ‘7-Eleven’ minimart for the crew on the ship. So I touch sailors probably more than any other operation within the ship.” As the precommissioning supply officer, Treanor gets to build the entire operation from the keel up, and that includes instilling a customer-focus attitude. “I get to figure out where all the parts will be kept, the procedures by which we will support the customers, the thresholds of the levels of service that we will provide, and set the standard right from the beginning, which is, in my opinion, a benefit. Many times you find yourself coming into an operation where the customer service isn’t what it should be, and you’re working with the team to figure out where the problems are, fix them, and then try to improve the morale of the team. From the outset, I’ve established with our team on Gerald R. Ford that we are a ‘yes’ organization, and a ‘lean forward’ organization,” Treanor said. “The pre-comm environment drives you to do just that.” While the ship was under construction and not yet in service, Treanor said there have been challenges. “Because we are not yet in commission, we don’t have as many resources as a typical carrier would. And the logistics of the shipyard itself can be somewhat challenging. We are also on the receiving end of a procurement pipeline that we don’t ultimately control – that is the responsibility of the program office. So we receive material when it comes in. It can be a long supply chain because this ship has a lot of new technologies. But all that makes it exciting.” Treanor is not new to large commands at sea. She’s served on the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65) and the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) through multiple deployments.
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“When you are deployed you are more internally focused,” said Treanor. “Right now we’re working with a lot of external organizations to make sure we get what we need. Once we pull away from the pier and are delivered to the Navy, then we own the operation fully. Then it is on us to make all of the procurements and receive all the material. Hopefully we can execute a lot of the changes and improvements in things that we want to do once we’re out of the delivery phase where they’re trying to complete the ship to specification.” On Enterprise, Treanor was responsible for services, where she ran all of the “human elements” – the barbershops, the feeding, and berthing. And as the principle assistant for logistics, her job was to make sure the ship had all the parts it needed to keep moving and the air wing flying to support mission operations.
SERVICE TO THE CREW One of the most tangible ways Treanor’s department “touches” everyone in the crew is through the popular Ship’s Store, the crew’s local “convenience store.”