WEBVTT

00:00.957 --> 00:03.374
(calm music)

00:12.920 --> 00:16.090
- [Narrator] USS Gerald R Ford CVN-78

00:16.090 --> 00:18.680
is a first-in-class aircraft carrier

00:18.680 --> 00:20.550
and the first new aircraft carrier

00:20.550 --> 00:23.610
designed in more than 40 years.

00:23.610 --> 00:25.850
Ford has been underway
in the Atlantic Ocean

00:25.850 --> 00:28.103
conducting carrier qualifications.

00:29.480 --> 00:32.730
During a two day period,
F/A-18 Super Hornet

00:32.730 --> 00:34.690
to cross four different squadrons

00:34.690 --> 00:36.960
assigned to Carrier Air Wing EIGHT

00:36.960 --> 00:41.960
conducted 123 day and 42
night catapults and traps

00:42.120 --> 00:44.200
aboard Ford in order to complete

00:44.200 --> 00:46.193
its flight deck certification.

00:47.745 --> 00:48.980
- [Cmdr. Mehdi Akacem]
The CQ evolution here

00:48.980 --> 00:51.060
is a two day process for them.

00:51.060 --> 00:53.010
But it's built on months and months

00:53.010 --> 00:54.680
and frankly years of
training and hard work

00:54.680 --> 00:57.380
by those SNAs and their
instructors to get them there.

00:58.480 --> 00:59.670
- [Narrator] Ford also earned

00:59.670 --> 01:03.170
its Carrier Air Traffic
Control Center Certification,

01:03.170 --> 01:05.190
which rained in concert with flight deck

01:05.190 --> 01:07.870
certification during the underway.

01:07.870 --> 01:10.840
The carrier air traffic
control center certification

01:10.840 --> 01:13.576
tested the ability of Ford's
air traffic controllers

01:13.576 --> 01:16.650
to successfully guide pilots
through nine operations

01:16.650 --> 01:18.223
and in foul weather conditions.

01:23.377 --> 01:24.250
- [AC1 Scott Torres]
There's a lot of teamwork

01:24.250 --> 01:26.250
and coordination involved
in tracking aircraft

01:26.250 --> 01:27.830
55 seconds apart.

01:27.830 --> 01:29.850
We split work load.

01:29.850 --> 01:32.230
There are multiple approach controllers

01:32.230 --> 01:33.370
and final controllers that may be

01:33.370 --> 01:35.250
talking to aircraft at once,

01:35.250 --> 01:38.323
that helps alleviate frequency congestion.

01:42.430 --> 01:43.640
- [Narrator] In addition to receiving

01:43.640 --> 01:46.770
flight deck and air traffic
control certifications,

01:46.770 --> 01:49.883
Ford accomplished its first
vertical replenishment.

01:52.870 --> 01:55.980
Working alongside USNS Joshua Humphreys

01:55.980 --> 01:56.813
and with the

01:56.813 --> 01:59.770
Tridents of Helicopter
Sea Combat Squadron Nine,

01:59.770 --> 02:03.570
the Ford received 77 pallets
of food and dried goods

02:03.570 --> 02:05.983
in just over four and a half hours.

02:09.953 --> 02:11.170
- [CSC Moses Brathwaite]
Safety is always paramount

02:11.170 --> 02:12.570
when we're doing bird reps.

02:12.570 --> 02:14.010
You know, making sure that we have

02:14.010 --> 02:15.840
critical people in those key positions

02:15.840 --> 02:18.840
to kind of mitigate people
who are walking through

02:18.840 --> 02:20.570
a bird rep or in front of a fork lift

02:20.570 --> 02:22.320
or something else while it happens.

02:23.940 --> 02:25.630
- [Narrator] To maintain Ford's status

02:25.630 --> 02:28.360
as a lethal first-in-class warship,

02:28.360 --> 02:29.887
combat systems perform tests

02:29.887 --> 02:33.223
designed to stress the
ship's combat capabilities.

02:35.340 --> 02:37.980
Ford completed sea based
developmental testing

02:37.980 --> 02:40.270
of vital combat systems.

02:40.270 --> 02:42.130
The testing was conducted with Keeper

02:42.130 --> 02:43.936
and Hawker Hunter jet aircraft from

02:43.936 --> 02:46.820
the Airborne Tactical Advantage Company.

02:46.820 --> 02:48.560
Ship's crew tracked the aircraft

02:48.560 --> 02:50.833
using Ford's dual band radar.

02:52.150 --> 02:52.983
- [FC2 Anthony Anadon]
On a divisional level

02:52.983 --> 02:53.990
with the weapon posture

02:53.990 --> 02:57.370
we had to coordinate
ourselves appropriately

02:57.370 --> 02:59.035
in a very time critical fashion.

02:59.035 --> 03:01.860
It's takes a competent,
qualified fire controlman

03:01.860 --> 03:03.408
to be able to go up,

03:03.408 --> 03:05.702
get everything he needs from CDC,

03:05.702 --> 03:07.610
and then go over to his mount,

03:07.610 --> 03:09.010
get his mount ready to fire.

03:11.292 --> 03:12.125
- [Narrator] For was awarded

03:12.125 --> 03:14.550
the Carrier Maintenance Efficiency Award

03:14.550 --> 03:17.603
from Commander Naval
Air Forces, March 9th.

03:19.170 --> 03:21.480
The Carrier Maintenance Efficiency Award

03:21.480 --> 03:24.441
is awarded to ships that
surpass the maintenance standard

03:24.441 --> 03:27.733
in nine different maintenance categories.

03:31.550 --> 03:33.324
On March 15th, Ford conducted

03:33.324 --> 03:36.130
an inaugural anchoring evolution.

03:36.130 --> 03:38.980
It was the first time Ford
conducted an evolution

03:38.980 --> 03:40.713
using it's port-side anchor.

03:43.960 --> 03:45.630
The successful port anchoring

03:45.630 --> 03:47.360
allows for greater flexibility

03:47.360 --> 03:50.240
in future sea and anchoring evolutions

03:50.240 --> 03:52.410
accommodating various sea conditions

03:52.410 --> 03:54.323
with additional maneuverability.

03:58.020 --> 03:59.224
- [BM1 Alexa Marci] Between your PUIC,

03:59.224 --> 04:02.416
your rigors, handling the chain stoppers,

04:02.416 --> 04:05.736
your brakemen, your controlmen.

04:05.736 --> 04:09.580
All around team work for
everybody in Deck Department

04:09.580 --> 04:11.217
for a successful evolution.

04:15.100 --> 04:16.090
- [Narrator] And finally,

04:16.090 --> 04:18.050
Ford achieved an important milestone

04:18.050 --> 04:20.350
in the ship's history, March 19th,

04:20.350 --> 04:23.870
when an F/A-18 Hornet
attached to the blue blasters

04:23.870 --> 04:26.090
of Strike Fighter Squadron 34,

04:26.090 --> 04:27.980
landed aboard Ford's flight deck

04:27.980 --> 04:31.483
marking the 1000th recovery
of a fixed wing aircraft.

04:34.760 --> 04:39.553
Ford's first recovery
occurred July 28th, 2017.

04:43.773 --> 04:45.970
- [ADM1 Jawan Murray]
Man hours? Countless.

04:45.970 --> 04:48.250
Everybody puts in the
work, puts in their share,

04:48.250 --> 04:50.180
pull their load, and
that's how we were able

04:50.180 --> 04:51.467
to get the thousand,
the two thousand strap.

04:51.467 --> 04:53.920
And to be able to show other carrier's

04:53.920 --> 04:55.687
and big Navy that Gerald R. Ford

04:55.687 --> 04:57.837
can on the fleet and
do what we need to do.

05:05.783 --> 05:08.700
(heavy beat music)