NORFOLK, Va. — The USS Gerald R. Ford is the world’s largest aircraft carrier and the lead ship in the new Ford-Class.
It also marked a surge in the number of personnel on board this first-in-class carrier, which is the first new carrier design in more than 40 years.
“We're testing it beyond what limits we've tested before. This ship has just shown true through the whole time,” said Scott Vander Hamm Jr., an E3 Airman.
The USS Gerald R. Ford holds thousands of Sailors and when it’s deployed, Vander Hamm said crewmen work long hours.
“For my division, we usually do about 12, 13, [or] 14-hour shifts, seven days a week. We are working all the time, every day to make sure this ship is running and that every evolution is completed,” he said.
While we hear a lot about maintenance and operations, News 3 Anchor Erin Miller wanted to know what it's like to live on an aircraft carrier, so Vander Hamm showed her around.
She said it felt like a maze with narrow ladders and small passageways. Without a guide, she said she would have been lost.
When it comes to the berthing quarters, Vander Hamm said, “It's about a three-by-six-foot space where six people use triple bunk beds. So, [if you’re on the bottom] you have two people sleeping above you [because] they're stacked, and six people have to get up in the morning and kind of rotate to get dressed.”
Vander Hamm also said most Sailors bring mattress toppers to cushion what's given to them by the Navy.
The Ford also has two conglomerate galleys, which is a new approach to feeding the thousands on board.
According to the Navy, “one centralized galley aft serves meals to the crew, chiefs, and officers from three adjacent sides; and the forward galley serves officers on one side and air crew on the other. The forward galley is only manned when the air wing is on board, as their additional Culinary Specialist are required for proper manning. Serving multiple lines from one galley ensures consistency throughout the meal, because all of the meal products are coming from the same source and the same cooks. It also elevates the quality of meals for the entire crew and discourages special meals for different messes.”
The galleys are not the only way for Sailors to grab an extra treat.
“I'd say probably some of the things I wasn't expecting would definitely be the convenience store. I knew that we ate, but I didn't know that we could, you know, have a Navy cash card and actually pay for that on the ship while we're out to sea."
Sailors can also keep their fitness up while out at sea as there are several gyms on board, giving service members an opportunity to blow off some steam.
“You can actually work out the hangar bay, so in one hangar bay [you’ll have] jets doing their whole evolutions with their engine run ups and you're on the other side working out,” he said.
Vander Hamm said it’s important to have an outlet because the job can be heavy.
“It’s a very high-stress job no matter what you're doing: If you're pushing papers or you're lowering yourself or squatting beneath a jet engine that's currently powered on. Like, there's a lot of very risky stuff that happens,” he said.
Along with the risk is the opportunity to see the world, which draws many people to the opportunity to join the Navy.
“I firmly believe that everything I've gone through, I can take something positive from it,” said Vander Hamm.
The Ford is currently underway on its first global deployment.
