Commissioning of USS Gerald R Ford (CVN 78) Aircraft Carrier Brings Great Advances to U.S. Navy
After an 11-year journey, the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier was officially commissioned into the U.S. Navy on July 22, 2017 in Norfolk, Virginia. Susan Ford Bales, daughter of President Ford and long-time Bosque School board member, was the official sponsor of the vessel. She was given the honor of calling the crew to action with the traditional command, “Man our ship and bring her to life!” as “Anchors Aweigh” played with great fanfare.
“There is no one, absolutely no one, who would be prouder of the commissioning of this mighty ship than the President of the United States, Gerald R. Ford,” said Bales. President Ford was a Navy lieutenant commander during World War II. He spent time in the South Pacific on a vessel very different from the freshly launched Ford (CVN 78) class carrier. New design elements boast 250% more electrical power, two next generation nuclear reactors, roomier decks and more comfortable lodging for crew, as well as electromagnetic catapults and arresting gear for launching aircraft. It has the most advanced technological systems in the U.S. Navy and has been christened, “The future of naval propulsion and naval aviation.”
Courtesy of Huntington Ingalls Industries
The ship also bears numerous symbolic references to President Ford’s life within its crest. “Integrity at the Helm” is the Ford Foundation motto, which also highlights the Navy’s core values. A fleur-de-lis points true north on the compass, referencing Ford’s Eagle Scout rank in the Boy Scouts. The 38 stars surrounding the emblem represent his tenure as the 38th President of the United States, 26 of which are a different color to denote his time stationed aboard USS Monterey (CVL 26) during World War II. Additionally, the crest’s colors include blue and maize for Ford’s undergraduate alma mater, the University of Michigan.
A total of 10 Ford class carriers are expected to launch through 2058, leaving a lasting legacy for the steady champion of the U.S. Navy. In a 2006 letter to Navy Secretary Donald Winter, President Ford wrote, “It is a source of boundless pride and humility to know...my name may be forever connected with the valor and patriotism of the men and women of the United States Navy.” President Ford was notably also the first to appoint women to the U.S. Naval Academy in 1976.
Since the commissioning, the carrier has successfully caught and re-launched an F/A-18 Super Hornet, which validates the burgeoning advancements in the electromagnetic arresting systems onboard. The ship employs 2,600 sailors, 600 less than the previous Nimitz Class carriers, which will save more than $4 billion over the ship's 50-year lifespan according to the Associated Press.
“As a World War II veteran, I yield to no one in my admiration for the heroes of Omaha Beach and the heroes of Iwo Jima,” wrote President Ford in his letter to Secretary Winter. “But, at the same time, I take enormous inspiration from their grandsons and granddaughters who are writing heroic new chapters around the globe.”
President Gerald R. Ford, Betty Ford, daughter Susan Ford Bales, and granddaughter Heather Vance, Class of 2001, were integral to Bosque School’s early success and growth. President Ford spoke at Bosque’s first Capital Campaign event in 1999, which raised over $1 million to begin building the permanent campus. The school’s library, the Gerald and Betty Ford Library, was named after the Fords through a $500,000 donation from Bill Daniels in 2000. It is the only building in the world that has both the President’s and Betty Ford’s names on it. The library opened in 2000 as one of the first buildings built on the Bosque campus.
In addition, The President Gerald R. Ford Character Award is given to a graduating senior who demonstrates outstanding character traits throughout his or her high school career. The award honors the legacy of Gerald R. Ford, who “followed his conscience despite political cost.”
Images and crest courtesy of Gerald R Ford Foundation