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| USS RONALD REAGAN ENTERING HOMEPORT SAN DIEGO |
HONORING AMERICA’S MILITARY
PROFESSIONALS ONE BLOGPOST AT A TIME
ABOUT THE USS RONALD REAGAN-- By MC1(SW) James
Green.
As one of the world’s
largest warships, the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76), is
a Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier and one of only ten operational
aircraft carriers in the Navy today.
Named
in honor of former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, the carrier is longer than 3
football fields, at nearly 1,100 feet long and is 252 feet wide and weighs more
than 100,000 tons. Two nuclear reactors can push the ship through the water at
nearly 35 mph.
Sailors’
jobs are highly varied aboard USS Ronald Reagan. Nearly 3,000 men and women
make up the ship’s company, which keeps all parts of the aircraft carrier
running smoothly — this includes everything from washing dishes and preparing
meals to handling weaponry and maintaining the nuclear reactors. Another 2,000
or so form the air wing, the people who actually fly and maintain the aircraft.
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| Captain Christopher Bolt USN, Commanding Officer USS Ronald Reagan |
“I
never cease to be impressed with the type and quality of work that goes on
aboard the carrier each day,” said Captain Christopher E. Bolt, the carrier’s
commanding officer. “Our team is filled with highly qualified young adults – in
many cases, 19 and 20 years old – and they’re out here launching and recovering
aircraft, running a complex propulsion system safely, serving as air traffic
controllers, operating sophisticated electronics, and keeping this floating
city alive and functioning.
“Their
work ethic, enthusiasm, and esprit de corps are second to none. If you pick up
a newspaper in any city and examine what other 19- and 20-year-olds are doing,
there is no comparison to the level of responsibility our Sailors hold. That
caliber of Sailor is what has earned us the title of America’s Flagship,” said
Captain Bolt.
USS
Ronald Reagan is also a self-sustaining, mobile airport and, like each of the
Navy’s aircraft carriers, is designed for a 50-year service life. While
underway, the ship carries more than 70 jets, helicopters and other aircraft,
all of which take off from and land on the carrier’s 4.5-acre flight deck. Four
powerful catapults launch aircraft off the bow of the ship. After lowering a
tail hook that protrudes from the rear of the aircraft, jets and aircraft land
by snagging a steel cable called an arresting wire.
After
an extended maintenance period spent pier side in San Diego, USS Ronald Reagan
is preparing for its move to Japan, as part of the first ever three-hull
aircraft carrier crew and hull swap. It will replace USS George Washington in
Japan and become part of the U.S. 7th Fleet forward-deployed naval forces
(FDNF) in Yokosuka, Japan. As part of this rebalance strategy to increase the
Navy’s presence in the Pacific Fleet, USS Theodore Roosevelt will move from
Norfolk, Va., to San Diego.
In
2008, George Washington was the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier sent to
Japan as part of the FDNF. Maintaining a FDNF capability supports the United
States’ commitment to the defense of Japan and the security and stability of
the vital Indo-Asia-Pacific region.
SAN DIEGANS ABOARD THE GIPPER:
--Airman Caitlyn Sweat is also aboard the USS Reagan. This 2012 grad of San Diego’s Grace Christian Charter school, she is an aviation ordnanceman. “My job is the building and maintaining of ordnance,” said Sweat.
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| Caitlyn Sweat |
A 2013 El Capitan graduate and San
Diego native, she is responsible
for launching aircraft off of the ship.
--
Petty Officer 3rd Class Maria Bailey
is a hospital corpsman. She is 2004
Kinnick High School graduate and San Diego, California native serving aboard
the USS Reagan. “My job is to assist the doctors with operations, and take care
of the patients after the operations,” said Bailey.
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