Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Jackson Adkins | Hon. Sandra Alzate, Colombia’s Vice Minister for Defense and Security Policies,...... read more read more
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The Hon. Sandra Alzate, Colombia’s Vice Minister of Defence (MOD) and members of her staff and the Colombian armed forces, visited the first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), March 4, 2022 as part of an Allied Command Transformation /North Atlantic Treaty Organization (ACT/NATO) sponsored visit to Norfolk, Va.
The visit to ford served as an opportunity for Capt. Paul Lanzilotta, Ford’s commanding officer, and the command’s leadership to provide Alzate and her staff a baseline understanding of U.S. Naval Aviation, and Ford-class carriers.
Alzate was provided with a tour of the ship that highlighted Ford’s advanced technologies and other ship-wide improvements to include the conglomerate galley, ready room design, enlisted berthing quarters, and flight deck design.
During the tour Lanzilotta remarked, “Integrity at the helm is the ship’s motto and one of Gerald R. Ford’s hallmark qualities. Some of the things that he did during his career were marked by very difficult decisions. I use his legacy of public service as personal inspiration for myself when thinking about my responsibility to this great country.”
Senior Chief Culinary Specialist Kenyatta Poré, from Detroit, assigned to Ford’s supply department, gave a brief on Ford’s conglomerate galley design and improved systems.
“There are a few major upgrades from the galley on a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier, to the conglomerate galley here on the Ford,” said Poré. “First, one centralized aft galley serves meals to the enlisted crew, chiefs and officers alike. We also have combination ovens that can roast, steam, poach, bake and grill, allowing us to produce more with less equipment. Lastly, we are supported by pallet-capable stores elevators which allows us to easily break out, frozen, chilled and dry stores with a smaller team.”
Ford’s Command Master Chief Bryan Davis briefed the official party on the design changes made to Ford’s berthing quarters, noting that the improvements drastically affect the quality of life for Ford Sailors.
“We have significantly smaller berthing; we no longer have Sailors in 250-person spaces,” said Davis. “We are now at an average berthing size of about 48 people. Also, we now have bathrooms and shower rooms inside of the berthing which allows us to configure the space according to which gender will live there.”
Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Jones, Ford’s aircraft handling officer, briefed the official party on flight operations, flight deck design, the electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS), advanced arresting gear (AAG), and island placement.
“The island is smaller and located further aft on the flight deck which gives us more real estate mid-ship to maneuver aircraft,” said Jones. “Our in-deck refueling stations give us the opportunity to turn around aircraft and get them back into the fight. We have state of the art advanced weapons elevators onboard, which gets rid of the need for a bomb farm on the flight deck which is safer and allows us to move ordnance up and down more efficiently from the magazines.”
This was the Vice Minister’s first visit to a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier and she said that her team’s time spent onboard was a tremendous experience.
“It is a wonderful accomplishment of science. I was extremely impressed by the crew and their knowledge of all the technology incorporated on the ship,” said Alzate. “It’s like a floating city on the ocean. It’s amazing to see the functionality of day-to-day operations. The ship truly supports a sponsorship of democracy, ensuring that a sense of balance can be found for U.S. allies around the world.”
For more news from USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), visit www.dvidshub.net/unit/CVN78
| Date Taken: | 03.04.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.10.2022 07:57 |
| Story ID: | 416164 |
| Location: | VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 230 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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