V-3 brings the most advanced hangar into the fleet

Photo By Petty Officer 2nd Class Elizabeth Thompson | ATLANTIC OCEAN (Jan. 24, 2018) -- Aviation Boatswain's Mate 3rd Class Renardo Blackford, of Bronx, New York, assigned to USS Gerald R. Ford's (CVN 78) air department, stands by to load the trainer F/A-18 Hornet onto an aircraft elevator. Ford is underway conducting test and evaluation operations. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Liz Thompson)  

AT SEA

10.23.2017

Story by Seaman Apprentice Joshua Murray 

USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78)           

Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 1st Class David Gore, V-3’s hangar deck leading petty officer, said the division must demonstrate that they can handle everything in Ford’s hangar bay, from fighting fires to moving $50 million aircraft wherever they need to be, and all the equipment used to accomplish their mission.

“We need to be able to effectively perform damage control and fight aircraft and fueling station fires, as well as receive and park aircraft from the flight deck and send them back up, and work together with other divisions to get it done,” said Gore.

According to Chief Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Christopher Yaseck, Ford’s hangar deck chief petty officer, the key to success in the upcoming certification process is ensuring that each Sailor, from chief to airman, knows his or her job.

“We have a lot of new, high-tech systems to get the crew certified on,” said Yaseck. “We’ve all put in really hard work getting everything ready and getting everyone trained and qualified to operate with these new systems, and we’re ready to do our job.”

The new hangar deck of the Ford-class carrier is different from the older Nimitz-class in several ways. The hangar deck is now divided into two bays instead of three, and has only three aircraft elevators, as opposed to the four found on a Nimitz carrier. A single consolidated hangar bay control and monitoring system has also replaced the separate conflagration watch stations. These changes, according to Lt. Cmdr. Jaime Roman, Ford’s aircraft handling officer, require less maintenance and fewer personnel, allowing Sailors to direct their time and efforts more efficiently.

“A lot of us junior guys have been here since we were in the shipyards, and for some of us it’s the first time we’ve been able to put a lot of our skills into practice,” said Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handing) 3rd Class Susan Williams. “Since we first got underway, the leap in knowledge and skill has been tremendous.”

As ISE 3 approaches, the Sailors of V-3 must train to certify the ship to fulfill its primary purpose, fixed-wing flight operations.

“Flight deck certification for us is a really critical point to make sure the ship can perform as designed, and complete the mission it was built for,” said Yaseck.

Gore said V-3’s Sailors have been continuously studying and training to know their role in hangar deck operations.

“I’m very confident our junior guys can handle this,” said Gore. “They’ve done a lot of drills and practices, and practice makes perfect. We need these certifications to become an operational carrier in the fleet, and they’re ready to get us there.”

• Date Taken: 10.23.2017
• Date Posted: 11.13.2017 10:30
• Story ID: 255108
• Location: AT SEA