Ford Reflects on 2020 Milestones, Accomplishments
By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Shanell Lawrence
USS Gerald R. Ford Public Affairs
NORFOLK, Va. — As the new year begins, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) and her crew reflect on the achievements, milestones, unexpected events, and the ways they conquered them during 2020 before looking to the year ahead.
During eight independent steaming events Ford steamed (and fast cruised) for nearly 200 days, completed 5,652 catapult launches and arrested landings (traps), sailed 35,959 miles, and broke records for number of traps in one day (170), consecutive days steaming (33) and miles steamed in one underway (10,069).
Ford and her crew started these successes by achieving a...
Capt. John J. Cummings and Command Master Chief De'andre Beaufort USS Gerald R Ford's (CVN 78) commanding officer and command master chief make time during post-delivery test and trials operations to send holiday greeting to their crew and their families back home. Ford is underway in the Atlantic Ocean conducting carrier qualifications. (U.S. Navy video courtesy of USS Gerald R Ford Public Affairs)
Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United States, was born July 14, 1913, in Omaha, NE. The future President grew up in a close-knit family, excelled scholastically and athletically at South High School in Grand Rapids, and achieved the rank of Eagle Scout in November 1927.
Ford attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he majored in economics and political science. An extremely gifted athlete, FORD was voted the Wolverine’s most valuable player in 1934, with opportunities to play professional football.
Ford chose the legal profession over a professional football career, graduating with a law degree from Yale in 1941. After the United States entered the war during World War II, Ford received a commission...
