USS Gerald R. Ford Arrives in Oslo, Norway
Courtesy Story, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) Public Affairs
OSLO, Norway (September 12, 2025) – The first-in-class aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), currently deployed in the U.S. European Command area of responsibility, arrived in Oslo, Norway, for a scheduled port visit, September 12, 2025.
Prior to its arrival in Oslo, Gerald R. Ford operated in the North and Norwegian Seas, while Gerald R. Ford Carrier Strike Group Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Mahan (DDG 72) and USS Bainbridge (DDG 96) conducted combined operations in the Arctic Circle with the Royal Norwegian Navy’s Fridtjof Nansen-class frigate HNoMS Thor Heyerdahl (F 314) and replenishment oiler...
The world's largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), front, sails in formation with Royal Danish Navy Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate Niels Jeul (F363), second, the French Navy Aquitaine-class frigate FS Bretagne (D655), third, and the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers USS Mahan (DDG 72) and USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81), fourth and fifth respectively, Sept. 24, 2025. Gerald R. Ford is participating in NATO’s Neptune Strike enhanced vigilance activity that facilitates combined maritime integration and demonstrates the force’s resolve and readiness to defend and protect Allied nations’ security and peace using Allied high-end capability assets. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Third Class Gladjimi Balisage)
F/A-18F Super Hornets, attached to Strike Fighter Squadron 213 and embarked aboard the world's largest aircraft carrier, USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78), participate in Neptune Strike 25-3, Sept. 22, 2025. Gerald R. Ford is participating in NATO’s Neptune Strike enhanced vigilance activity that facilitates combined maritime integration and demonstrates the force’s resolve and readiness to defend and protect Allied nations’ security and peace using Allied high-end capability assets. (U.S. Navy Courtesy video)
CAPT Rick Burgess, a native of Bellevue, WA, graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and was designated a Naval Flight Officer in 1998.
Operational assignments include tours with Fighter Squadron (VF) 31, USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72); Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 102, USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63); and two tours with VFA-103, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) and USS George Washington (CVN 73).
Shore assignments include service as Action Officer in the House Liaison Office, Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA); TOPGUN Instructor with Navy Fighter Weapons School; Strike Fighter Placement Officer (PERS-433B) with Navy Personnel Command (NPC); Branch Chief, Global Missile Defense...
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...
