LAKELAND, Fla. – Lakeland’s own Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 2nd Class Jynishia Hines. Hines directs an F/A-18E Super Hornet attached to the “Gladiators” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 106 onto catapult two on USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) flight deck during flight operations, Nov. 1, 2020. Ford is underway in the Atlantic Ocean conducting carrier qualifications.
USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN-78) is the lead ship of her class of United States Navy aircraft carriers. The ship is named after the 38th President of the United States, Gerald Ford, whose World War II naval service included combat duty aboard the light aircraft carrier Monterey in the Pacific Theater.
Construction began on 11 August 2005, when Northrop Grumman held a ceremonial steel cut for a 15-ton plate that forms part of a side shell unit of the carrier. The keel of Gerald R. Ford was laid down on 13 November 2009.
She was christened on 9 November 2013. Gerald R. Ford entered the fleet replacing the decommissioned USS Enterprise (CVN-65), which ended her 51 years of active service in December 2012. Originally scheduled for delivery in 2015, Gerald R. Ford was delivered to the Navy on May 31, 2017 and formally commissioned by President Donald Trump on July 22, 2017.
We thank you for your service Jynishia.