Throughout USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) Planned Incremental Availability (PIA), Sailors and Huntington Ingalls shipbuilders have modernized and performed maintenance on equipment that will keep Ford at the forefront of naval aviation as the crew prepares to take the ship back to sea.
One department that is ready to take advantage of operating at sea using a new system is the navigation department. They will be using the Navy’s newest method of navigation, the Voyage Management System (VMS).
“From navigating by the stars to paper charts and now using VMS, a completely electronic, state-of-the-art system on a first-in-class ship, it is an exciting time to be a quartermaster,” said Chief Quartermaster Levi Osmondson, navigation department’s leading chief petty officer from Abbotsford, Wisconsin. “It took a good bit of training on the system and days in the simulator to earn our qualifications, but the team was certified and proved their readiness to take us to sea safely.”
In addition to the newly installed VMS, navigation recently welcomed a new member of their leadership triad. Lt. Cmdr. Taylor Lang, from Clay, Alabama, a naval aviator and helicopter pilot, reported as Ford’s assistant navigator just last month.
“As an aviator, it is great to join the Navy’s newest aircraft carrier as the ship is about to complete its last maintenance period and prepare to launch and recover aircraft during its first deployment,” said Lang.
Lang joined the navigation leadership team as the department was finishing up a two week training cycle and assessment at the Navy Ship Simulation Training (NSST) center.
“It was impressive to be part of training at NNST with this hard-working group of Sailors,” said Lang. “Even as a new member of the team, we were a tight-knit group working toward a shared mission. I really enjoyed the teamwork.”
Ford is completing a six-month PIA prior to scheduled operations to return to sea and begin the basic training phase, leveraging the numerous equipment and system upgrades completed during PIA.
“I am absolutely looking forward to taking the ship out for its first underway following this maintenance period and carrying out our nation’s business,” said Lang.