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Beech Grove native proudly serves aboard floating airport at sea

3/28/2018

1 Comment

 
Picture
U.S. NAVY PHOTO Two nuclear reactors can propel the USS George H.W. Bush through the water at more than 35 mph.
PictureMikaela Davis
By Tom Gagnier
Navy mass communication specialist first class

Simply put, Petty Officer 3rd Class Mikaela Davis lives on a floating airport that measures nearly 1,100 feet in length, weighs more than 100,000 tons and has a flight deck that is 252 feet wide. Two nuclear reactors can push the ship through the water at more than 35 mph.

A 2014 graduate of Beech Grove High School, Davis serves in the Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.

A master-at-arms, Davis is responsible for the safety and security of the ship and the crew.
“We travel a lot and have visited several countries,” she said. “The ship is so big, you meet a lot of different people.” 
​
Powerful catapults slingshot the aircraft off the bow of the ship. The planes land aboard the carrier by snagging a steel cable with an arresting hook that protrudes from the rear of the aircraft. 

As a sailor with numerous responsibilities, Davis learns about life at sea serving in the Navy and the importance of taking personal responsibility while leading others while still using lessons learned from their hometown.  

“My parents taught me respect,” she said. “Even if you think you’re right about something, be respectful.”
 
Sailors’ jobs are highly varied aboard the carrier. Approximately 3,200 men and women keep all parts of the aircraft carrier running smoothly – including everything from washing dishes and preparing meals to handling weaponry and maintaining the nuclear reactors. Another 2,500 men and women form the air wing, which is responsible for flying and maintaining more than 70 aircraft aboard the ship. 

When the air wing is embarked, the ship carries more than 70 attack jets, helicopters and other aircraft, all of which take off from and land aboard the carrier at sea.

All of this makes the George H.W. Bush a self-contained mobile airport and strike platform, and often the first response to a global crisis because of a carrier’s ability to operate freely in international waters anywhere on the world’s oceans.

“I earned three warfare qualifications at this command,” said Davis. “I have tougher skin from taking on challenging assignments,  and I’m able to work more efficiently, with better focus since joining the Navy.”

1 Comment
BOB ROHRBERG
3/30/2018 08:33:58 am

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMITMENT, YOU ROCK ...

Reply



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