Dear MEL Topic Readers,
The record-breaking trip of the USS Gerald Ford, the aircraft carrier
at the center of Trump’s military ambitions
Commissioned in 2017, the USS Gerald Ford is the lead ship of a new
class of U.S. Navy nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, and the flagship of Carrier
Strike Group 12. Loaded with more than 4,500 crew members and over 75 aircraft,
the 100,000-ton vessel is the world’s largest warship ever constructed. Departing
the Norfolk naval base last June, the USS Ford sailed to the Atlantic, Mediterranean,
North Sea, and then to the Caribbean. After helping capture then-Venezuelan
President Maduro in January, she was diverted to the Mediterranean and then to
the Red Sea to launch waves of aircraft to attack Iran. The carrier has already
been deployed for over 11 months, the longest for an aircraft carrier, and has experienced
considerable wear and tear. Also, keeping the morale of sailors and officers is
another challenge for such a long deployment. Captain Sage, a female Labrador retriever
therapy dog, has been on board the Ford since 2023, helping reduce stress and interrupting
detrimental behaviors of the crew. Even though the ship is the most advanced
and powerful in the world, such a long, uncertain deployment seems to be causing
crew members and their families significant mental stress and burden.
Read the article and learn about the behind-the-scenes of the
long-deployed mighty US aircraft carrier.
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