President Donald J. Trump commissioned the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) at a commissioning ceremony July 22.
A commissioning is a day of celebration, and honors the dedication, team work, and collaboration of Sailors, legislators, shipbuilders, program managers, and the ship's sponsor in delivering the ship to the fleet.
Trump landed on the flight deck in Marine One and was greeted by Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Acting Secretary of the Navy Sean Stackley, Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, and USS Gerald R. Ford Commanding Officer Capt. Rick McCormack.Over 10,000 friends and family members attended the event, watching the festivities from the hangar bay, the pier and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69).
Name | Hull number | Launched | Commissioned | Decommissioned | Homeport |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arleigh Burke | DDG-51 | 16 September 1989 | 4 July 1991 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
Barry | DDG-52 | 8 June 1991 | 12 December 1992 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
John Paul Jones | DDG-53 | 26 October 1991 | 18 December 1993 | San Diego, California | |
Curtis Wilbur | DDG-54 | 16 May 1992 | 19 March 1994 | Yokosuka, Japan | |
Stout | DDG-55 | 16 October 1992 | 13 August 1994 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
John S. McCain | DDG-56 | 26 September 1992 | 2 July 1994 | Yokosuka, Japan | |
Mitscher | DDG-57 | 7 May 1993 | 10 December 1994 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
Laboon | DDG-58 | 20 February 1993 | 18 March 1995 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
Russell | DDG-59 | 20 October 1993 | 20 May 1995 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii | |
Paul Hamilton | DDG-60 | 24 July 1993 | 27 May 1995 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii | |
Ramage | DDG-61 | 11 February 1994 | 22 July 1995 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
Fitzgerald | DDG-62 | 29 January 1994 | 14 October 1995 | Yokosuka, Japan | |
Stethem | DDG-63 | 17 July 1994 | 21 October 1995 | Yokosuka, Japan | |
Carney | DDG-64 | 23 July 1994 | 13 April 1996 | Rota, Spain | |
Benfold | DDG-65 | 9 November 1994 | 30 March 1996 | San Diego, California | |
Gonzalez | DDG-66 | 18 February 1995 | 12 October 1996 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
Cole | DDG-67 | 10 February 1995 | 8 June 1996 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
The Sullivans | DDG-68 | 12 August 1995 | 19 April 1997 | Mayport, Florida | |
Milius | DDG-69 | 1 August 1995 | 23 November 1996 | San Diego, California | |
Hopper | DDG-70 | 6 January 1996 | 6 September 1997 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii | |
Ross | DDG-71 | 22 March 1996 | 28 June 1997 | Rota, Spain | |
Mahan | DDG-72 | 29 June 1996 | 2 February 1998 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
Decatur | DDG-73 | 10 November 1996 | 29 August 1998 | San Diego, California | |
McFaul | DDG-74 | 18 January 1997 | 25 April 1998 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
Donald Cook | DDG-75 | 3 May 1997 | 4 December 1998 | Rota, Spain | |
Higgins | DDG-76 | 4 October 1997 | 24 April 1999 | San Diego, California | |
O'Kane | DDG-77 | 28 March 1998 | 23 October 1999 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii | |
Porter | DDG-78 | 12 November 1997 | 20 March 1999 | Rota, Spain | |
Oscar Austin | DDG-79 | 7 November 1998 | 19 August 2000 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
Roosevelt | DDG-80 | 10 January 1999 | 14 October 2000 | Mayport, Florida | |
Winston S. Churchill | DDG-81 | 17 April 1999 | 10 March 2001 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
Lassen | DDG-82 | 16 October 1999 | 21 April 2001 | Yokosuka, Japan | |
Howard | DDG-83 | 20 November 1999 | 20 October 2001 | San Diego, California | |
Bulkeley | DDG-84 | 21 June 2000 | 8 December 2001 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
McCampbell] | DDG-85 | 2 July 2000 | 17 August 2002 | Yokosuka, Japan | |
Shoup | DDG-86 | 22 November 2000 | 22 June 2002 | Everett, Washington | |
Mason | DDG-87 | 23 June 2001 | 12 April 2003 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
Preble | DDG-88 | 1 June 2001 | 9 November 2002 | San Diego, California | |
Mustin | DDG-89 | 12 December 2001 | 26 July 2003 | Yokosuka, Japan | |
Chafee | DDG-90 | 2 November 2002 | 18 October 2003 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii | |
Pinckney | DDG-91 | 26 June 2002 | 29 May 2004 | San Diego, California | |
Momsen | DDG-92 | 19 July 2003 | 18 September 2004 | Everett, Washington | |
Chung-Hoon | DDG-93 | 15 December 2002 | 18 September 2004 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii | |
Nitze | DDG-94 | 3 April 2004 | 5 March 2005 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
James E. Williams | DDG-95 | 25 June 2003 | 11 December 2004 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
Bainbridge | DDG-96 | 13 November 2004 | 12 November 2005 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
Halsey | DDG-97 | 9 January 2004 | 30 July 2005 | San Diego, California | |
Forrest Sherman | DDG-98 | 2 October 2004 | 28 January 2006 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
Farragut | DDG-99 | 23 July 2005 | 10 June 2006 | Mayport, Florida | |
Kidd | DDG-100 | 22 January 2005 | 9 June 2007 | San Diego, California | |
Gridley | DDG-101 | 28 December 2005 | 10 February 2007 | San Diego, California | |
Sampson | DDG-102 | 16 September 2006 | 3 November 2007 | San Diego, California | |
Truxtun | DDG-103 | 2 June 2007 | 25 April 2009 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
Sterett | DDG-104 | 19 May 2007 | 9 August 2008 | San Diego, California | |
Dewey | DDG-105 | 26 January 2008 | 6 March 2010 | San Diego, California | |
Stockdale | DDG-106 | 10 May 2008 | 18 April 2009 | San Diego, California | |
Gravely | DDG-107 | 30 March 2009 | 20 November 2010 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
Wayne E. Meyer | DDG-108 | 18 October 2008 | 10 October 2009 | San Diego, California | |
Jason Dunham | DDG-109 | 1 August 2009 | 13 November 2010 | Norfolk, Virginia | |
William P. Lawrence | DDG-110 | 15 December 2009 | 4 June 2011 | San Diego, California | |
Spruance | DDG-111 | 6 June 2010 | 1 October 2011 | San Diego, California | |
Michael Murphy | DDG-112 | 7 May 2011 | 6 October 2012 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii | |
John Finn | DDG-113 | 28 March 2015 | 15 July 2017 | San Diego, California | |
Ralph Johnson | DDG-114 | 12 December 2015 | 24 March 2018 | Everett, Washington | |
Rafael Peralta | DDG-115 | 1 November 2015 | 29 July 2017 | San Diego, California | |
Thomas Hudner | DDG-116 | 23 April 2017 | 1 December 2018 | Mayport, Florida | |
Paul Ignatius | DDG-117 | 12 November 2016 | 27 July 2019 | Mayport, Florida | |
Daniel Inouye | DDG-118 | Pearl Harbor, Hawaii | |||
Delbert D. Black | DDG-119 | 8 September 2017 | |||
Carl M. Levin | DDG-120 | ||||
Frank E. Petersen Jr. | DDG-121 | 13 July 2018 | |||
John Basilone | DDG-122 | ||||
Lenah H. Sutcliffe Higbee | DDG-123 | ||||
Harvey C. Barnum Jr. | DDG-124 | ||||
Jack H. Lucas | DDG-125 | ||||
Louis H. Wilson, Jr. | DDG-126 | ||||
Patr | DDG-127 | ||||
Ted Stevens | DDG-128 | ||||
Jeremiah Denton | DDG-129 | ||||
William Charette | DDG-130 | ||||
George M. Neal | DDG-131 | ||||
Quentin Walsh | DDG-132 | ||||
Sam Nunn | DDG-133 |
NAME | NUMBER | LAUNCHED | COMMISSIONED |
---|---|---|---|
USS San Antonio | LPD 17 | 12 July 2003 | 14 January 2006 |
USS New Orleans | LPD 18 | 11 December 2004 | 10 March 2004 |
USS Mesa Verde | LPD 19 | 19 November 2004 | 15 December 2007 |
USS Green Bay | LPD 20 | 11 August 2006 | 24 January 2009 |
USS New York | LPD 21 | 19 December 2007 | 7 November 2009 |
USS San Diego | LPD 22 | 7 May 2010 | 23 December 2011 |
USS Anchorage | LPD 23 | 12 February 2011 | 4 May 2013 |
USS Arlington | LPD 24 | 23 November 2011 | 8 February 2013 |
USS Somerset | LPD 25 | 14 April 2012 | 1 March 2014 |
USS John P. Murtha | LPD 26 | 30 October 2014 | 8 October 2016 |
USS Portland | LPD 27 | 13 February 2016 | |
LPD 28 |
NAME | NUMBER | LAUNCHED | COMMISSIONED |
---|---|---|---|
Wasp | LHD 1 | 4 August 1987 | 29 July 1989 |
Essex | LHD 2 | 23 February 1991 | 17 October 1992 |
Kearsarge | LHD 3 | 16 May 1992 | 16 October 1993 |
Boxer | LHD 4 | 28 August 1993 | 11 February 1995 |
Bataan | LHD 5 | 18 May 1996 | 20 September 1997 |
Bonhomme Richard | LHD 6 | 14 March 1997 | 15 August 1998 |
Iwo Jima | LHD 7 | 25 March 2000 | 30 June 2001 |
Makin Island | LHD 8 | 22 September 2006 | 24 October 2009 |
The future USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) returned from Builder's Sea Trials to Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia on April 14 after seven days at sea.
During this initial at-sea period, Ford's crew, representatives from Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding, the Navy's CVN 78 Program Office, the Navy's Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair and various technical subject matter experts demonstrated many of the ship's capabilities including tracking aircraft using the Dual Band Radar, conducting "no load" cycles using the new electromagnetic aircraft launch system (EMALS) and small boat operations.
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency, the Japan Ministry of Defense and U.S. Navy successfully used a ship-launched Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) Block IIA to intercept a medium-range ballistic missile target for the first time on Friday night in Hawaii.
In the Feb. 3 test, conducted at about 10:30 p.m. Hawaii Standard Time (3:30 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, Feb. 4), a target was launched from the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Kauai, according to a MDA statement. USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53) detected and tracked the target missile with its AN/SPY-1D(V) radar and Aegis Combat System Baseline 9.C2 system. The ship fired a SM-3 Block IIA – being jointly developed by the U.S. and Japan – and intercepted the target.
Source: USNI News
The aircraft carrier, USS Enterprise (CVN 65), was decommissioned during a ceremony held in the ship's hangar bay, Feb. 3.
The ceremony not only marked the end the ship's nearly 55-year career, it also served as the very first decommissioning of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier.
Capt. Todd Beltz, commanding officer of the Enterprise, addressed the ship's company, former commanding officers and distinguished visitors and spoke of where the true spirit of "The Big E" comes from.