NORFOLK, Va. _ The aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford came to life Saturday in a commissioning ceremony at Naval Station Norfolk, a time-honored tradition that ushered in a new generation of naval sea power.
Ship sponsor Susan Ford Bales made the call to send dozens of sailors in crisp white uniforms running onto the first-in-class ship that bears her father's name. President Donald Trump and Navy leaders looked on.
The grand ceremony designated the Ford as a United States ship _ call it the USS Gerald R. Ford from now on _ and places it in active service. It won't be ready to deploy until 2021, but Saturday will still go down in naval history. The Navy last commissioned a first-in-class aircraft carrier in 1975, a ceremony in Norfolk presided over by President Ford himself.
The commissioning marked the end of a challenging odyssey for the Navy and Newport News Shipbuilding, which dealt with a host of technical problems and delays in building the complex $12.9 billion ship.
Its original completion date was 2015, and challenges of integrating new technology pushed the price well beyond original estimates. Compared to Nimitz-class carriers, Ford-class ships have more than 23 new or modified systems.
More hurdles await. The ship's crew, many of whom spent years working at the shipyard, now turn their attention to getting the ship ready for deployment. The Government Accountability Office recently released a report that said the Navy is expected to spend another $780 million over several years before the ship can deploy. The Ford will head back to sea as soon as possible following Saturday's ceremony for further at-sea tests.
The sailors can't wait.
Petty Officer 1st Class Jeremy Stoecklein joined the ship almost four years ago, when things were quite different.
"It was just stripped down to the bare metal," he recalled earlier this week. "No doors, no non-skid on the flight deck. We've watched it for the last four years come to life. This is an extremely exciting moment, not just for us but for the whole crew.
Chief Petty Officer Christine Tyler said confidence is high in the various new systems.
"We've been waiting for this day to come," she said.
The ceremony offered the opportunity to celebrate the life of Gerald R. Ford, a man who never sought the presidency but who ended up leading the nation through turmoil that followed Watergate.
In speaking of her father, Ford Bales often says that nothing came easy for him.
He was the product of a broken home, born Leslie Lynch King Jr. His parents separated two weeks after he was born, and mother and son mother moved to Grand Rapids, Mich. She obtained a divorce and married Gerald R. Ford, a paint salesman. They began calling their son Gerald R. Ford Jr., although his name wasn't legally changed until he was 22 years old.
That same year, Ford graduated from the University of Michigan. He financed his education with part-time jobs, a small scholarship and some assistance from his family. He later earned a law degree and in 1942 joined the U.S. Naval Reserve, where he was commissioned as an ensign.
In 1943 he began service on the light aircraft carrier USS Monterey, which took part in several battles in the Pacific Theater in World War II. His closest call with death came not as a result of enemy fire, however, but during a vicious typhoon in the Philippine Sea. Ford came within inches of being swept overboard but he caught the ship's scupper rail.
Today, a 1,200-pound bronze statue of Ford stands inside the ship's hangar bay depicting the former president as a young officer on the Monterey, his foot resting on the scupper rail.
Like its namesake, nothing came easy for the USS Gerald R. Ford. Even its name caused a stir. Back in 2006, key members of Congress pushed for Ford's name to grace the new class of aircraft carriers. Others lobbied for the USS America and the America class.
Then came the technological hurdles. The Navy decided to pack the Ford with new systems instead of phasing them in over several ships. It made Ford a transformational warship, but it also caused numerous delays and cost overruns.
Sen. John McCain, the Senate Armed Services chairman, once referred to that decision as "the original sin that so damaged this program."
The Newport News shipyard, a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, was ordered to start construction before the ship design was complete. That caused inefficiencies. At one point, the shipyard had trouble getting newly designed valves and workers had to install spacers _ valve-shaped placeholders _ while work progressed.
Problems surfaced with the new electromagnetic catapults that launch aircraft and the advanced arresting gear that allows them to land safely. Testing those two systems will be key as the Ford returns to open water following its commissioning.
