Freedom At Work CVN 77

She is a predator. She is sovereign American turf - anywhere in the world. Her range is global. She will cause friends to pause and reflect. She will make enemies tremble and encourage allies.

She is 90,000 tons of diplomacy. She is over a 1000 feet long. She carries nearly 100 aircraft that are the ultimate in air superiority, ground attack as well as search and rescue.

Her nom de guerre is "Freedom at Work"

And She is the last of her kind.

She is CVN 77, the last of the Nimitz class carriers. Actually - more like a Nimitz Plus with future electronics, avionics, radar, sonor and can bring enough hurt into theatre that is unprecedented.

She is the USS George HW Bush - and she debuts today.

She is only the 2nd carrier to ever be named after a Navy fly guy - after USS Forrestal and is the 2nd to ever be named after a former President that is still alive.

Her Crest features the silhouette of a F18 Super Hornet bearing a Grumman Avenger WWII Navy multi purpose bomber (made famous by Rosie the riveter) that the youngest pilot in the Navy in 1944 flew at the desperate air raid on Chichijima.

19yo LT (Junior Grade) GHW Bush rode through devastating flak like the Avenger was on a railroad to Hell, literally shot to flames as he and his crew annihilated their target - the super sensitive enemy sensors located only a 150 miles away from the soon to be famous Iwo Jima.

Suffering severe damage the Avenger had to be ditched and GHW's two crewmen Radioman Second Class John Delaney and Lieutenant Junior Grade William White were lost.

"I think about those guys every day"

50 stars signifying her Presidential bona fides and repping all of Great Satan's states encircle the crest as surely as She will encircle the globe.

Like Her namesake's volunteer spirit, service to something larger than self and determination that the mission will succeed.

She is CVN 77

She is Freedom at Work

Pic - CVN 77 Ship's Patch