by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Tom Gagnier, Navy Office of Community Outreach
NORFOLK, VA. — A Beech Grove native and 2014 Beech Grove High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Mikaela Davis is a master-at-arms aboard the carrier operating out of the Navy’s largest base.
As a master-at-arms, Davis is responsible for the safety and security of the ship, and the ship’s crew.
“We travel a lot and have visited several countries,” said Davis. “The ship is so big, you meet a lot of different people.”
Named in honor of former President George H.W. Bush, the carrier is longer than three football fields, measuring nearly 1,100 feet. The ship, a true floating city, 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.
Sailors’ jobs are highly varied aboard the carrier. Approximately 3,200 men and women make up the ship’s crew, which keeps all parts of the aircraft carrier running smoothly — this includes 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 responsible for flying and maintaining more than 70 aircraft aboard the ship.
“I earned three warfare qualifications at this command,” said Davis. “They are Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist, Enlisted Air Warfare Specialist, and Enlisted Information Warfare Specialist.”
