By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Steve
Watterworth, Navy Office of Community Outreach
Photo by Dusty Good
NORFOLK, Va. – An Indio, California,
native and 2010 La Quinta High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the
aircraft carrier USS George
H.W. Bush.
Petty
Officer 3rd Class Ryan Schmid is a damage
controlman aboard the carrier operating out of the Navy’s largest base.
As a damage
controlman, Schmid is responsible for
fire flooding control and
maintaining damage control equipment.
“My favorite
part of this command is doing the work,” said Schmid. "I really enjoy my job and the mission I get to be a part of."
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.
Powerful catapults
slingshot the aircraft off the bow of the ship. The planes land aboard the
carrier by snagging a steel cable with an arresting hook that protrudes from
the rear of the aircraft.
As a sailor with
numerous responsibilities, Schmid learns about
life at sea serving in the Navy and the
“My hometown taught me to bring the perseverance to get it done,” said Schmid. "
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.
George H.W. Bush, like
each of the Navy’s aircraft carriers, is designed for a 50-year service life.
When the air wing is embarked, the ship carries more than 70 attack jets,
helicopters and other aircraft, all of which take off from and land aboard the
carrier at sea.
All of this makes the
George H.W. Bush a self-contained mobile airport and strike platform, and often
the first response to a global crisis because of a carrier’s ability to operate
freely in international waters anywhere on the world’s oceans.
“I am most proud of the chance to earn my enlisted surface warfare specialist quailification,” said Schmid.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Schmid and other George H.W. Bush sailors know
they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes providing the
Navy the nation needs.
"The Navy has taught me to stay focused on the goals at hand, stay more motivated, and give everything my all," added Schmid.
"The Navy has taught me to stay focused on the goals at hand, stay more motivated, and give everything my all," added Schmid.