Crew Keeps Things Shipshape Aboard USS Carl Vinson

For Veterans Day, take a look at one of the Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carriers, USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), and the sailors who keep her up and running.

In the gallery, L-R:

• Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 3rd Class Ramon Gongora, a Chula Vista native, stands roving watch on the flight deck. Vinson is currently pierside in its homeport.
• Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) Seaman Recruit Mikenson Martial, a native of West Palm Beach, Fla., paints a padeye on the flight deck.
• Aviation Boatswain’s Mate (Handling) 2nd Class Jonathan Frias, a native of Orlando, Florida, operates a forklift in the hangar bay.
• Culinary Specialist Seaman Jada Betts, a native of Tuscaloosa, Ala., makes cookies in the galley.
• Boatwain’s Mate 2nd Class Phillip Nuijens, a Corona native, pulls in line on the enlisted brow.
• Hull Maintenance Technician Fireman Mario Mendiola welds a pipe fitting in the machine shop.
• Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Logan Jermon and Aviation Ordnanceman Airman Apprentice Canyon Suekut raise the American flag during colors.

Jobs vary aboard the ship, commissioned 42 years ago. Approximately 3,000 men and women make up the company, doing everything from preparing meals to handling weaponry and maintaining the nuclear reactors.

The vessel’s last lengthy deployment, four months in the Western Pacific, ended in February. It also cruised to Hawaii in June to take part in the Rim of the Pacific exercise, or RIMPAC.

The Vinson is one of three carriers based at Naval Air Station North Island in Coronado, including the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS Theodore Roosevelt.