By Dusty Good

Navy Office of Community Outreach

NORFOLK, Virginia — A Port Arthur native and 2004 Memorial High School graduate is serving in the U.S. Navy aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Francis Jones is a machinist’s mate aboard the carrier operating out of the Navy’s largest base.

As a machinist’s mate, Jones is responsible for catapult systems aboard the ship.

“The best part about being on the ship is the morale, welfare, and recreation events,” said Jones. “I like that there is a large variety of events.”

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, Jones learns about life at sea serving in the Navy and the importance of taking personal responsibility while leading others while still using lessons learned from his hometown.

“Living in my hometown taught me the importance of manners,” said Jones. “You may not like who you work with, but you need to respect the ranks.”

Sailors’ jobs are highly varied aboard the carrier. About 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.

“In my time in the Navy, I am most proud of being able to travel to all the places I have been able to see,” Jones said.

As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Jones 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 him patience, added Jones.

“It makes me better at handling tasks.”