Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush (CVN 77) accomplished a major milestone by reaching the halfway mark of their 2017 deployment, May 8.

Prior to deploying from homeport in Norfolk January 21, the longest time the ship had spent at sea since the yard period was four weeks during the work-up cycle for the Composite Training Unit Exercise (COMPTUEX). For some junior Sailors, this is their first time away from home for this long.

"This is my first deployment, and I honestly didn't know what to expect," said Electrician's Mate, Nuclear Power 3rd Class Franzia Perez. "After getting into the rhythm of things, it was easy to accomplish both the day-to-day tasks and some of the long-term goals I set for myself. I feel like I've done a lot even though we're only halfway done."

The deployment has given Sailors an opportunity to set and achieve goals and qualifications difficult to obtain in port. For the last three months, GHWB Sailors worked on earning their enlisted surface warfare specialist (ESWS), enlisted aviation warfare specialist (EAWS) and enlisted information warfare specialist (EIWS) pins.

"I'm proud of the Sailors who put in the hard work to get their pins," said Electronics Technician 1st Class Joanna Waugh, GHWB's ESWS Coordinator. "We've had more than 800 Sailors qualify [in all warfare areas] since we left, I'm expecting more of our Sailors to earn their pins during the second half of deployment."

In addition to accomplishing professional and personal goals, Sailors have also been relentless in supporting Operation Inherent Resolve (OIR). To date, there have been more than 4,700 sorties flown and 813,000 pounds of ordnance expended in support of OIR.

"I've seen hundreds of bombs leave the ship and not come back," said Aviation Ordnanceman 2nd Class Elizabeth Arts. "We've been keeping busy throughout this deployment, and it's really humbling to be part of something big."

GHWB's Navigation department has kept the ship on a safe and steady course throughout the deployment. In constant motion, GHWB has executed four strait transits, made three ports calls in two different countries and traveled more than 27,000 nautical miles. The ship and its crew have provided safety and security on the seas to the far reaches of the world.

"Navigation is our bread and butter and we pride ourselves on our training and knowledge to maintain safe travels throughout this deployment," said Quartermaster 2nd Class Nicholas De La Cruz. "Some parts of our job are easier than others, but we were very involved with the Suez Canal transit. For us, it's like the Super Bowl, and we take it very seriously since there is no room for error."

Sailors know their work is not done. While they have completed 107 days of deployment, they plan to keep the momentum going until GHWB returns to homeport.

"I know some of us may have that downhill mentality now that we've reached our halfway point, but we can't get complacent," said De La Cruz. "We need to think ahead, keep our head in the game and do what we need to do until we pull back into Norfolk."

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