SAN DIEGO, CALIF. – A West Des Moines woman is serving on one of the world’s largest warships, the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
Seaman Ashley Curry is a culinary specialist aboard the San Diego-based ship and is responsible for operating and managing Navy messes and living quarters established to subsist and accommodate Naval personnel.
Named in honor of former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, the carrier is longer than three football fields, at nearly 1,100 feet long. The ship is 252 feet wide and weighs more than 100,000 tons. Two nuclear reactors can push the ship through the water at more than 35 mph.
“Working on this ship, everyone is really welcoming and willing to help me when I need it,” said Curry. “They let me know if I’m in need that they are here for me.”
Sailors’ jobs are highly varied aboard the Roosevelt. Approximately 3,200 men and women make up the ship’s company, which keeps all parts of the aircraft carrier running smoothly — including everything from washing dishes and preparing meals to handling weaponry and maintaining the nuclear reactors.
Another 2,500 or so form the air wing, the people who actually fly and maintain the aircraft.
Like each of the Navy’s aircraft carriers, the Roosevelt 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.
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. All of this makes the Roosevelt 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.
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied upon assets, Curry and other Roosevelt sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes.
“I feel good to be able to serve in the Navy,” said Curry. “It’s a cool opportunity to be able to travel and help people at the same time, no matter where we are in the world.”
This story was produced by the U.S. Navy Office of Community Outreach.
It is with pride that I read of your service and commitment to our country and the U.S. Navy. Be assured you would be most welcome here at our post either in a capacity of an active service member or after discharge as a veteran. From myself and all members of our post here in Perry, we wish you fair skies, calm seas, and Godspeed in your mission. Respectfully, Mike Kelley, Past Commander, American Legion Post 85, Perry