(U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Sean Elliott) 

NEWPORT NEWS, Va.- Machinist’s Mate (Nuclear) 2nd Class Laren McFaul, from Fort Myers, assigned to USS Gerald R. Ford’s (CVN 78) reactor department, receives a certificate of appointment to petty officer second class from Cmdr. Emily Bassett, Ford’s reactor officer, during an awards-at-quarters ceremony in the ship’s reactor training classroom. Ford is currently undergoing its post-shakedown availability at Huntington Ingalls Industries-Newport News Shipbuilding.