Invoking millennia of maritime and shipbuilding tradition, USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70), currently in drydock at Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard, stepped its new mast March 6 in a solemn ceremony on the flight deck. The ceremony involved a series of remarks by distinguished guests and culminated in the welding of a commemorative metal plaque to the base of the ship’s new mast. Carl Vinson Commanding Officer Capt. Ted Carter led the ceremony, and introduced its distinguished participants during his opening remarks: Rear Adm. David Architzel, Program Executive Officer for Aircraft Carriers; Ken Mahler, vice president for carrier overhauls at Northrop Grumman Newport News; and retired Capt. Richard Martin, Carl Vinson’s first commanding officer. Rear Adm.