I’ve been to many ship and boatbuilding facilities ... domestic and foreign; large and small; modern and antiquated. In fact, traveling to shipyards, witnessing first hand the different means incorporated to build ships and boats and meeting the people responsible, is probably the best part of my job. Naturally, I’ve seen many different types of vessels in varying degrees of build, from the largest cruise ships and LNG carriers to the smallest tugboats and water taxies. I have never ... ever ... seen anything like Ronald Reagan (CVN-76) at Northrop Grumman Newport News Shipbuilding. Though the favor is not mine to give, I invite anyone to step aboard a modern 1,092 ft., 90,000-ton nuclear aircraft carrier and afterward declare U.S. shipyards anything but master builders.