Moving thousands of tons of steel across land may look effortless from the outside, but for the Translation Team, it’s a precise, high‑stakes evolution that depends on preparation, communication and trust.
But the work to get a ship across land starts long before it begins rolling.
“It starts here with the four of us—three machinists and me—working on these cars day in and day out, making sure they're ready,” said team lead KC Cater, electrical maintenance technician.
PREPARATION + PRECISION
Before the ship ever shifts an inch, the team spends months maintaining and testing every car, jacking box, receptacle and breaker involved in the move.
“After a boat move, every car is brought through the translation shop for preventive maintenance,” explained KC. “We inspect the electrical and hydraulic systems and test each car to ensure everything is functioning properly. We check for leaks, verify line integrity, and make sure all bearings and wheels are in good condition. We do our best to make sure everything runs smoothly before it gets under the ship.”
Once the cars are under the ship, each one must be wired and then tested again to ensure they not only jack the ship up, but travel in the correct direction.
TEAMWORK + COORDINATION
The core translation team handles the critical moments of the evolution, supported by electricians and other crafts. But the work doesn’t happen alone.
Charlie Bardwell, Maintenance superintendent, coordinates across multiple departments to make the move safe and efficient.
“My job is to develop the plan, communicate it across all departments and then trust each team to do their part to ensure the asset is moved safely,” said Charlie. “When the boat moves and everything goes as planned, my team knows I’m proud of them. In this line of work, when you push the button and nothing happens, that’s a bad feeling, so we do everything we can to make sure it never gets to that point.”
On move day, the team works some long hours, repositioning cars, preloading, checking gauges and jacking up the ship in preparation for the evolution.
“You better bring two lunches,” joked Scott Decourcy, Maintenance machinist.
SCALE + PURPOSE
The translation cars themselves carry a legacy of their own—Ingalls has used these systems to move every ship built in the yard since the 1950s, a tradition of engineering and craftsmanship the current team is proud to maintain.
But even with years of experience, the sheer scale of the job still stands out.
“The most amazing thing to me about a translation is just the amount of tonnage that can be moved with these cars,” KC said. “When we move an LHA, we set a record every time.”
For electrician Rosanna “Ro-Ro” Lindsey-Sewer, a U.S. Army Reserve veteran, the moment the ship moves carries deep meaning.
“Seeing a ship this size roll out on the water feels like a big accomplishment because it is,” she said. “I worked on LHA 6 before I came to Maintenance. It went from knowing I helped build the ship to helping put it in the water.”
That kind of pride and focus is what makes the team successful.
“From the outside looking in, people see Maintenance running around and think it’s mass chaos, but there is a method to the madness,” said Charlie. “Each member of this team knows their job, what’s expected of them and how to do it safely.”
For the team behind translations, the long hours, precision checks and problem‑solving moments all come down to one thing: pride in their craft.
Each successful move reflects not only their technical expertise, but the strength of the shipbuilders standing behind them. And as the ship inches forward toward delivery, their work continues to push Ingalls and the fleet one step closer to the mission.