NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) —Since being deployed back in June 2025, the crew of the USS Gerald R Ford have had several issues to overcome, including plumbing issues in January and a laundry fire in March.
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“When I heard that they had a laundry room fire and there were over 600 sailors displaced from birthing, we were asked to see if we could do anything about it, see if we could help them out at all,” said Kelsey Eckelman, who with Mike Lassiter runs The Reactor Is Critical, a humor website for current and past members of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear power program.
After hearing of the issues facing the crew, they decided to take action in a humorous way with Operation Panty Drop. Lassiter was surprised at how fast the money came in.
“At the end of the first day, we brought in $6,000, and then $12,000 by the second day,” Lassiter said. “And then, by the time we sent everything out, it was about $20,000.”…