On April 8, 2016, during a change of command ceremony aboard USS Gerald R. Ford and in recognition of her "extraordinary service as CVN 78 Ship Sponsor", she was named an honorary naval aviator by Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson, thus becoming only the 31st person to receive this honor, and the first woman ever to be so honored. The ship was commissioned as "USS Gerald R. Ford" on July 22, 2017, with Ford Bales in attendance to give the order, "Man our ship, and bring her to life."