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Wow….homecoming….after seven-plus months at sea everyone was returning to US soil and their families. I knew it was going to be a memorable day with lots of mixed emotions for all.

Eric and I had agreed to make it another 06:00 day, but around 05:00 I managed to wiggle out of the rack and get cleaned up. I wasn’t sleeping anyway, so why stare at the inside of my eyelids when I could go ahead and get cleaned up and get ready for the day. The ship’s movement had eased over night and the roll and pitch were almost gone….too bad as I was starting to get used to the movement. But it did make the shower easier…not worrying about loosing balance and all- or maybe I was just getting used to things now. It figures that about the time I adapt to the ship pretty well the cruise is over. Hours on the carrier start pretty early, and there was a fair amount of activity and movement. Of course coming home may have had a little to do with folks being up and about.

Soon enough junior popped his head into berthing and we headed out into the hanger deck. It was amazing to see the area so packed with crates and tool boxes and desk chairs and bomb racks and whatnot. It was clear a lot of folks stayed up pretty late getting ready to move to a new duty station. Whereas the night before had clear pathways and all, this morning you had to watch where you wanted to walk.

Off to the galley….no lines, no crowds- guess the early bird really does get the worm so to speak. Eric was happy….real eggs…said the powdered kind wasn’t the best, so eggs and bacon and biscuits and gravy and all. Maybe not the heart healthiest diet this AM but what the heck. How often do you get to eat breakfast on a Nimitz-class carrier anyway? Walking around the hanger you could see that the day was nice…sunny…really no significant chop out there, but it was really cool. It made you appreciate a coat. Soon enough it was time to think about a trip up to the flight deck after spending some time in the shop. Not too many people on the deck, but like I said, it was COOL….VERY COOL. I’m not sure what our speed was, but enough when combined with the wind and morning temps to really make you know it wasn’t summer on the Atlantic. The word had come down….any sailor not sponsoring a Tiger was to man the rails…in whites. Now while we parents think that whites look wonderful and that they are the signature of the Navy, the sailors find them a pain. They are a “dirt magnet” and for this morning, they are not the warmest uniform for cool weather. I felt sorry for those sailors that would be on the rails. I was glad to have a Navy “hoodie” to wear. But all that was in the background because you could see land….we were a little south of Virginia Beach and soon the buildings would start to appear, but here was no mistaking the sight of land in the distance.

We were scheduled to dock at 10:00 and we were slowly making our way to the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. I hadn’t seen the Bay since I left the East Coast in ’78 and knowing that I was that close to Maryland and the years I spent there during college gave me pause to think about all the years that had passed. There are a few defining moments in our lives where we see how the past has shaped our lives and that was one for me. I was starting to wish for some more time in my schedule so I drive up to DC and visit…I still have friends in the area and I would have really liked to see the area again….and I want to visit “The Wall” and new World War II memorial. Those will have to wait though…but I figure with Eric there for a few more years that I’ll have an excuse to fly back and fulfill those goals.

Anyway…time to get off the flight deck. Back to my lost puppy routine…I’ll never learn all these passages and corridors. And once we get back down to the hanger level, that is closed off as well as the crew is moving a lot of stuff around. We’ll have to go below the hanger and cross the ship to the shop area. Man oh man…people everywhere and once again to the right, down a ladder, though this hatch, to the left, through this hatch, up a ladder, right, left, down….etc….etc. I really don’t know how these sailors manage to remember all this as Eric even had to pause a time or two to figure the best route to take. Eventually we ended up back at the shop where all were getting ready for Norfolk and home. Seeing everyone running around in whites was sure a change from the utilities I had seen over the past two days.

I had packed my belongings earlier and stripped my rack so no need to head back to berthing for anything. That was a pretty chaotic area earlier with everyone packing their sea bags and trying to get their uniform ironed. I had gone with Eric as he did the same and he took a few minutes to show me the collection of cigars and humidor he had bought….he also took a couple of Cohiba’s with him that we were going to light up to celebrate being back in the United States…..I know about the embargo and all so no grief please!

Anyway, it was certainly fun being in the shop and seeing excitement on everybody’s face about getting to head home. We didn’t stay in the shop for long however as the hanger deck was clear to move about and I stopped at one of the elevators for a little while. A Coast Guard escort was off our starboard side and it was nice to see the defenders of our home waters there to help maintain a security perimeter…..a small fishing boat was heading towards the ship, probably only to look at the Roosevelt, but the Coast Guard boat was there in a flash to prevent them from getting any closer.

The small vessel got the message pretty darn fast and turned away rather that face further ire from the CG. The CG doesn’t get the recognition that they deserve in my book and I salute them all for the tough job they are entrusted to. The sailors were manning the rails…and I knew it was cold up there. I felt sorry for them, but knew that they would soon be in the Bay and things would calm down and warm up. I could tell we were slowing down as we drew closer to the south tunnel of the famous Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. Soon enough we crossed that line and we were in the Bay and nearing the Navy yards in Norfolk.

The word came down that the Tigers could assemble on the flight deck as well- so back my lost puppy routine and follow Eric right, left, up, down, etc.. We were all anxious to be up there—we’ve all seen on TV the celebration from dockside when a warship come home to port. Being on the ship though would give us all a special perspective and I knew it was going to most memorable. We were advised that we must stay back from the rails though so as to allow the Navy to present the ship with the correct look of sailors on the rail. Seeing 1292 civilians wandering around the deck would look chaotic and we didn’t want to interfere with long established Navy tradition.

It was till cool up there, but with the pier now in sight, everyone forgot about the temperature. Besides, the sun was rising ever higher and being in the protected waters of the lower Bay made the climate much more comfortable. Soon enough it would be downright warm! The ship was nearing Pier 14 dead slow as the tugs became the primary mode of propulsion. They knew the waters and the currents and could control the movements of the ship much more precisely. The area is congested and to dock the ship would actually stop and the tugs would swing the stern around and “back” the ship into place.

When you look around at the pier the first thing you really notice is the cars….lots of cars parked! We had heard estimates of 10,000 people expected for the return and to see that many cars in the lots….well…maybe. Then you look around and the yard……Naval vessels everywhere and then you realize you’re looking at a carrier….the George Bush is moored there…the last of the Nimitz-class carriers to be built.

And you start to realize that this is something big…not the size of the ship we’re on, but the mission and the people that make that mission. And all the moms and dads and brothers and sisters and sons and daughters and aunts and uncles and everyone else that support our sailors that man these ships and get the mission done. It was a moving thing to realize.

The pier…pier 14…..lots of folks there in grandstands and on the pier with signs and banners and music from the band playing there. Soon enough everyone was at the rails and people were waving and yelling…flags were everywhere and man, there sure were a lot of smiles! You could not be there and not feel the emotion and the happiness in the sailors. Soon enough they would be reunited with their families.

Mooring a ship the size of the Roosevelt takes some time....you don’t move 100,000 tons of steel very quickly in close quarters and you want to be pretty careful with what you do, so we headed back down to the shop to kill some time. It takes quite a while to get the lines drawn between the ship and the pier and you could hear the shots from the gunners shooting lines to the pier workers. After the ship was tied off they would have to set the brows in place. And there is protocol and tradition to disembarking.

New fathers are about the first off the ship and then by rank….it took quite a while before the call went out for E-4’s and below to disembark--- and the rush was horrendous! Lines everywhere trying to get to a brow to head off the ship. Mixed in to the rush were all the Tigers trying to follow their sponsor off the ship. The lines moved slooooowly, but soon enough Eric stepped on the brow, turned and saluted and we headed back to land! Now keep in mind that a pier is not terribly wide and with 5000 sailors trying to get off the ship and 10,000 family members were trying to meet up with their sailors….well, you get the idea. We might have been on land, but the crowd was ridiculous and it took longer to get from the ship to the gate than it did to get off the ship. It was cool though to see all the happy faces and tears as people found their loved ones and got reacquainted after those long months. It took awhile, but soon enough we were at the gate and the crowds thinned out. We headed to the NEX for something to drink and find a taxi for a ride to our hotel. A little of the surreal atmosphere was still in the air….I just got off a two-day cruise on the Theodore Roosevelt and I was at the NEX drinking an iced-tea while I was looking across the road at the USS George Bush. If I looked to my left all I saw were Navy ships for miles……….amazing……simply amazing……..

Next: Some thoughts on the experience

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Wow! Pretty impressive air power demo….sure makes you appreciate what the pilots and support crew go through. I was still kind of in a daze as I don’t think it still hit me that it was real. I’ve been a fan of military aircraft my whole life and swear I was a fighter jock in another life, so I was living the dream of being that close to the planes as they launched.

Anyway, as I said in part 2, the Air Boss asked all to leave the flight deck so he could recover the aircraft and Eric and I headed off the flight deck. I was getting pretty used the “lost puppy” routine by now and dutifully followed Eric off the deck, down the stairs and back into the confusing world of hatches, corridors, stairs, etc.. I swear the ship is such a maze of passages that I’d get lost onboard with a roadmap and a GPS……and I’ve always had an awesome sense of direction. If I was in the hanger bay I was cool getting to the tire/wheel shop, my rack in berthing and the head! So that’s about 4 compartments….only 3200 more on the ship to learn.

Anyway, eventually we made our way to the shop, took off the parka (did I mention it was pretty nippy on the flight deck?) and kicked back for a minute.

I thought it was a good time to clean up a little as the morning had gone by in a blur so off to berthing for fresh laundry and shower…..some hot water felt pretty good even though you try to take the traditional Navy shower and try to conserve water. Coming from the Arizona desert I understand the water conservation idea anyway so it was no big deal for me….being able to generate about 400,000 – 500,000 gallons fresh water a day on the ship seems like a lot, but when you start to think about 4000-5000 people using that water each day and all the support areas as well, it doesn’t add up to much of the stuff for each individual per day. It did take some getting used to trying to shower in an area not much larger than the traditional phone booth…there is not much space to move around and luxuriate in for sure. And you note once again the grab bars in case the ship decides to roll about a little. The ship was still moving around a little, but I guess I was getting my sea legs and getting used to it now.

Feeling about a thousand percent better, we decided it was time to head for chow. There are two galleys on the ship so you get your choice of which lines you want to endure. If you tend to time chow to get into line a little on the early side the lines seems to move along….though I saw dinner lines from the galley, up a deck, though several hatches, into and across the hanger deck. I gather you get very used to waiting in line in the Navy….from boot camp chow line throughout your career on one of the most powerful warships ever built….go figure. Choices are several for grub and while not haute cuisine, the food will keep you going (heard several jokes about that anatomical process while on board……..) and generally it’s not too bad. I did have some noodle concoction for lunch though that day that I’m still not sure what it contained….but wasn’t bad with some A-1 on top. Seems that ketchup and A-1 are pretty popular on board…I can see why the Santa Cruz Chili and Spice Company picante sauce I kept on sending to Eric over cruise was so popular. So keep that in mind you parents out there….stuff to spice up bland food is a pretty popular item in care packages.

As I think I already wrote about, seating is catch as catch can so you have to look around for empty seats. There are a bunch of areas set up with tables and you get used to sitting next to what is an ordnance elevator. Funny how fast you adapt to these kinds of things and think…okay…whatever. When done, you police the area, scrape you plates/trays into appropriate waste bins, glasses go into one area, silverware, plates/trays into another etc.. And for all you moms out there the Navy has hand sanitizer dispensers located in key areas where the line forms. And most everyone uses it….contrary to what you see in the civilian word.

After chow we kind of walked around the hanger deck…into some shops and out. The area was a real beehive of activity. The air squadrons would be disembarking in Norfolk to move on to their next commands so EVERYTHING associated with their squad gets packed into large, pallet mounted boxes. Man, there were people and hand trucks and forklifts running around all over the place, which continued well into that night. In the space of a few hours the hanger deck was transformed from a work area into what looked like a distribution dock for a large trucking or shipping firm. You expect to see stuff like office chairs and the like, but you realize that over there is a stack of bomb racks, over there were some dummy 500 pound bombs, etc..

In the main parts of the hanger, the crew had setup a display of fire fighting tools and gear along with some damage control gear. I’m not sure how many civilians were aware that all Navy personnel are trained as fire fighters. After several terrible accidents over the years (for instance the USS Forrestal and the USS Enterprise) the Navy realized it needed to alter the approach they had to dealing with and fighting fires….now all are trained as first responders. It was a lot of the gear you typically may see in fire fighting company anywhere in the US, but they have an awful lot of specialized gear as well.

Eric’s damage control role is in shoring and they have a lot of specialized equipment for shoring bulkheads and frames in the ship. Of interest were some steel shores that can exert 12,000 to 20,000 pounds of force and that can be welded in place to affect a more robust shore that could last until the ship got to a shipyard. Add to that a lot of high capacity pumps and eductors to move seawater and you realize there is a lot of specialized equipment and training here. I would imagine ex-Navy would be in great demand as fire fighters in the civilian world due to their training. It was interesting to listen to Eric talk about methods for stopping leaks in lines…some high tech equipment that must date from a hundred years ago….wood wedges, jute-type rope, etc.. Guess what was effective then still applies today!

About that time Captain came over the intercom…they were going to have a “boot shoot” on the flight deck. Over the past hour or two all the aircraft had launched off the ship as they would fly into port that afternoon. It was surprising how fast you get used to the sound of the cats launching….about like background noise! The planes were in the air so no ear plugs needed…back to following Eric up to the flight deck again. Stepping onto the deck this afternoon was strange…empty deck with no aircraft to be seen- just a helicopter or two left.

The crowd was gathered around one of the bow catapults for a Navy tradition….when a “Shooter” leaves the ship, it is tradition for him to launch his boots off the ship with a catapult. I’ve seen it done on TV and on DVDs, but never thought I’d see it in person. Kind of odd to be on a multi-billion dollar vessel that typically is the home for 50-70 of the world’s best fighter and support aircraft and we are gathered around the cat to watch a pair of work boots take their ride into the Atlantic! Before the “shot”, the squadrons flew over the ship one more time in echelon formation as a salute to the ship and crew of the Roosevelt. They would be landing in Virginia a little in the day so this was a “goodbye and farewell”. It was a fitting way to bid farewell to the planes which once again inspired a great sense of pride in all that saw it. Some of America’s best were heading home and would be soon landing back on US soil for the first time in many months.

There was lots of good natured banter between the yellow shirts and officers on the deck…..soon the shuttle makes it way back to the launch position, the boots are carefully aligned, control surfaces checked….wait a minute – there are NO surfaces to check, tension is taken up on the shuttle….strange no afterburner sound or other engine sounds…the shooter touches the deck and extends his arm towards the bow and the boots are gone to great applause and laugher from all.

It was a neat thing to see and certainly mirrored the mood of the ship….we’re homeward bound! It kind of marked the transition from aircraft carrier to Navy ship heading home!

Having the deck clear made for a great opportunity to walk to the aft of the flight deck.

I stopped at the arresting wires and took a couple of photos…I made sure my shoe was in one to give some scale so you can see the diameter of the wires. When you see the planes land and the wires whip around and coil you get in impression they are pretty flexible but when you see that they are about 2” in diameter, you realize the amazing forces that are in play when you bring a 25,000 pound airplane moving about 135 knots to stop in about a hundred or so feet. Another photo to show the metal spacer that holds the wire off the surface of the deck at the correct height for the hook to snag on landing.

It’s a reminder that everything on this vessel is pretty stout and built to handle high loads in high stress environments. A lot like the folks that man these great vessels.

The mood of the carrier had changed. The thought on everyone’s mind was that tomorrow morning we’ll all be home. I’m not sure that any of us that haven’t been through a 7 month deployment half way around the globe can ever understand….those things that we take for granted everyday had been in very short supply for the crew of the Roosevelt and while there sure were a lot of hints of life home, I think all would agree that much can be said for being back in the United States. That would happen in a few short hours and all were feeling that buzz. So after the boot shot we just kind of “hung” in the shop…it was kinda nice to just kick back and tell some stories and share. Eric went out and got a couple of Cokes….now I want to be politically correct here, and I do not wish to offend anyone so I’ll just talk about the soda and not the nickname for Middle Eastern products. He handed me the can and said “bet you’ve never had one of these before” as I see it is a can of traditional Coke, but labeled in Arabic.

And with the old fashioned pull-tab which has been gone in the US for what…20 years? It tasted like “our” Coke, but with a little more acid or citrus bite…it was pretty tasty! In talking to the shop folks, they were all raving about some of the products from the Middle east….the most amazing was….Sprite! Everyone said how great the stuff was as you could really taste the lime and it sold out of the machines very rapidly. An interesting break for sure.

Soon enough it was time to start thinking about dinner and some more chow…I had heard a rumor about surf and turf and after getting a little cleaned up, back in line for chow. There was also an ice cream social with music planned…that would be interesting. The lines didn’t seem too terribly long, but like before we snaked around this passageway and that, though this hatch and that one and into the galley. And sure enough, there was some sort of steak/meat product and small lobster tails….and I have to say the meal was pretty darn tasty! The meat was pretty tender and had some flavor and the lobster was good as well. No A-1 needed that night! Now as far as the ice cream social…..a big table was set up with all kinds of large containers of a name brand ice cream along with all kind of sauces and goodies. It looked pretty tasty, but when it came to the tunes…well…I like a wide diversity in music, but with the Chicken Soup song blasting at 800 decibels it was a little much for the two of us. I guess a lot of the crew liked it though as the lines were pretty horrendous for the frozen stuff. We finished our meal, disposed of the plates and all and retired to quieter areas. Eric decided to head out for a cancer stick….yeah he smokes…we won’t discuss that. But the sunset was amazing with vivid colors. I was surprised at the speed at which the sun set. I know it was the same as I see all the time, but it seemed so much faster…I guess because of the clear demarcation between sea and sky and no vegetation to blur the horizon. About that time it hit me…no dust or pollen as I could breathe without suffering the allergies that plague me in Arizona this time of the year when all the mesquite and other desert vegetation starts to bloom. It was pretty glorious to inhale air!

We didn’t do much for the rest of the evening….the hanger bay was getting pretty crammed with boxes and crates as the squadrons were packing up everything for their next duty station.

We headed back to berthing and to a lounge area…nothing really good on the tube and it was pretty darn busy where we were. Lots of sailors getting their whites pressed to be ready for the morning as they would be manning the rails when we came into Norfolk. We headed out and back to another lounge area…no TV on here so Eric went to the berthing office to try to find a remote….no joy with the remote so we just sat and talked for quite a while. It was nice just to talk for awhile about things and for me to hear about some of the stories the boy had from cruise. In particular he talked a lot about the visit to South Africa and how impressed he was with Cape Town. He made me promise to put that on my list of places to see before I die. He also told me about the cigars he bought there and told me had two from a land a little south of the US that are considered to be the best in the world and that we would smoke them when we got back to the United States….now I don’t smoke, but figured I would share one with the boy even though they were illegal in the states.

It was real nice break from the hectic pace just to sit quietly and talk…..about the cruise, cars, motorcycles, guns….all the good male bonding stuff! Soon enough It was time to start to think about an early night. We knew it would be a hectic day tomorrow, what with packing up and coming into port and all so off to clean up a little and into the rack. It was a lot earlier than the night before for sure, and while we were still moving around, the movement had settled down a lot. Let’s hope this night brought a little more sleep then the prior one, though I was still so wound up that I knew I would be restless and probably couldn’t sleep much. I figured I would have lots of time to sleep when I got back to Tucson! So back down onto the bottom rack, wiggle in, get situated and try to get some sleep.

Next.....Homecoming !

I know I musta had a grin from ear to ear after that shot as you try to absorb the experience and burn it into memory. The launch must be pretty violent as you sure can see the pilots head get jostled around in the cockpit as the plane accelerates. You can see the afterburners as the 18 moves down the flight deck….as soon as he clears the end of the deck the pilot goes into a clearing turn to port and the burners kick off. You also note the thin trails from each wing tip…at the wingtips vortexes cause a big pressure change and the water vapor in the air condenses into thin contrails…..it’s pretty neat to watch.

Turning your head you note a lot of commotion as another 18 has taxied up to the other waist cat and is getting set for its launch. It’s almost surreal….you’re a chemist from Arizona standing on the deck of a multi-billion carrier watching $40 million aircraft move around in very limited space and all being orchestrated by a bunch of enlisted folks in their late teens and early twenties. The responsibility that these folks have is enormous and they do that job for many hours each day, good weather and bad.

That kind of dedication carries through everywhere on the ship…you go down to the hanger deck and you see the same sort of dedication with those folks doing maintenance. It takes an awful lot of people doing an awful lot of work to insure the birds are flight ready and safe for the air crews.

Anyway…..back to the launches……..its cool watching the colored shirts scamper around the deck getting the aircraft ready for the launch. You’ve got two rather large jet engines running and generating not only exhaust but lots of intake as well…control surfaces moving…tires (that Eric may have worked on) rolling around and people crawling all around the plane and under the plane. And no one gets hurt as they all perform their job tasks. If you look around the flight deck you see the crowd…there were 1292 Tigers on board and I think each was on that deck watching intently. Our sponsors also were on deck so it was a pretty crowded space….I have long arms and am pretty tall so by setting the camera to continuous mode and holding it as far up as I could I got lots of photos of the entire operation….also took lots of photos of heads and the like, but it is easy to discard those from the computer. If you look at some of the other photos you see an awful lot of cameras on outstretched arms….I guess I wasn’t the only genius on board that morning!

Back to the F-18’s……..so the fighter is directed into position over the cat. It slowly inches up until the bar engages the shuttle and the hold back bar is installed. The jet blast deflector is raised….the engines generate a lot of exhaust and the JBD directs that rather warm air up and safely out of the way. The JBDs are concrete and raise and lower hydraulically and when down are flush with the deck surface. Once again control surfaces are tested while everyone looks for a problem…if ok, the shooter indicates to take up tension on the shuttle, the engines are ramped up, the burners kick in, the pilot salutes and the plane is launched off the carrier. It is an amazing process to see in person. While this is happening, another 18 is directed onto the clear cat and the process repeats on alternating catapults. It is pretty amazing just how fast you can launch the fighters and you realize that every move is carefully choreographed to maximize efficiency without sacrificing safety. Really before we knew it, two squadrons of planes had been launched. I bet though at night that the environment is a whole lot more tense as visibility is limited, and during combat ops there is no extraneous light allowed on the ship.

Soon enough all the fighters are in the air and the crowd is allowed to move to the port side of the ship. It is nice to stand on the cats, excess steam escapes and there is a lot of warm air coming up from the cat track that heats up the feet and lower legs. I mentioned that it was pretty cold on the deck, and it was nice to get some heat on the feet. There is a odor to the air….warm grease from the cats mixed with the steam and the exhaust of the jets still in the air…hydraulic oil…JP-5…all in all a sensory experience! When you combine that with the heat from the cats on your feet, while the wind is blowing cold sea air across your face and head, blue seas with whitecaps and broken clouds in a blue sky you start to really feel and smell things you just don’t get to on land.

Soon we heard an announcement from the tower….two 18’s would demonstrate aerial refueling from left to right. You see the two aircraft approach flying in close formation. The upper aircraft has buddy stores attached below the fuselage and is refueling the lower aircraft which is slightly behind….it is pretty amazing to see up close like that. Only through the ability to refuel during flight and the range of the 18’s be extended to provide an operations radius deep enough into land to be effective.

A couple of Hornets performed an aerial combat demo for us next. It was cool to watch how the target plane would try to evade his pursuer while popping decoy flares….all the while the attacker was trying to out-maneuver his target to get into a firing position. One can only imagine what kind of effort it takes to try to say alive by not becoming a target all the time while maintaining controlled flight. The same holds for the attacker….trying to “read” the movements of his target and position himself in three-dimensional space so as to fire a missile or gun, all while also trying to maintain controlled flight……I have to really hand it to those pilots and can only imagine the intensity and effort those few seconds must take. In a few minutes the two planes in the combat sim flew up the starboard side of the carrier….

Quickly following was a ground engagement demo: a strafing run, once again with decoy flares to demo the effectiveness of the multi-barreled gun that the Hornet uses. It is amazing to see the spray thrown up by the 20mm rounds impacting the water….much better to be on the firing end of that gun than the receiving end for sure! A couple of Hornets then dove in and dropped some dummy 500 pound bombs to simulate a bombing run.

The next demo was pretty impressive…a solo 18 came in from the left at supersonic speed. You could see he was moving pretty fast and you didn’t hear anything until he was past you….then the sonic boom hit. You could feel the pressure wave as it impacted your body and you understand how shocked the bad guys would be to be on the receiving end of a sneak attack like that…..you’re having a fine day cleaning your AK or building IED’s when your day gets bad without you even hearing the plane approach. I used to hear sonic booms all the time when I lived in the high desert of Northern Nevada years ago and you always heard the classic double boom-boom…this was close enough to only hear the single boom and has been the only time I’ve ever experienced that! I loved it and had another ear-to-ear grin on my face….then I noticed everyone around me did too!!!

Next a change of pace….remember the E2-C Hawkeye that launched at the beginning in Day 2, Part 1? Well he did a fly-by as well. There is sure a big difference in velocity of the Hornets and the Hawkeye which gave all a good chance to see and hear the “radar eyes” of the fleet fly by. Though the plane is getting a long in the tooth with the first airframe flying in 1964, recent upgrades have given the plane a new lease on life and it continues to provide a pivotal role (“detect and direct”) in air operations for the carrier. It is cool to look at the new style eight-blade props that are curved…they are quieter and more fuel efficient than the older and traditional four-blade style. The Hawkeye is the largest plane to fly off a carrier and I’ve read because of the wingspan there is only a four-foot margin of deviation allowed from the centerline of the carrier flight deck on takeoff. It also does not have digital flight controls, so I guess the pilots are really stick and rudder pilots. I imagine with that with a 24-foot radar dome it has some interesting flight characteristics when landing.

For a change of pace, a SH-60 Seahawk helicopter few up to the aft end of the flight deck and did a demo of “fast roping” where the chopper hovers and ground troops do a fast rappel to the surface. It is a way of rapidly inserting troops into a unstable landing zone….as soon as the last troop has hit the deck, the chopper accelerates away so as to minimize the chance of becoming a target for either small arms fire or worse. This was followed by another SH-60 flying the flag past the carrier….I’m sure it gave everyone shivers to see the flag fly past the ship and gave all a reminder that the USA is a pretty darn good place to live….I know it made me proud to be an American!

All knew that the air power demonstration was winding down but the final flyover was really spectacular. The two squadrons of Hornets along with the Hawkeye performed a precision formation flyover….you could see the 12 fighters and the Hawkeye flying in and soon the few right over the carrier….the feeling you get is pretty amazing and you swell with pride that your son or daughter is part of this magnificent vessel and that very few civilians in the world have been able to see the show you’ve just seen from this particular vantage point. My hat is off to the officers and crew of the USS Roosevelt for giving me the honor and privilege of allowing me on the flight deck to see first hand what Naval aviation is all about and for giving the chance to see what my son is part of. It was truly a memorable experience that I will never forget….and the day was only half over!

Soon we heard a voice of the speakers asking for all to clear the flight deck so the ship could recover the aircraft. For safety reasons none of us were allowed on the deck during landing, but when the birds came in you can feel and hear the noise of the plane catching a wire and the arresting gear bringing the aircraft to a safe stop. Memorable!

I’ll continue with part 3 of day 2………………

As I said in Day 1, Part2, sleep didn’t come easily for me….think more so the unfamiliar place and excitement than anything else. I’m also used to a very quiet environment- not at all like an active aircraft carrier. I really cannot imagine the noise level if they are conducting ops at night, though both Eric and Kat have told me that they are so used to the sound of the catapults and arresting gear that they have trouble sleeping in the quiet. The racks are pretty comfortable once you get used to the limited nature of the space and having a ceiling just a few inches above you. At 06:00 Eric poked his head in as we had agreed to make it an early day. I’m still not sure how I managed to wiggle out of the rack as you have to exit feet first without sitting up. Off to the head to clean up a little….so lets see…outta the rack, turn left…turn right…no wait it’s another left and turn through the doors to the head. The ship was still moving a lot so certain bodily functions have to be adapted to the ships movement…and there are grab bars everywhere in the shower stalls and toilet stalls.

Followed Eric back to the Tire/Wheel shop and then over the AIMD airframers shop where they had a coffee pot going….nice to have some hot coffee and naturally some good natured banter between the sailors and other Tigers,

Everyone was always asking how I liked the cruise so far and what I thought of the ship. Nice to see such interest and whenever I met someone I always welcomed them back to the United States- THAT always got a big grin as I think all were more than ready to touch US soil again after seven-plus months at sea. It was interesting walking around with Eric as he said on more than one occasion that the whole atmosphere of the ship had changed…..it was awfully low-key and relaxed compared to “normal”…I always blamed that on the Tigers being on board, but I know that the thought of “one more day and then I’m home” was the real reason and totally understandable….even the officers I met shared that thought….I guess I had never really thought about the feeling as they came back from 67,000 miles of cruise….I knew that pulling into Norfolk with all those families there was going to be something special and memorable.

I knew that today was going to be pretty special as the captain had told us the prior night that he felt confident that the air power demonstration would come off as planned in spite of the winds and seas….all were looking forward to that. I had to laugh to myself thinking about sitting in the lounge areas the night before….here we are on a war ship returning form seven months of overseas deployment….what were the most popular shows on the TV the night before? Dangerous Catch and anything about World War II naval battles. You could almost see the sailors recreating the battles in their mind as they watched the shows about the Battle of Midway and the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

Anyway, we skipped breakfast- neither of us felt like fighting lines and we really we not hungry…that would change later we figured. The airpower demo was scheduled for 09:30 so after killing some time and just hanging, the word came down to assemble on the flight deck from the starboard side forward of some frame number I don’t recall. We were way forward of that so I did my lost puppy routine again and followed Eric up to the flight deck after grabbing some “foamies” (foam ear plugs). They had given us each a pair in our Tiger Cruise grab bag, but I had grabbed a few from work that I know provided a 33 dB NRR…I wear those to the drag races, and while not really enough for 2 fuel dragsters at full throttle, I figured they would do in the non-confined flight deck for a fighter.

Now for you that haven’t had to chance to climb onto the deck of a moving carrier, let me try to describe some of the feelings. You exit the hatch onto a covered walkway with grating that you walk on. Depending on which route you’ve taken, you can often look down through the grating to the water below…about 60 or 70 feet below so it makes you pause for a second if you don’t expect it. Then up a short, but steep flight of stairs to the level of the flight deck….the stairs are narrow…about a single person width with really no hand rails to speak of. At the top of the stairs is a small platform typically with a step …one step onto the metal step , one more step over the rail and you’re on the flight deck. There isn’t much to hold on to, so you do a serious act of faith thing, look brave and like you know what you are doing, step onto the flight deck and there you are…..wind blowing a thousand miles an hour and cold……..quite cold. But the view is amazing…..there is nothing to block the view from the flight deck save for people, planes and the tower. Otherwise you have a $5 billion dollar view of the ocean and the sky and you start to understand the lure of the sea.

The color is quite blue…the further out you go, the bluer the water gets and it provides a stark contrast to the whitecaps. You continue to look around at the parked planes and all and realize that if you looked between two of the F-18’s parked on the deck you can see one of the escort destroyers.

I think that is when it really hit me that this is serious stuff we were all looking at and that I was guest on a working, active warship. Very recently planes were flying off that deck with live ordinance and that some bad folks on the ground probably had a very bad day as a result.

So anyway, then you realize you hear some jet engines at idle-- there is a E2C-Hawkeye staged at a waist cat, tons of other Tigers lining the flight deck, and green- and yellow-shirts hustling around the plane. Eric had told me the new prop design was a lot quieter than the traditional 4-blade prop and I really was surprised how muted the sound is…of course they weren’t at takeoff power and didn’t have any pitch to the blades. Soon enough they ramp up the power, blades increase in pitch, the cat fires and the plane is airborne in about 2 seconds.

You’ve seen this stuff on TV, and if you’re like me you’ve watched it over and over, but being about 50 feet from the wingtip as the cat fires is pretty hard to describe….kinda like trying to tell someone how a perfectly grilled ribeye tastes. The cat fires and you see the shuttle pulling the plane as steam starts to billow out of the cat. The acceleration is pretty darn fast though not like a fuel dragster….still they go from zero to about 160 knots in about 2 seconds. Off the flight deck and right away into a clearing turn to port. The JBD (jet blast deflector) drops and right away you hear a 18 increase power to maneuver into position.

Slowly the fighter pulls up to the shuttle which has returned from the Hawkeye shot….the hold back bar is installed, the pilot tests all his control surfaces, all the colored shirts check the movements of the surfaces and you see some crossed arms. Immediately the pilot holds the aircraft as they announce that was a demo of the safety checks…..someone didn’t like the movements of the rudder so they put a hold on the shot. It’s not a group decision- anyone of the colored shirts can hold the shot and you realize the responsibility that these young sailors have. Once again the pilot tests all the flight control surfaces, all approve and indicate with a thumbs-up, the shooter indicates to take up slack in the shuttle, take the engine power up and kick in the afterburners, a final safety check, the pilot salutes, the shooter touches the deck and raises his arm pointing down the cat and the cat fires! You watch the pilots head and you realize that you’ve just seen a “E” ticket ride…it looks pretty darn violent…and is pretty darn noisy!

I’ll continue with Part 2........

After the handshake and hugging it was time for introductions to all……it was a great way to see our sailors as you realize that they still seemed like kids when they left but now seem like grown adults. All naturally were in uniform and looking pretty darn sharp….but then after not seeing the boy for a year…..’nough said.

It was time to make our way to the check-in gates. Our sailors had come out to escort us through the gate and onto the ship. It was nice to be able to finally leave the line, baggage in tow and do some walking to the ship. Check-in was easy and before you knew it, we were the line to board the brow to the forward elevator. This was a short line though and moved pretty fast. The stairs to the brow was the first introduction for many to Navy stairs and walkways….the stairs are steep and tall and the brow, while covered in a non-skid material, also has “ribs” every 18” or so across the walkway. I had experienced these boarding the Lincoln, but they could be a real trip hazard if you had your head in the clouds and didn’t watch where you were going. A stop at the end of the walkway for Eric to salute the national ensign and with a big step we were on the elevator.

I keep talking about these elevators, and if you’ve not seen a carrier up close let me explain…..they raise and lower aircraft between the flight deck and the hanger bay….you can fit two fighters on one, can lift more than 300,000 pounds and make the vertical journey in about eight seconds…..not exactly like getting on the Otis at your office building. For those that had never seen a carrier up close they were the first introduction to the massive size of everything on the ship. You walk across the elevator and you note some things…..pad-eyes are embedded into the deck surface. These serve as tie-downs for aircraft and equipment. Also you get to first experience of non-skid. All horizontal surfaces where wheeled equipment or aircraft transit is covered in a metal non-skid surface to provide traction and grip. Keep in mind the surfaces may be wet with water, hydraulic oil, or fuel spills and having a slippery surface would be bad form. The non-skid also wears out boot soles pretty darn fast and would not at all be fun to fall on….so everyone watches foot placement pretty carefully.

Eric had warned me to be aware of pad-eyes and tie-downs to aircraft….the planes are chained to the pad-eyes and the chains are a wonderful way to reacquaint you with the effects of inertia and gravity if you trip over one. Lucky for me that I am used to walking around the plant at the mine and am always on the lookout for hoses and other trip hazards in walkways.

As you enter the hanger bay off the elevator you are struck by the shear size of the hanger deck. There are three main hanger bays, each perhaps 70 yards long, 40-50 yards wide. There are moveable blast doors that separate the bays from one another that are usually open position forming a large open area to store aircraft and perform maintenance. In case of an emergency though, the doors close very quickly isolating the area from the rest of the ship. You soon realize that damage control and being able to isolate various areas on the ship is one of the most import aspects of survivability on a carrier and that carries over to the walkways and passages…..there are a million hatches everywhere and you learn very quickly that if you come to a hatch that is dogged, you carefully un-dog the hatch, CAREFULLY open the hatch, pass through and then re-dog the hatch… This assures that you maintain compartment/passageway integrity in case of flooding or fire. There are also many hatches that serve as barriers between air-conditioned areas and those that are not air-conditioned. Keeping those hatches secure maintains climate control.

Anyway…back to the hanger deck. The height of the hanger deck is amazing…it has to be about 50 feet, so you are talking a massive area under the flight deck. It also serves as a “common” area for many events, movie nights, etc., but generally it is a working area that never closes. So anyway…. The forward elevator you entered on is on the starboard side….forward is berthing and most of the shops are aft. There was a safety movie that all had to watch…but in reality, there was so much talk between Tigers and their sailors that it made watching the movie almost impossible. I figured Eric would clue me into what was important and what wasn’t so I followed him around like a puppy dog to berthing. I’ll have a lot more to say later about berthing…it is an experience to say the least! After showing me the way to berthing (head forward from the hanger beck, through two sets of massive double swinging doors, starboard up the aft facing stairs, though the blackout curtain, turn to left and forward into compartment 1-35-0-L, through the berthing area, turn left and then right through the door into compartment 1-24-0-L after the first set of racks turn left and left to the bottom rack…….got it!?!?!). I spent a few minutes orienting myself while Eric showed me the rack and where to stow my stuff under the rack….each lifts up and there are compartments under the rack where you can stow your gear….not a lot of gear, but the essentials fit. He also showed me the smoke hood that each rack has….it provides about 15 minutes of breathable air in case of fire or smoke. Each rack has one and could save your life in case of an “event”. After grabbing the camera (essential gear for sure on this trip….), Eric showed me the head which is a pretty important location to know……they are not marked in big bold letters “HEAD” or anything like that, so it is important to remember where you can use the facilities otherwise you might wander around for awhile while discomfort levels increase!

A general tour of the ship ensued….and don’t ask how we got anywhere as there are passageways and walkways everywhere and after going though, up, down and around I was totally lost…I just faithfully followed my sailor and learned a little about how to move about the ship. Ladders between decks are a bottleneck and you learn very quickly to step aside if there is traffic on the ladder and let all pass. Likewise, if there are several folks going up or down, they will let you continue until there is a break in the flow…..kind of like hitting a one-lane bridge over a creek. It is amazing how many people manage to move about without a traffic jam. Eventually we made our way from foc’sle to the fantail which covers about the entire ship. We stopped in several shops, Tire/Wheel, NDI lab, and the airframer’s shop, met lots of other sailors and saw an awful lot of happy faces glad to be back in the United States. About that time we started to head up and made our way to the flight deck to walk around and get some fresh air. It had turned windy and nasty with a hint of rain in the air, but it held off while we walked the large expanse of deck. It was covered with planes and you had to look out for tie-downs, and wing and stab ends that would leave a serious hurt if you walked into them. A little different from a museum in that you are wandering through flight-ready aircraft and over the four catapults on the deck. Pad-eyes everywhere, tie-down chains forming a maze of trip hazards and above all lots of aircraft…it doesn’t get much better. Inching away form the pier the great adventure was beginning in earnest, with dark skies and wind. No one minded though.

After getting underway, it was time for some early chow…..now there are several galleys on board and line for each….so back down this passage way, though this hatch and into line- while not five-star chow, it was decent food and unless you were a picky eater, you would not go away hungry with typical choices of chicken, fish, hot dogs, deserts, veggies, salads and a variety of drinks. Finding a place to sit can be a chore as there are several smaller dining areas rather than one big common area. I felt sorry for the galley staff as they not only had to provide for the usual TR crew, but a bunch of us confused and somewhat overwhelmed Tigers as well. You learn when done to separate your trash…scrape your food into a waste barrel, paper into one, plastic into another, etc.. It’s a shame to see so many take food they didn’t eat…guess from my upbringing I was always taught to take whatever you want, but eat whatever you take…..enough of my editorial……….

Spent a lot of time in Eric's shop (Tire/Wheel) meeting his co-workers and whatever Tigers they had on board…..great bunch of people with lots of good natured ribbing and teasing…..they were a bunch that you learned dish it out as well as they take it….great fun and lots of laughing.

Soon it was time to wander around some more and make our way back to berthing….there are some lounge areas set up in berthing with chairs/couches, some tables and usually a TV….not a lot of space though so you enjoy whatever is on the tube or typically hit the rack. Hours are generally pretty early and by 20:00 many are headed to bed.

Now I promised some talk of Navy racks…..let’s see if I can do this justice……..

You berth in crew areas….Eric is part of AIMD so my rack was in one of the AIMD berthing areas with about 75 other racks. There is not much space…racks are stacked three high and the guy in the middle rack has the best deal to ease of ingress and egress. The top rack is kinda high and while there is step built into the middle rack, I’m not sure what contortions you’d go through to get into your rack. The advantage of the top rack is that there is extra space above, so if you are like Kat and somewhat claustrophobic you have more space. Naturally I had the bottom rack, and I discovered that I am not nearly as young or agile as I used to be. The rack is about 26”-28” deep and about 6’8” or so long, but only about 22” or 24” in height so you need to crawl in without sitting up. And to make things a little more comfortable, there are lockers at the head that project about 20”….this forms a nice area for your head, but once you are into the rack you think “hey wait a minute….I got into this by flopping down and then inching my way into this…..how do I get outta here in the AM because I’ll have to exit feet first and then somehow extricate my head….”. Each rack has some curtains that slide to darken the area so you can sleep….but once again you cannot sit up so you do a lot of wiggling and the like to close the curtains. Turning in this limited space is interesting as there is very little space to spare….but I guess you get pretty used to it after awhile. Lights out are pretty early and the overheads switch to red….not much light so you appreciate the small flashlight you were told to bring. Each rack has a small fluorescent light that I tended to constantly hit with my shoulders if I turned…..and because the ship never really sleeps there is always some noise as people move about…not to mention the constant ventilation noise….all in all it made for a pretty sleepless night for me, but I’m sure part of that was the excitement. And oh by the way, the captain had set severe weather condition 2 as we were in some nice wind and seas, but the pitch and roll of the ship was pretty slow so no seasickness with me….did make walking a straight line impossible though. The ship’s movement felt really good while in the rack though, not so much with the roll as the pitch, but I could see that in really rough water it would an interesting experience to say the least.

Day Two starts in the next bog post.