Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Friday, April 27, 2018
How Twitter Rocked My World. By John Mason-Smith Part 9
This is Part 9. To see Part 8 click here.
Our tour was coming to the end.
Lunch that day would be the Sunday brunch and we would be dining in the Chief Petty Officers mess. Made-to-order eggs, breakfast meats, a roast beef carving station and, of course, lemon pound cake was offered. We were coming to the end of our trip and we enjoyed visiting the Chief’s mess and with each other. Just to be on the safe side, I went ahead and took a motion sickness pill knowing the flight back to NAS North Island was coming up. I never felt the slightest seasick on the ship. I felt the movement from time to time, especially as the ship turned into the wind during launches but never to the point where stuff inside was moving around. After lunch in the Cheif's mess, I stopped to get a photo with Jen - who also is a big fan of the Blue Angels and was from the Perdido Key, FL area.
We made our way to the deck side room to prepare for the catapult launch. The Provider's flight crew were there with instructions and a video on how to handle the experience; we donned our DV Cranial helmets, goggles and life vests and waited until we were ready to go.
Another DV Kathryn wore it with style.
We had not been directly on the flight deck since we first arrived and as we made our way down the gangway I realized that the walkway was an open mesh where you are looking below your feet at least 100 feet down to the blue Pacific Ocean! As we turned the corner our C2-Greyhound was there only about 50 steps away with one of its rotors turning and the walk-up side was off. Already on the catapult was FA/18 E Super Hornet and at the exact time we hit the halfway point on the walk to the COD - off the Super Hornet went. The shooters on the deck had me and the person in front of me go down on our knees as the jet wash blasted us with steam hot jet-fueled exhaust – but the lower profile helped and we did not get swept. I continued on into an open seat through the back of the C-2 and then I tightened down my four-point harness. The Provider's flight crew checked our buckles and life vests, goggles, and helmets and when they were satisfied the COD taxied to the catapult. This time, being faced backward was not in our favor. I retightened everything down knowing that I was going from zero to 130 knots (150 MPH) in 1.5 seconds. The instructors said to move your shins against the seat in front (so you don’t bruise them) and if you are short enough, brace your feet on the seat. I placed my shins up against the seat! The turboprops roared to full throttle and the plane was shaking violently on the beefy springs of the landing gear. The Provider's flight crew again waved their hands in the air and yelled: “Here We Go!”
I don’t think I can accurately describe how this felt. I have never pulled this many G’s in my life and there was no way to know what it would feel like until you do. My consciousness did not slip but things got small. My vision tightened to a small window of view straight ahead on the metal back of the seat in front of me. I was not bodily in control whatsoever. 1.5 seconds later – it was over and we cheered – a little. I was still emotionally processing and not much for yelling. We eased off in force and continued flying in the loud droning of the turboprops for the next half an hour. The motion sickness pill which causes drowsiness worked and I fell asleep sitting up strapped in my chair like a Butterball turkey about to go into the oven.
When we landed on NAS North Island the aircrew opened the back door while we were still rolling. The Navy van was waiting to carry us over to the Visitor Center outside security to be picked up by our rides.
Safely back on NAS North Island.
The drive back seemed surreal. Did I really just go through that experience? Non-floating life seems so different from Carrier life. As we drove over the Coronado Bridge back to San Diego I got a look at the naval fleet at the docks.
I am so grateful for the opportunity that the US Navy gave me to experience something that thousands of sailors go through in their lives, and are willing to sacrifice their time away from their loved ones and possibly their very lives for our freedom. Thank you United States Navy!
Click here to see Part 1.
Our tour was coming to the end.
Lunch that day would be the Sunday brunch and we would be dining in the Chief Petty Officers mess. Made-to-order eggs, breakfast meats, a roast beef carving station and, of course, lemon pound cake was offered. We were coming to the end of our trip and we enjoyed visiting the Chief’s mess and with each other. Just to be on the safe side, I went ahead and took a motion sickness pill knowing the flight back to NAS North Island was coming up. I never felt the slightest seasick on the ship. I felt the movement from time to time, especially as the ship turned into the wind during launches but never to the point where stuff inside was moving around. After lunch in the Cheif's mess, I stopped to get a photo with Jen - who also is a big fan of the Blue Angels and was from the Perdido Key, FL area.
I don’t think I can accurately describe how this felt. I have never pulled this many G’s in my life and there was no way to know what it would feel like until you do. My consciousness did not slip but things got small. My vision tightened to a small window of view straight ahead on the metal back of the seat in front of me. I was not bodily in control whatsoever. 1.5 seconds later – it was over and we cheered – a little. I was still emotionally processing and not much for yelling. We eased off in force and continued flying in the loud droning of the turboprops for the next half an hour. The motion sickness pill which causes drowsiness worked and I fell asleep sitting up strapped in my chair like a Butterball turkey about to go into the oven.
Safely back on NAS North Island.
Click here to see Part 1.
How Twitter Rocked My World. By John Mason-Smith Part 8
This is part 8. To see Part 7 click here.
Classified vs. Non-Classified
Leaving from the Warhawks briefing room we were asked to surrender all camera and smart phones into a bag that will be held until the next two briefings were finished. We were led into a darken room with cool blue low level lighting and enough screens to launch a rocket to mars. The first area had to do with defense of the carrier fleet. This was the Combat Direction Center. The radar systems from each ship in the Carrier Strike Group – and the overhead radar of the plane they launch are all linked in to a central radar scan. The goal is to identify all ships, submarines, and aircraft within the general area to determine whether they are “friendly’s” or not and to keep them at a safe distance beyond their own strike capabilities. Even beyond radar, intelligence is use to gauge the current political theme of the world and the location of fleet plays a big part in the defense strategy. Once a target is identified it is noted whether or not it has weapons and if its intentions are likely not good. In any event it will never get within strike range and the people in this room have the authority to protect our ships. Fortunately, we were in a fairly safe place in the world in our location just off Mexico.
I scanned these images from the Distinguished Visitor guide that is non-classified.
Up a stair well and over we entered the next place where cameras were not allowed and it was the Air Traffic Control Center. Here the mission and the assignments were monitored for each aircraft. They were able to answer the questions around the two jets that came in side by side to cover the one with lost communications.
Also a scanned image from the guide book:
As we left the briefing room we learned that the lowest rank in the room made the coffee and popcorn. Both smelled great. It was time to move onto the kitchen for some KP.
As we entered one of the 6 kitchens in the Stennis, we were greeted by the head of food operations. He had a small plate with a warm baked cookie for each of us and we loaded in the room around the food prep table. Feeding 5000 sailors every day is no small feat. The kitchen crew is constantly working to serve 18,600 meals a day! This requires over 2 million pounds of food each day. He reminded us that the majority of the people on board are between 18 and 22 years old and they are not looking for beef wellington. He had some days which are hard fast rules, Taco Tuesday, Pizza Saturday, and Sunday Brunch. We lucked out because it was Sunday! Among the foods offered was a lemon pound cake. Senator Stennis, for whom the ship is named, loved to give out lemon pound cake as a gift – and every Sunday you can expect pound cake at the brunch. The Navy no longer uses deep fryer vats on the ship and they have come up with baked substitutes that work great. Baking keeps the kitchen staff from dealing with oil change outs and clean ups.
All of this walking through the ship looked the same. I never quite knew where I was but I tried to greet every sailor I passed.
From the kitchen, we made our way up to a very special area at the bow of the ship. The Forecastle anchor rooms of the carriers are decorated as special places. The massive anchor chairs are 1000 feet long and each link weighs 150 pounds. The chain delivery system is well laid out. Within the Forecastle Room is the main seal of the ship along with a special ship bell. Two small windows out the front give the anchor operators a look at the dropping of the anchors.
As we were nearing the end out our time onboard the Stennis. We asked our Public Affairs team to pose for a quick photo.
In the final section, we get shot. Click here for Part 9 - the final section.
Classified vs. Non-Classified
Leaving from the Warhawks briefing room we were asked to surrender all camera and smart phones into a bag that will be held until the next two briefings were finished. We were led into a darken room with cool blue low level lighting and enough screens to launch a rocket to mars. The first area had to do with defense of the carrier fleet. This was the Combat Direction Center. The radar systems from each ship in the Carrier Strike Group – and the overhead radar of the plane they launch are all linked in to a central radar scan. The goal is to identify all ships, submarines, and aircraft within the general area to determine whether they are “friendly’s” or not and to keep them at a safe distance beyond their own strike capabilities. Even beyond radar, intelligence is use to gauge the current political theme of the world and the location of fleet plays a big part in the defense strategy. Once a target is identified it is noted whether or not it has weapons and if its intentions are likely not good. In any event it will never get within strike range and the people in this room have the authority to protect our ships. Fortunately, we were in a fairly safe place in the world in our location just off Mexico.
I scanned these images from the Distinguished Visitor guide that is non-classified.
From the kitchen, we made our way up to a very special area at the bow of the ship. The Forecastle anchor rooms of the carriers are decorated as special places. The massive anchor chairs are 1000 feet long and each link weighs 150 pounds. The chain delivery system is well laid out. Within the Forecastle Room is the main seal of the ship along with a special ship bell. Two small windows out the front give the anchor operators a look at the dropping of the anchors.
How Twitter Rocked My World. By John Mason-Smith Part 7
This is Part 7. To see Part 6 click here.
With so many people on board, there has to be a good plan to care for them.
There was so much more to see that day. We moved from the hanger bays over to meet two guys known as “Fit and Fun.” Fit’s job was to lead out on the exercise routines for the 5000 sailors living aboard the Stennis. Being on a ship for months on end requires a high level of thought process on exercise. The sailors have options from yoga to track. They organized a 5K race the week before on the flight deck (8 rounds) and they have lots of workout options. The bigger guy named “Fun” has recreation leadership for the sailors. Everything from poker tournaments to bingo, including in-port activities – Mr. Fun organizes. He uses the profits from the ship store to fund prizes for the winners of games so that the sailor’s money gets recycled. Both men are civilians who work for the Navy.
We next headed over to the hospital. They did not call this sickbay but I did. They are ready for almost anything including a mass casualty event with 32 beds. They had a doctor, medic, and corpsmen to all help out. I asked about the stairs and they have to use a series of racks and ropes to get patients up or down to the hospital. There are no people elevators on the ship!
We stopped by the dental office as well. They have a staff of 4: dentists, dental assistants, and dental hygienist. They can do any level of dentistry on board including crowns and caps. However, due to the population of 5000 onboard, they limit teeth cleaning to once a year.
Back in Hangar Bay #2, the fire response team had prepared for us an overview of their onboard firefighting techniques.
Everyone on board is trained in basic firefighting and a specialty trained response team has a 2-minute response from anywhere on the carrier to any fire incident.
There are 9 Carrier Air Wings (CVW) in the US Navy. The CVW assigned to the USS John C. Stennis includes Strike Fighter Squadron 97 (VFA-97), also known as the "Warhawks", which are a United States Navy F/A-18E squadron stationed at Naval Air Station Lemoore. Their tail code of "NG" and their radio callsign is Warhawk. Each CVW brings with it to the carrier its own support staff who then serves on the carrier for the deployment. At the dinner the night before, the server was an enlisted person with the Warhawks. The support staff can fill in at almost any part of the carrier and they help greatly with the missions. Each CVW’s Commander pilots the signature jet of the team in the even 100 series numbering. These 100 series jets are usually the only ones specially painted with the colors of the CVW. The other jets insignia is black and white slightly greyed out. Jet 200 from another airwing was in the Hanger Bay on our tour.
The entire fleet was not yet on board in this part of the ramp-up to deployment. These Navy aviators are the best at what they do. They can launch off a catapult, then come back and land – placing their tailhook on a spot the size of a playing card – even at night. The briefing included descriptions of how they line up and land as well as how they approach the ship and circle for their turn to land. We were sitting in the non-classified mission briefing room where seating is pre-assigned by the CVW’s commander. I noticed a bolt hanging above one of the chairs. The tailhook is attached to the jet by a bolt. If you miss a landing, it's called a "bolter." There the joke is you must be missing your tailhook so you get the bolt hung over your chair until the next aviator misses a landing.
Our briefing included a little non-classified lecture on how the weapons systems work with Target Acquisition Systems and how they are able to put “Warheads on Foreheads” during missions. For this level of training, they were holding 90 – 100 launches per 24 hour day. This will grow to 120 launches at the time of deployment. As I was leaving the briefing after scoring some patches and a CVW T-shirt, I spoke to Carl, the Aviator who was working the slide show. Turns out that when Carl was in flight school he lived in the same condo building I now live in – proving that somehow we are all connected!
In Part 8 I will tell - what I can- about the top-secret part of our adventure. Click here for Part 8.
With so many people on board, there has to be a good plan to care for them.
There was so much more to see that day. We moved from the hanger bays over to meet two guys known as “Fit and Fun.” Fit’s job was to lead out on the exercise routines for the 5000 sailors living aboard the Stennis. Being on a ship for months on end requires a high level of thought process on exercise. The sailors have options from yoga to track. They organized a 5K race the week before on the flight deck (8 rounds) and they have lots of workout options. The bigger guy named “Fun” has recreation leadership for the sailors. Everything from poker tournaments to bingo, including in-port activities – Mr. Fun organizes. He uses the profits from the ship store to fund prizes for the winners of games so that the sailor’s money gets recycled. Both men are civilians who work for the Navy.
Back in Hangar Bay #2, the fire response team had prepared for us an overview of their onboard firefighting techniques.
How Twitter Rocked My World. By John Mason-Smith Part 6
This is Part 6. To see Part 5, click here.
The DV's were out on the Vulture's nest at night and we watched the recovery process begin.
If I thought to land a jet going at take-off speed onto a flight deck and hitting a cable was tough – think about doing that in the dark. The skill of these aviators was incredible. I only saw one missed cable that night. In one landing, we were all watching the incoming aircraft. You can see its aircraft lights as it approaches. At the last minute we suddenly became aware that it was actually two aircraft as one of them broke off at the last second and the other landed. We found out the next day that the one landing had lost communications and the other jet was guiding it home. It was pretty intense in the Vulture’s Nest as it looked as if every plane was off course and about to hit the tower over our head.
After the nighttime process of flight operations was winding down, we all headed back down and visited the chapel area. The Navy provides the Chaplaincy for every conceivable religious background. Chaplin Dinkins and his staff shared that going into battle the numbers in church services go way up on attendance and tend to fall off during training.
We then headed to our staterooms for the night. There was an intercom general announcement of lights out in 15 minutes followed by a nightly word from Chaplin David Dinkins with a prayer. The lesson was about being a person who is a leader and how your good behavior or your bad behavior influences all those who follow you. It was a perfect end for the day. An aircraft carrier is a non-stop operation and as busy as my day had been I was only able to get about five hours shut-eye. The wake-up knock at the door came at 0615 and it was no problem as no one was sleeping! While I was waiting for our escort to breakfast I checked out the logbook for the room. In this book, people signed in and dated the entry. While the titles and names were highly connected – some politicians – the dates were all within the last two weeks. Apparently, these DV visits happen every single day except Wednesdays which is a no-fly day. We were an unusual group in that most of us were just regular civilians. The PAO’s felt that we would be a good group to help get the word out on how the Navy works. They asked us to use the late Senator John Stennis’s favorite phrase as a hashtag #LookAhead. Search for that hashtag on Twitter and see how we are doing!
The breakfast meal was in the enlisted dining area. Several of the DV’s made an effort to sit with some of the sailors in the mess. The food was very good and, being buffet style, it was all they could eat.
After breakfast, we cleaned off our own tray (A little different from the Officer's mess with the enlisted waiters the night before) and headed out to an area in the stern called the whale tail. After a night in the dark halls of the DV sleeping rooms and the enlisted mess, we walked out of the back deck of the ship into the bright, beautiful sunshine. It was my favorite part of the USS John C. Stennis. We all stood in the sun and drank it in. I was thinking about the sailors who work inside and barely get out – what a treat this area could be. It wasn’t all pleasure out there as they had two 50 caliper machine gun mounts on the rail. I spoke to the sailor who had side stern watch and she told me that she loved it out there. Women make up 18% of the sailors and aviators on the aircraft carrier. The goal for the Navy is to get the number up to 21% in the coming few years. Recruiters have found that so few high school graduates qualify these days for the Navy that without more women they would not be able to support the growing needs of the service. As with all the sailors on the Stennis, I found nothing but complete professionalism and teamwork regardless of who they were.
It was time for more exploring on day two so we headed next to the giant hanger bays below deck. Planes are stored and moved back and forth on 4 giant elevators from this area. For the DV’s it was an area with lots of room to spread out and absolutely no stairs or long corridors to wind through for a refreshing change. Huge openings where you could see the ocean were at the aircraft carrier elevator openings. In the hanger bays, all aircraft in maintenance mode or storage mode are stored. The big openings inside the hanger bays would have to be closed in case of an attack on the ship to keep the munitions from exploding or the ship from sinking. Our PAO explained that these doors can close in 20 seconds, and are strong enough to cut a jet in half if it is trapped.
One jet they use for crash and fire training. It is a regular drill. It looks pretty rough from the wear of it all.
Walking around was a little tricky, but no stairs!
I really enjoyed the waterfront views from the hangar bays.
One of the dangers for the jets is foreign objects on the decks of the hangar and the flight decks that could cause damage (FOD). To prevent this issue, there are regular FOD walks looking for anything that might be ingested by a jet engine.
In Part 7, I will share about how the John C. Stennis (CVN 74) provides for its 5000 sailors. Click here for Part 7.
The DV's were out on the Vulture's nest at night and we watched the recovery process begin.
After the nighttime process of flight operations was winding down, we all headed back down and visited the chapel area. The Navy provides the Chaplaincy for every conceivable religious background. Chaplin Dinkins and his staff shared that going into battle the numbers in church services go way up on attendance and tend to fall off during training.
The breakfast meal was in the enlisted dining area. Several of the DV’s made an effort to sit with some of the sailors in the mess. The food was very good and, being buffet style, it was all they could eat.
After breakfast, we cleaned off our own tray (A little different from the Officer's mess with the enlisted waiters the night before) and headed out to an area in the stern called the whale tail. After a night in the dark halls of the DV sleeping rooms and the enlisted mess, we walked out of the back deck of the ship into the bright, beautiful sunshine. It was my favorite part of the USS John C. Stennis. We all stood in the sun and drank it in. I was thinking about the sailors who work inside and barely get out – what a treat this area could be. It wasn’t all pleasure out there as they had two 50 caliper machine gun mounts on the rail. I spoke to the sailor who had side stern watch and she told me that she loved it out there. Women make up 18% of the sailors and aviators on the aircraft carrier. The goal for the Navy is to get the number up to 21% in the coming few years. Recruiters have found that so few high school graduates qualify these days for the Navy that without more women they would not be able to support the growing needs of the service. As with all the sailors on the Stennis, I found nothing but complete professionalism and teamwork regardless of who they were.
I really enjoyed the waterfront views from the hangar bays.
One of the dangers for the jets is foreign objects on the decks of the hangar and the flight decks that could cause damage (FOD). To prevent this issue, there are regular FOD walks looking for anything that might be ingested by a jet engine.
How Twitter Rocked My World. By John Mason-Smith Part 5
This is part 5. To read Part 4 click here.
Stateroom
The day had been amazing and it was time to see our staterooms and get a little rest before dinner. The hallway is a designated DV area and through passage was not permitted. My room was called “The President's Room” and by ship standards, it was very nice. We had two bunks and Brian my roomie chose the top. Both bunks had curtains. The Officer heads (bathrooms) were around the corner and through a door and needed an electronic key to open – the same key that opened our stateroom. In the room was a very nice gift bag with some of the swag and a selection of snacks – along with a bottle of water. The location of the room was stenciled on a glow in the dark board. The location code for my room is deck 03 ( third floor above the hangar bay) Frame 92 (the frames can be about 4' sections like the ribs of an old sailing ship. 92 from the bow) center 4 port to starboard position. The "L" means living area.
The room had two desks and a small library area. I spied Tom Clancy’s book “Carrier” on the shelf. It also has a sink and two chairs. At the time we were resting, the flight deck was performing catapult launches and the steam ran through the area which pretty much made it sound like the ram for the catapult was against our bunk. But please, I am not complaining. This day had impressed me so much. My respect for these very young sailors who run this floating airport/city is immense. They sleep in much worse accommodations than my stateroom for months on end during deployments. Many work 12 hours shifts and some go days without seeing the sun.
Soon the PAO’s came and got us for dinner. Tonight’s dinner will be at the Officer’s Dining Room. We gather first in the Executive Lounge where we enjoyed some cool drinks (no alcohol). With us is the Commanding Officer Captain Gregory C. Huffman, the chaplain Lt. Cmdr. David D. Dinkins, the Executive Officer of VFA-97 Cmd Jeffrey Bauer, Officer Nate Grove on the legal team for the Navy aboard the ship (JAG) and the Landing Signal Officer (LSO). This was a great time for bigger discussions on the politics, funding, and philosophy of Naval Aviation. It was a great discussion about how they all work within a system that is a little convoluted but it is a hard-working team. They explained how they have to operate on the expectation that 33% of their workforce will transition out each year. Every job has on-the-job training. Even one of our tour guides had only been on the ship for less than a month! That amazing process of ballet on the flight deck is being performed by young people 18 -22 years old. After about 30 minutes the Chef called us to let us know dinner was served. We had a place setting list and I was seated next to Captain Huffman and across from the chaplain Lt. Cmdr. David D. Dinkins.
I noticed in the corner was a table place set out for the missing person – the MIA or POW.
After dinner, we made our way back up the tower toward the flight bridge. Night-Ops were on launch mode. The DV’s were up on the flight bridge and our PAO’s suggested we walk down one level to the Vulture’s nest to view nighttime flight ops. From there, we watched a few take-offs at night. The jets have these green LED lights which glow at the point of launch which is super cool. They also were moving jets around in the dark on the deck. I was amazed as I watched 18-22-year-old sailors moving multi-million dollar planes around. At night, no outside light is showing on the flight deck. The hallways leading up the deck are in total darkness to prevent any light from accidentally confusing the aviators taking off or landing. Of course, no flash photography is allowed at all.
In Part 6, I'll show how they land a jet in total darkness. Click here to see Part 6.
Stateroom
The day had been amazing and it was time to see our staterooms and get a little rest before dinner. The hallway is a designated DV area and through passage was not permitted. My room was called “The President's Room” and by ship standards, it was very nice. We had two bunks and Brian my roomie chose the top. Both bunks had curtains. The Officer heads (bathrooms) were around the corner and through a door and needed an electronic key to open – the same key that opened our stateroom. In the room was a very nice gift bag with some of the swag and a selection of snacks – along with a bottle of water. The location of the room was stenciled on a glow in the dark board. The location code for my room is deck 03 ( third floor above the hangar bay) Frame 92 (the frames can be about 4' sections like the ribs of an old sailing ship. 92 from the bow) center 4 port to starboard position. The "L" means living area.
Soon the PAO’s came and got us for dinner. Tonight’s dinner will be at the Officer’s Dining Room. We gather first in the Executive Lounge where we enjoyed some cool drinks (no alcohol). With us is the Commanding Officer Captain Gregory C. Huffman, the chaplain Lt. Cmdr. David D. Dinkins, the Executive Officer of VFA-97 Cmd Jeffrey Bauer, Officer Nate Grove on the legal team for the Navy aboard the ship (JAG) and the Landing Signal Officer (LSO). This was a great time for bigger discussions on the politics, funding, and philosophy of Naval Aviation. It was a great discussion about how they all work within a system that is a little convoluted but it is a hard-working team. They explained how they have to operate on the expectation that 33% of their workforce will transition out each year. Every job has on-the-job training. Even one of our tour guides had only been on the ship for less than a month! That amazing process of ballet on the flight deck is being performed by young people 18 -22 years old. After about 30 minutes the Chef called us to let us know dinner was served. We had a place setting list and I was seated next to Captain Huffman and across from the chaplain Lt. Cmdr. David D. Dinkins.
After dinner, we made our way back up the tower toward the flight bridge. Night-Ops were on launch mode. The DV’s were up on the flight bridge and our PAO’s suggested we walk down one level to the Vulture’s nest to view nighttime flight ops. From there, we watched a few take-offs at night. The jets have these green LED lights which glow at the point of launch which is super cool. They also were moving jets around in the dark on the deck. I was amazed as I watched 18-22-year-old sailors moving multi-million dollar planes around. At night, no outside light is showing on the flight deck. The hallways leading up the deck are in total darkness to prevent any light from accidentally confusing the aviators taking off or landing. Of course, no flash photography is allowed at all.
In Part 6, I'll show how they land a jet in total darkness. Click here to see Part 6.
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