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A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A CARRIER PILOT

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HAL Pilot

HAL Pilot

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During my last cruise on the TR, we had a F-14 squadron whose main goal was to keep a crew (pilot and RIO) in the rack continuously from the time we got underway from Norfolk until we returned to the pier 6 months latter. The SDO was in charge of the "shift changes" and had to log them to ensure there was an overlap. The hardest part was when we intially got underway and the last few days when the airwing was not on board. They had very few officers onboard than and the few that were around were busy with the onload/offload of the squadron personnel and equipment. They succeeded despite it being an extended combat cruise for Desert Storm. Their CO went so far as to have AOMs, etc. in an 8-man to ensure success. After all, you got to have your priorities....
 
Fly Navy

Fly Navy

...Great Job!
pilot
Super Moderator
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HAL Pilot said:
During my last cruise on the TR, we had a F-14 squadron whose main goal was to keep a crew (pilot and RIO) in the rack continuously from the time we got underway from Norfolk until we returned to the pier 6 months latter. The SDO was in charge of the "shift changes" and had to log them to ensure there was an overlap. The hardest part was when we intially got underway and the last few days when the airwing was not on board. They had very few officers onboard than and the few that were around were busy with the onload/offload of the squadron personnel and equipment. They succeeded despite it being an extended combat cruise for Desert Storm. Their CO went so far as to have AOMs, etc. in an 8-man to ensure success. After all, you got to have your priorities....
Click to expand...

Seriously, I love the Navy.
 
squeeze

squeeze

Retired Harrier Dude
pilot
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having just come back from standing duty for a week on the Lincoln for CQs, I think I can safely say that I would be just fine never having to spend another day of my life on a carrier. i saw enough of a ready room to fill my US RDA.

observations:
waking to the sound of 0500 no-load cat shots is always nice when you've been in the rack for only 5.5 hrs... who the hell thought of putting the ready rooms DIRECTLY below the arresting gear....sweet jesus... the ships movie channels apparently own about 6 DVDs that they repeat ad nauseum (and seriously, who requested some malcom-in-the-middle-spy kid movie)... hooray for the new plasma screen TVs and projector -- 4 player halo is much easier than on a 20" tv...

granted, it probably would have been much cooler being with a normal squadron doing ops, but still.....'stir crazy' doesn't begin to describe it.

ps- if i were a swo, i'd kill myself
 
ea6bflyr

ea6bflyr

Working Class Bum
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Super Moderator
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Ah, but being able to watch CNN while underway is awesome....plus once you are on deployment, they show NEW movies.....and yes they play them 4-5 times so the whole crew with different work shifts can enjoy them. You'll get used to sleeping though No-Load cat shots and arrestments. My stateroom was right under the #1 Jet Blast Deflector (JBD)...talk about loud....that's why GOD invented ear plug.
ea6bflyr

squeeze said:
having just come back from standing duty for a week on the Lincoln for CQs, I think I can safely say that I would be just fine never having to spend another day of my life on a carrier. i saw enough of a ready room to fill my US RDA.

observations:
waking to the sound of 0500 no-load cat shots is always nice when you've been in the rack for only 5.5 hrs... who the hell thought of putting the ready rooms DIRECTLY below the arresting gear....sweet jesus... the ships movie channels apparently own about 6 DVDs that they repeat ad nauseum (and seriously, who requested some malcom-in-the-middle-spy kid movie)... hooray for the new plasma screen TVs and projector -- 4 player halo is much easier than on a 20" tv...

granted, it probably would have been much cooler being with a normal squadron doing ops, but still.....'stir crazy' doesn't begin to describe it.

ps- if i were a swo, i'd kill myself
Click to expand...
 
Z

zuggerat

Registered User
holy freakin crap... this has got to be the greatest "job" on earth. do you get internet access on the ship too (i guess via satellite)?
 
squeeze

squeeze

Retired Harrier Dude
pilot
Super Moderator
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Yup, there's satellite internet. It's not really fast enough to do regular web surfing, but suffices for email and checking your bank accounts. It, like the satellite tv, depends solely on how well the ship is receiving the signal. You'll see "searching for satellite signal..." quite a bit. It is a nice perk though.
 
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ea6bflyr

ea6bflyr

Working Class Bum
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Yes, you get internet access....but it is * S L O W *
like 2400 Baud Slow. Email access isn't too bad.
ea6bflyr
 
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Road Program

Road Program

Hangin' on by the static wicks
None
Dude...I am going to shoot the next person that complains about life as a pilot onboard a carrier. I am a FORMER SWO, now a 1375 awaiting orders to API. That schedule is part of the reason I wanted to transfer. 5.5 hours of sleep? I'll take that any day of the week and twice on Sundays. Internet? Just ask those HSL guys how their internet connection is on a smallboy.

Bad movies? Try no movies...that's always fun. Boring meetings? You could stand the 2-7 watch and then stay right where you are for a nice 4 hour sea and anchor detail. Oh yeah...that's the life of a SWO. Granted, not getting underway on a ship at all would be nice, but that would take you out of tacair, and no one wants that.
 
PropStop

PropStop

Kool-Aid free since 2001.
pilot
Contributor
Now we just need a day in the life of a P-3er. I don't deploy for a while yet and i'd like to know what i'm in for. Any help on this Webmaster? I suspect it isn't quite as painful!

Friends don't let friends go SWO
 
UncleFester

UncleFester

Hummer NFO To Be Reckoned With
Oh, it's not that they show movies over and over. It's that they show the STUPID movies over and over.
And I agree, your worst day in the worst squadron on the worst boat is still better than your best day as a Shoe. I had a few streches where I'd been awake for 48 hours straight, then took the midwatch OOD. Bad idea jeans, but there you go. Now if I get less than seven hours in the rack, I feel deprived.
 
Schnugg

Schnugg

It's gettin' a bit dramatic 'round here...
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
Ah yes...boat life...gotta love the ready room life..."Roll 'Em!!!"
Enterprise...Enterprise....Lincoln...Vinson...Vinson...Stennis...Stennis...deployments that is..

Cheers,
Goz
 
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