I don't have the bandwidth to split the thread right now, so if someone else wants to send it on its way, be my guest.
@Harrier Dude:
It's a dual qual. First, it's a Natops qual, so it lives in your NATOPS jacket and is signed by your CO. There are a few differences between east and west coast wings (the radio callsign "Paddles" vs "Deck", for example), but there's an allowance to bounce and fly w/ guys from different wings. All it takes is an email (or 20). When you get on the ship, for some reason, the CO of the ship likes to designate you for his ship. You can bounce birds on a ship w/out the letter (like doing DLQs for workups/training), but for deployment, there's supposed to be a second letter. I don't remember why this is, but it is, and I moved on. Your LSO qual is for all ships, so even if I qual'ed on a FFG, I can go land/straighten birds on a CG.