Ya know Sticky,
All this complaining about duty on this thread, maybe we should reinstitute the 24 hour SDO sleeping post within the ready room. Considering we train to fly in the fleet, maybe we should practice pulling duty like the fleet. Just a suggestion.
Frumby
I'll say this much, I remember my last RDO as a newly winged aviator with VFA-125 on my orders. I was sitting there trying to explain what Lemoore is going to be like to my wife (of one year). It was the last day an TA-4J Skyhawk would fly from NAS Kingsville with "B" on the tail. I was the only one on the base that thought of brining a camera to capture the moment. Me, lowly RDO, no one else. It was heading to the boneyard, not the true end of the "Scooters." Rosey Roads guys would have that honor in the U.S., but the last out of K-Rock....
ENOUGH WITH THE OLD GUY BABBLE!! JUST SUCK IT UP IN THE RDO SHACK; PAY ATTENTION TO THE AIRCRAFT IN THE PATTERN AND KEEP A MISHAP FROM HAPPENING!
That's our job, every day, every minute in a flight suit. Whether you're in the cockpit or in the RDO shack helping your buds airborne. Yeah, gear up landings are few-and-thank-God-far-between but near midairs, suicidal birds, and general bafoonary can be protected against. Put the Playboy down and observe your environment. The environment you volunteered to live, breathe, and savor. Watch how a 2000+ hour IP turns off the 180 and LISTEN! Watch and listen how a 10- hour SNA turns off the 180. Imagine your arse in that seat dealing with those gusty winds or zero winds. Fly the turn with him/her. Keep your aviation senses sharp.
This is NAVAL AVIATION and your job is to wake up every day and embrace it. Whether that's in the cockpit of an orange and white; in a gray jet first time behind the ship at night (allways pitch black); on duty waiting for your next chance to strap in; rolling in for night low angle strafe (which you've never trained for) to help a fire team get across a bridge into a town where they will be alone against a thousand maniacs; or standing on the LSO platform help keeping your buds off the ramp.
"...bordem punctuated by moments of shear terror." That's what I hope all your careers are blessed with. If RDO be your bordem, then just you wait for the terror! Be ready for it. It's ready for you.
Amen! and goodnight you princes and princess of Naval Aviation.