Sailing The Seven Seas

Or actually just one sea, the Pacific Ocean. This past week I actually got to be a real sailor and go TAD aboard America's only forward-deployed aircraft carrier, the USS Kitty Hawk, for a few days as she steamed for Hokkaido, Japan. What a great experience! Being at a shore command, I often forget in the midst of whiny family members that I'm actually part of an organization that really goes out there and fights wars. I treat these guys and gals everyday and never get a chance to see what they actually do - so this was quite a treat. And when they do flight ops, they're not playing around. Watching night touch and go's was surreal. The sky was full of thousands of stars and the only artificial light was that from the planes and a handful of lights on the flightdeck along with the glow-in-the-dark vests of the deck crew. The whole affair is choreographed like a ballet - nothing is out of place because if it is, people die. I got to witness quite a few other spaces on the ship and treated some patients as well, also an interesting experience as the ship rocked from side to side. I stayed in a stateroom with four other dudes, mostly young officers, so it was really more like a college dorm room. In fact some guys worked nightshifts, so the room was constantly dark like a cave. No problem, though, as I slept like a baby with the gentle sway of the ship. Since I am departing the Navy in December I'm really grateful that I had the chance to do this. Incidentally, the Kitty will be decommissioned next July. So fair winds and following seas!

Below are a few pics from my trip (the better of the ones I managed to snap off). If I were a real plane-geek, I'd tell you what kinds of aircraft you're looking at, but you can probably tell better than I can! On my last day, I rode a helo off the flight deck back to Yokosuka so there's also a couple pics from that trip as well. Enjoy...