CARRIER CRUISE (Part Five)

Life on the carrier has a whole lot of ordinary little things that are common to even the newest sailor but are unusual to the everyday land bound citizen. I will mention a few of them. The picture on the left shows a pentagon shaped piece of metal on a side line. This line is part of the group of lines that secure the anchored carrier to the shore. But what's up with the piece of pentagon metal? Is it a way to mark the use of that particular line? Does it contain some sort of material that glows in the dark? Is it a splice? Does it strengthen the line?

These were some of my guesses and they were all wrong. It is a rat guard. Without it and guards like them, it wouldn't take long before the ship would be infested with rats, like many ships of bygone years. Plagues were spread from port to port that way. A simple piece of metal, but critical to ship hygiene and safety.

Later, I was privileged to see through a pair of very expensive night vision goggles during a late night demonstration. Not only is the view green, when peering into the lens but it has the appearance of white sparkles drifting down through the viewing area. The slightest bit of light, for instance, the glow of a burning candle, appears as a gigantic flood light and can obscure vision.

The carrier is a floating city with 5000 plus inhabitants. It must be kept clean and orderly to prevent accidents to machinery and most importantly, personnel. Drills and regular cleanup do at least a couple things. They encourage discipline, develop good habits and prevent mishaps. More than once I heard these words over the public address. "Sweepers, sweepers, man your brooms. Give the deck a good cleaning fore and aft." At which point those assigned grab their brooms and sweep the flight deck in a preset manner.

In a similar way, FOD (Foreign Object Damage) walks are periodically scheduled. This involves picking up debris off the deck that could eventually find its way to the intake of a jet engine or aircraft tire or piece of machinery and do serious damage. Debris like bits of wire, a screw, a nut, a writing pen and so forth. Little things that get dropped or ignored can find their way into a vacuum cleaner jet engine, can cause a fan blade to break off, setting up a chain reaction that may cause that jet engine to explode.

Where is the average sailor from and how old is he or she? I quote from a USS Stennis pamphlet that reads, "On any given day, Stennis Sailors represent all 50 states. With an average age of 19-years-old, these young men and women operate under some of the most strenuous conditions in the world...The air wing is capable of destroying enemy aircraft, ships, submarines and land targets...The USS John C. Stennis can provide a visible presence, demonstrating American power and resolve, at a moments notice."

In 1979, Senator John C. Stennis said, "It carries everything and goes full strength and is ready to fight or go into action within minutes after it arrives at its destination...there is nothing that compares with it when it comes to deterrence. The best way to avoid war is to be fully prepared, have the tools of war in abundance and have them ready."