CARRIER CRUISE (Part Two)

Scott, gave my Dad, my brother, Bob, and I a tour of the ship before we left the harbor and showed us some of the more common areas of interest. Perhaps one of the most unusual was what I mistakenly had called the gang plank, where the ship is boarded. This turns out to be an improper use of the word. "Gang plank" is actually the connecting point of two ships in close proximity. The carrier is more properly boarded at the "brow." There are several brows, depending on your rank. When you are few steps from stepping on board, you pause, face the flag at the stern of the ship, come to attention and if in uniform, salute.

The brow opens up into the hangar bay which is a storage point for aircraft, equipment and supplies. The sheer size of the hangar dwarfs all around. The ceiling is perhaps 50 feet high or more, with helicopters, folded wing fighter planes, wooden pallets, motorized aircraft pull dollies and people, all within inches of each other. Every space is carefully used. Chances of tripping or accidentally banging into something are all around you. Major areas are marked with bulkhead number designators to help you determine your level, above and below decks, your bulkhead and so forth so that you can find your position if you ever become lost. The details of this system were explained to me right at first, but of course, it helps if you have your locale number written down or memorized and if you happen to remember what numbers represent what.

If you don't remember, you pay, which I promptly did. I asked Scott how to get to the nearest latrine. He told me and then instructed me to meet him back at his office. No problem, I thought. When done at the latrine, I attempted to return to his office but somehow made a wrong turn or was on the wrong level. Anyway, after several rights and lefts and ups and downs, I was very much lost. Right in the middle of my confusion, the loudspeaker breaks into a "man overboard" exercise. When this happens, the tiger is supposed to stick by his sponsor so that each unit sponsor can report all tigers and personnel are accounted for.

Fortunately, I did remember one bit of instruction. "Dad if you every get lost, it is easy to find the hangar bay. You know how to get to my stateroom from the hangar bay. Go there and I'll call you to make sure you are not lost." After several minutes of panic, I found the hangar bay, found the stateroom, received the call and was rescued. Another crisis averted!