Posted on: Tuesday, February 18, 2003
ISLAND VOICES
Trip aboard carrier was a trip
By Bob Hampton
Waikiki Beach Activities
When Adm. Walter Doran, U.S. Navy commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, invited me to have lunch aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson, I said yes. What a day that was.
After an 0800 briefing at a hangar office on Hickam AFB, I was stuffed into a helmet, flight vest, etc. With nine other "civic leaders," an admiral and two high-ranking Navy officers, we boarded a small Navy tail-loading C-2 crew/cargo plane with a "Snoopy" nose. Not anything like Hawaiian or Aloha airlines. No frills, no flight stewards, no windows, just the smell, roar and rattle of a well-used cargo plane.
After a 30-minute flight, we made a "COD" (carrier on-board delivery), also called a "trap" because you land under full power at 150 mph on a rolling deck. And, to my amazement, you stop in 400 feet when you hook a huge cable. At that moment I earned the Navy title "tail hooker." This is an e-ticket ride and probably the reason you sit facing the rear of the plane.
We went to our first briefing, conducted by the articulate executive officer. He explained that except for "no alcohol," this vessel is like any small city. It has a small shopping mall, theaters, many gyms, etc., intermixed with huge hangars and hundreds of airplanes, all with folded wings, each perched as if waiting to fly away at a moment's notice.
Crew members typically work 16-hour shifts seven days a week and engage in drills all the time. They eat four times a day, and do they eat. The chow was terrific and healthy, one of the best lunches I have had since I ate at Chef's Table last week. The morale is bursting with pride, and you get this up feeling wherever you go. They all seem bright-eyed and motivated. They are also very polite and disciplined.
We spent quality time with the leader of this 5,000-member crew on "his" bridge. Capt. Richard Wren looks as if he should play the part, not be the real person. He is obviously very intelligent and very confident when he says "nothing gets within 5,000 yards of my ship without my knowledge and approval." Have no doubt that he means it.
We went to the flight deck, where we were permitted to stand in the open not 100 feet away from the F-18C Hornets as they took off and landed. This is a sight to behold. Each landing and takeoff creates a blast of warm air. Without the helmet and earmuffs, one would surely go deaf. It's a thrill watching it and it is a bigger thrill doing it.
Beware, Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, the Carl Vinson; it's the leader of one of the baddest Navy battle groups in the Pacific. There are 85 hungry F-18C Hornets just waiting their turn to smash weapons of mass destruction.
After a full day of running up and down some 25 stairwells and sitting in meetings with pilots and crew, we gathered again on the flight deck. About 1600, we boarded the little C-2 cargo plane, again all sitting facing the rear looking at the ocean through the open rear ramp/door. After a short delay, waiting our turn on the catapult, the ramp/door goes up and the pilot yells "hit it!" and boom, I was morphed into my chest and seat straps for a few brief seconds (as instructed, we crossed our arms and put our feet on the back of the seat in front of us).
Suddenly, the G force was off, and our plane sort of dipped and settled down, dropping, feeling like a slow landing, then I had the sensation of quickly climbing and flying normally. Whew!
We landed at 1700 at Hickam AFB. As we left the plane, each of us tired, newly named "tail hookers" handed over our flying gear and looked back at the C-2. I was thrilled to know, in my heart, that we Americans are the bravest, strongest, smartest, safest and freest country in the world. And boy, am I lucky to be an American.
Bottom line: America, you can sleep at night; the U.S. Navy has you covered. I saw it, and I believe it.
