NORFOLK, Va. — Even with ear protection, the roar and thunderous vibrations from 17,000 pounds of thrust from an F-18 Super Hornet can be felt in your inner core. It’s the most exhilarating experience for those who’ve never felt it as jets are launched from the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower.
“Very dangerous, yes. We always say we keep our heads on a swivel 'cause it can go very wrong very quickly,” said Navy Lieutenant Nathan King of Grandview, Indiana.
King serves as a catapult officer, otherwise known as a shooter, on deck. He’s the final say so on whether a plane can take off or not.
Every job position on the deck wears a specific colored uniform. As they sometimes work in silence under hearing protection, hand signals are exchanged to indicate the status of each stage of the launching and recovery process.
“Hand signals are everything,” King said. “I do have a radio and I have earbuds in so I can hear, but almost everything can be done with hand signals.”
Aviation 3 Bryson Torbeck who has family in Cincinnati is always on standby as part of the Crash and Salvage team.
“Having us on deck with response time of 20 seconds, that’s what we shoot for every time to prevent additional damage,” he said.
As both jets and propeller aircraft come in to land, he and others watch closely as the tailhook comes down to grab one of the four steel wires stretched across the deck and await the opportunity to trap the plane.
“The way I describe my first time taking a trap was I knew what just happened but I had no idea what happened,” said Commander Michael ‘Slayer’ Farley. “There’s some violence you’re stopping in about 700 feet from 140 knots, 160 mph to zero.”
Farley is an F-18 pilot within the Strike Fighter Wing Atlantic, VFA 81. He’s flown on missions in support of operations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and most recently in support of NATO operations tied to Ukraine.
High above the flight deck Ohioan Desiree Munguia serves as one of the ship’s Quartermasters. She’s like the human GPS ensuring the ship is on the right course and avoiding obstacles.
“I would say the quartermaster is very critical because we are the only ones looking at VLS,” she said. “We can see other ships any unexploded ordinances.”
While the flight deck gets a lot of the spotlight when someone talks about an aircraft carrier, the level of activity below the deck on the floating city can be mind-boggling.
One can’t help but feel like a hamster running through a maze of tunnels attempting to navigate the hallways and levels of the ship. Through the halls, doorways require a step up to go through as they can be closed in the event of fire and flooding. There are other times sailors seem to dart into small round port openings or lower openings half their size as they navigate to another section of the ship.
At night, some hallways turn from white to red. It’s all part of light security so that any hallway that leads to a door that leads to the outside doesn’t flood an opening of the ship with bright white light.
Stretching 1,092 feet, some 5,000-plus sailors inhabit the living and workspaces. It’s a small town that has six galleys or kitchens to serve upwards of 14,000 meals a day.
“As soon as they finish up with a meal they dump a bunch of mop water on the floor they squeegee the floors, mop the floors,” said Hospital Corpsman Austin Swagart.
A graduate of Colerain High School, Swagart is part of what essentially is the Navy equivalent of a Public Health Department on the ship.
“I specifically deal with preventative medicine, more of a public health direction, food sanitation, water sanitation,” he said.
From galley inspections to immunizations, he ensures sailors who are under the weather can get the medical treatment necessary to get back into the mission.
“Taking care of patients making sure everyone stays safe and healthy,” Swagart said. “It’s nothing real special in my eyes. I don’t do anything special.”
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