I couple of friends of my mom got to ride aboard the USS RR not too long ago from Santa Barbara to San Diego and they wrote a little something about it. I found it pretty interesting, so I thought I would share it with you guys. :banana:
As many of you know, we had the opportunity to sail on the USS RR from Santa Barbara to San Diego. We were invited to be DGs (Distinguished Guests) due to Sydney’s hard work for the Navy League of Santa Barbara organizing volunteers for the various events in connection with the ship’s visit to Santa Barbara August 19-21. Our two days and nights aboard were such a great experience that we prepared this record for our own scrapbook as well as for family and friends.
The USS RR is the newest Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier in our fleet. It cost $5 billion to build, and costs $2.5 million a day to operate. When it has a full air wing aboard, it is home to more than 5,000 sailors and pilots. The air wing is normally 80 aircraft, including F-18 Hornet and Super Hornets, anti-submarine aircraft, electronic surveillance planes, refueling aircraft, and Sea Hawk helicopters. The ship is 20 stories high, 1,062 feet long, and the flight deck covers 4.5 acres. The anchors each weigh 4 tons, and each link in the anchor chain weighs 365 pounds. The ship’s displacement is 97,000 tons.
The ship’s physical and operational qualities are awesome, but we thought the true heart of the ship is its crew. Our guide (there were 40 DGs on board, and we were broken down into groups of 8 for our tours) was an enlisted man, and the very first thing Chief Doherty wanted to show us was the Avionics Department so we could see what he did. Every sailor we met had the same pride in his or her job and how his work meshed with the operations of the ship. At each “stop” on our tour we were briefed by an officer or enlisted man who worked in the area, and each one was professional, knowledgeable, and proud of his ship and his role. Many sailors are 18-19 year olds who are given great responsibility and take it very seriously. They can tell you about their job as well as the job of their crewmates. It gives one confidence in our Navy and its sailors.
We saw the Captain several times on the ship’s closed circuit TV (more later on how the Bosun pipes the “attention” to the Captain’s announcements) and met with him our last day on board. Captain Symonds was an aspiring math teacher when he decided that he wanted something a little more adventuresome. So he joined the Navy. (He is slated to make Admiral soon. Carriers are commanded by a Captain, while an Admiral commands the Strike Group of which the carrier is one ship.) His concern and ambition for the sailors in his command was obvious—to borrow a phrase from another branch of the service, he really wanted each sailor to be all he could be.
We spent quite a bit of time during our two days with Command Master Chief Cathy Hassen. She is the highest ranking enlisted sailor on board and is responsible for directing and watching out for all the enlisted personnel--top Human Resource person. She was one of ten children and told Sydney that she had been wild in her youth, and when she graduated from high school her mother suggested she join the Navy. She did and found a home that she has loved for the past 22 years.
Meals were a great way to meet and talk with officers (we took our chow in the Officers’ Wardroom). We appreciated the hand-cleaning dispensers all around because after climbing up and down ladders and using handrails that thousands of others had, it was great to “wash up” conveniently. The tables in the wardroom were for 8, and we ate with different officers at each meal. We talked with pilots, tactical attack operations officers, weapons officers, an officer on the Admiral’s staff, and many others. We heard great “sea stories,” but also about their families, background, and, of course, their careers. The pilots made it a point to call the ship a boat because it rankled the sailors, and the sailors said you could identify pilots by their swagger. In addition to this opportunity to spend time with the officers, the chow was pretty good (e.g., omelets made to order), with good variety and quality. Plus, you could eat as much as you wanted, so long as you cleaned your plate.
There were only two fixed wing aircraft on board, so we did not see much of flight operations, although one was catapulted off the flight deck on Monday. We certainly appreciated from just that one takeoff what the noise level would be with a full air wing taking off and landing day and night, which is the normal routine. We did, however, see numerous helicopter operations during the “underway replenishment” procedure.
This underway replenishment procedure was developed by our Navy during WWII, and permits resupplying of a carrier without requiring it to stop. The resupply ship (USNS Rainier) came alongside 40 yards from the USS RR, and the two ships sailed parallel at 12-14 knots. The supplies (in this case munitions) were then transferred to the carrier by gravity cables and helicopter lifts. We timed the helicopter trips, and each roundtrip took 70-75 seconds, during which a cable would be attached to the helicopter, the helicopter would fly from the Rainer to the USS RR, deposit the cable and the munitions crate on the flight deck, and then return for another load. Once the crate was set down on the carrier’s flight deck, a team would unhook the cable and a forklift would pick up the crate and transport it to the flight deck elevator, to be lowered and stored below. This operation continued for 7 consecutive hours. 2000 tons of bombs, missiles, torpedoes, and small arms munitions were brought on board. It was a beautiful day, and we spent over an hour watching this extremely efficient and impressive operation. It was mesmerizing and quite dangerous, but there were no injuries or other mishaps and the Captain was pleased with the success of the transfer.
The ship is fully equipped to handle medical or dental needs of the crew. The ship hospital has 55 beds and can do virtually any medical test as well as any but the most sophisticated surgeries. The ship’s surgeon is Commander Kill and the Chief Corpsman is Corpsman Coffin (this is not a joke). We peeked in on a sailor who was “resting” from just having 4 wisdom teeth pulled—he should be up and at it by now!
The enlisted men’s library was underwritten by a substantial contribution by the Navy League of Santa Barbara. One of the three rooms in the library is devoted to computer terminals, one is a lending library, and one is a reading room. Peter was pleased to learn that the most popular books were history books.
The ship’s defense is centered in the Combat Direction Center, which has Air Defense and a Surface Defense rooms. As you might expect, both rooms are full of radar equipment. If a threat to the carrier is detected, Sea Sparrow missiles and/or Sea Hawk helicopters would be the first line of defense.
Our visit to the Bridge was a highlight. Lots of action going on but the most fascinating to Sydney was the Bosun Mate O’Brien (coincidentally her sister married an O’Brien). One of the Bosun’s duties is to pipe attention to the Captain when he is to speak to the crew or leave the ship. Each ship has her own piping tune, like variations on “Here’s Johnny”. When a Bosun is accepted he is given a silver pipe with his name engraved on it. In tribute to the historic Bosun’s role (mending sails, etc.) he ties an intricate series of knots on the pipe stem and attaches it to an original knotted lariat. Bosun O’Brien was very proud of the history of his job and of his “tune” and piped it for us and then just beamed. He was about 19 years old.
Two other fascinating areas aboard but quite different from each other were the Captain’s office and the Brig.
Nancy Reagan supervised the decorating of the Captain’s office and it is done in her favorite color, red, and reminiscent of the Red Room in the White House. It holds souvenirs of President Reagan and of the travels of the USS RR. Many Santa Barbara Navy League gifts are also on display, including the first “Ronnie” Beanie Baby which is signed by Mrs. Reagan.
The Brig is done in Navy grey and is quite austere. By the time a sailor gets to the Brig, he has gone through a series of hearings beginning with a peer review and up to the Captain’s ruling. When the sailor arrives he is given a “Rules of the Brig” book to read, must stand in a 6x8 cell for the first 24 hours --leaning is permitted, and only bread and water is served. After that, they are put in a small bunk room area and assigned chores. Good behavior earns above deck detail but they must wear a jumpsuit with a “B” on it. The shame usually does the trick but any real serious offenses are shipped off.
This record could go on for many more pages but hopefully this gives some flavor of our experience. As we docked at North Island in the San Diego harbor, the ship’s flag, the old Union Jack “Don’t Tread on Me,” was raised. This flag along with the Stars and Stripes is flown in war time. The ship’s code name is “Freedom” and her slogan is “Peace through Strength”. We had the privilege to see the men and women who help keep us free in action—it was both exhilarating and humbling.
As many of you know, we had the opportunity to sail on the USS RR from Santa Barbara to San Diego. We were invited to be DGs (Distinguished Guests) due to Sydney’s hard work for the Navy League of Santa Barbara organizing volunteers for the various events in connection with the ship’s visit to Santa Barbara August 19-21. Our two days and nights aboard were such a great experience that we prepared this record for our own scrapbook as well as for family and friends.
The USS RR is the newest Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier in our fleet. It cost $5 billion to build, and costs $2.5 million a day to operate. When it has a full air wing aboard, it is home to more than 5,000 sailors and pilots. The air wing is normally 80 aircraft, including F-18 Hornet and Super Hornets, anti-submarine aircraft, electronic surveillance planes, refueling aircraft, and Sea Hawk helicopters. The ship is 20 stories high, 1,062 feet long, and the flight deck covers 4.5 acres. The anchors each weigh 4 tons, and each link in the anchor chain weighs 365 pounds. The ship’s displacement is 97,000 tons.
The ship’s physical and operational qualities are awesome, but we thought the true heart of the ship is its crew. Our guide (there were 40 DGs on board, and we were broken down into groups of 8 for our tours) was an enlisted man, and the very first thing Chief Doherty wanted to show us was the Avionics Department so we could see what he did. Every sailor we met had the same pride in his or her job and how his work meshed with the operations of the ship. At each “stop” on our tour we were briefed by an officer or enlisted man who worked in the area, and each one was professional, knowledgeable, and proud of his ship and his role. Many sailors are 18-19 year olds who are given great responsibility and take it very seriously. They can tell you about their job as well as the job of their crewmates. It gives one confidence in our Navy and its sailors.
We saw the Captain several times on the ship’s closed circuit TV (more later on how the Bosun pipes the “attention” to the Captain’s announcements) and met with him our last day on board. Captain Symonds was an aspiring math teacher when he decided that he wanted something a little more adventuresome. So he joined the Navy. (He is slated to make Admiral soon. Carriers are commanded by a Captain, while an Admiral commands the Strike Group of which the carrier is one ship.) His concern and ambition for the sailors in his command was obvious—to borrow a phrase from another branch of the service, he really wanted each sailor to be all he could be.
We spent quite a bit of time during our two days with Command Master Chief Cathy Hassen. She is the highest ranking enlisted sailor on board and is responsible for directing and watching out for all the enlisted personnel--top Human Resource person. She was one of ten children and told Sydney that she had been wild in her youth, and when she graduated from high school her mother suggested she join the Navy. She did and found a home that she has loved for the past 22 years.
Meals were a great way to meet and talk with officers (we took our chow in the Officers’ Wardroom). We appreciated the hand-cleaning dispensers all around because after climbing up and down ladders and using handrails that thousands of others had, it was great to “wash up” conveniently. The tables in the wardroom were for 8, and we ate with different officers at each meal. We talked with pilots, tactical attack operations officers, weapons officers, an officer on the Admiral’s staff, and many others. We heard great “sea stories,” but also about their families, background, and, of course, their careers. The pilots made it a point to call the ship a boat because it rankled the sailors, and the sailors said you could identify pilots by their swagger. In addition to this opportunity to spend time with the officers, the chow was pretty good (e.g., omelets made to order), with good variety and quality. Plus, you could eat as much as you wanted, so long as you cleaned your plate.
There were only two fixed wing aircraft on board, so we did not see much of flight operations, although one was catapulted off the flight deck on Monday. We certainly appreciated from just that one takeoff what the noise level would be with a full air wing taking off and landing day and night, which is the normal routine. We did, however, see numerous helicopter operations during the “underway replenishment” procedure.
This underway replenishment procedure was developed by our Navy during WWII, and permits resupplying of a carrier without requiring it to stop. The resupply ship (USNS Rainier) came alongside 40 yards from the USS RR, and the two ships sailed parallel at 12-14 knots. The supplies (in this case munitions) were then transferred to the carrier by gravity cables and helicopter lifts. We timed the helicopter trips, and each roundtrip took 70-75 seconds, during which a cable would be attached to the helicopter, the helicopter would fly from the Rainer to the USS RR, deposit the cable and the munitions crate on the flight deck, and then return for another load. Once the crate was set down on the carrier’s flight deck, a team would unhook the cable and a forklift would pick up the crate and transport it to the flight deck elevator, to be lowered and stored below. This operation continued for 7 consecutive hours. 2000 tons of bombs, missiles, torpedoes, and small arms munitions were brought on board. It was a beautiful day, and we spent over an hour watching this extremely efficient and impressive operation. It was mesmerizing and quite dangerous, but there were no injuries or other mishaps and the Captain was pleased with the success of the transfer.
The ship is fully equipped to handle medical or dental needs of the crew. The ship hospital has 55 beds and can do virtually any medical test as well as any but the most sophisticated surgeries. The ship’s surgeon is Commander Kill and the Chief Corpsman is Corpsman Coffin (this is not a joke). We peeked in on a sailor who was “resting” from just having 4 wisdom teeth pulled—he should be up and at it by now!
The enlisted men’s library was underwritten by a substantial contribution by the Navy League of Santa Barbara. One of the three rooms in the library is devoted to computer terminals, one is a lending library, and one is a reading room. Peter was pleased to learn that the most popular books were history books.
The ship’s defense is centered in the Combat Direction Center, which has Air Defense and a Surface Defense rooms. As you might expect, both rooms are full of radar equipment. If a threat to the carrier is detected, Sea Sparrow missiles and/or Sea Hawk helicopters would be the first line of defense.
Our visit to the Bridge was a highlight. Lots of action going on but the most fascinating to Sydney was the Bosun Mate O’Brien (coincidentally her sister married an O’Brien). One of the Bosun’s duties is to pipe attention to the Captain when he is to speak to the crew or leave the ship. Each ship has her own piping tune, like variations on “Here’s Johnny”. When a Bosun is accepted he is given a silver pipe with his name engraved on it. In tribute to the historic Bosun’s role (mending sails, etc.) he ties an intricate series of knots on the pipe stem and attaches it to an original knotted lariat. Bosun O’Brien was very proud of the history of his job and of his “tune” and piped it for us and then just beamed. He was about 19 years old.
Two other fascinating areas aboard but quite different from each other were the Captain’s office and the Brig.
Nancy Reagan supervised the decorating of the Captain’s office and it is done in her favorite color, red, and reminiscent of the Red Room in the White House. It holds souvenirs of President Reagan and of the travels of the USS RR. Many Santa Barbara Navy League gifts are also on display, including the first “Ronnie” Beanie Baby which is signed by Mrs. Reagan.
The Brig is done in Navy grey and is quite austere. By the time a sailor gets to the Brig, he has gone through a series of hearings beginning with a peer review and up to the Captain’s ruling. When the sailor arrives he is given a “Rules of the Brig” book to read, must stand in a 6x8 cell for the first 24 hours --leaning is permitted, and only bread and water is served. After that, they are put in a small bunk room area and assigned chores. Good behavior earns above deck detail but they must wear a jumpsuit with a “B” on it. The shame usually does the trick but any real serious offenses are shipped off.
This record could go on for many more pages but hopefully this gives some flavor of our experience. As we docked at North Island in the San Diego harbor, the ship’s flag, the old Union Jack “Don’t Tread on Me,” was raised. This flag along with the Stars and Stripes is flown in war time. The ship’s code name is “Freedom” and her slogan is “Peace through Strength”. We had the privilege to see the men and women who help keep us free in action—it was both exhilarating and humbling.
