USS Nimitz is the lead ship of her class, and what is known in the vernacular as a “mature” ship, having been commissioned since 1975. The ship has already completed her mid-life reactor complex overhaul and refueling. The last of the Nimitz class is George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), delivered to the Navy only two weeks ago. Right now, the last CO of Nimitz is an unsuspecting, mid-grade lieutenant in a carrier squadron somewhere – perhaps even aboard Nimitz herself – while the final CO of Bush has not yet been born.
I didn’t go out there as a member of the INSURV board, but the ship seems to be in great material condition, considering all her use over the years, and especially in the last several years. The ship has made three extended deployments since 9/11, including a six and a half month deployment from April 2007 to September of that same year. After only a three month rest period in North Island, she deployed again to the Western Pacific for a surge deployment from January to June 2008, which is damned hard running. Our embark was during her final training period in preparation for yet another deployment this summer.
But there are things you can tell about a ship if you’ve been about them long enough. The way the bridge watch performs their duties is a good indicator of the leadership aboard, and I saw nothing even remotely objectionable. Although all that new clabber on the bridge had me in the drool cup for a bit: The helmsman runs the rudders from the ship’s wheel while also sending engine orders from a flat panel display on the same station, with the lee helmsman leaning over, watching. I spoke with the ship’s Navigator about the Voyage Management System, which is quite an update from the Electronic Chart Display System we had aboard Constellation, but was relieved to see that over on the starboard side of the bridge the quartermaster’s were keeping the ship’s position the old fashioned way, on charts. I know that the pressure is on to move towards a “paperless” bridge, but piloting and navigation are perishable skills, and someone needs to know how to reckon a ship’s position when all the gee whiz gear goes tango uniform, as it inevitably will. With Murphy always on the tiller, it’ll happen at the worst possible time, too.
Then there is way the flight deck is run: LCDR George Sharp is the Aircraft Handling Officer, and he’s the kind of Handler that thinks CNO puts four catapults on the deck for a reason. On a day when the air wing was launching and recovering a combined 30-32 aircraft per cycle, Nimitz was shooting all four catapults. With 19 and 20 year old ABs holding lives and equipment worth tens of millions of dollars. I never once saw a suspended cat shot, or foul deck wave-off attributable to the ship.
Admittedly, this was a small data sample. But I was watching closely.
But mostly you can tell about a ship’s morale – Skipper Nasty acknowledges his Title 10 responsibility for his crew’s morale and welfare – by the way she’s kept, and Nimitz was damn near spotless, with never a candy bar wrapper or soda can astray in any of the usual places. Which is a good thing, because having worked closely with RADM Fozzie Miller, the CSG-11 commander and embarked flag, I can tell you that anything else would get you a vigorous frowning, with harsh language to follow.
The naval standard of cleanliness can seem fussy and almost ritualistic to a landsman, accustomed to seeing a certain degree of chaos in normal life. But a warship is more than just 95,000 tons of go-where-it-will diplomacy, it’s also a home to 5000 people, and the way the ship is maintained says a great deal about the crew. There may be, I suppose, clean ships with decaying innards, but if you see a ship that is untidy on the surface, the odds are overwhelming that the rust runs deep in the running tackle too.
If the ship’s morale is a reflection of their leadership, it can’t hurt that both the CO and the admiral went flying on the same day, albeit on differing cycles. Nasty may have grown up flying the Tomcat, but he broke his Super Hornet at the fantail carrying a bag of knots, and landed on the three wire like it didn’t matter.
A skipper (and an admiral) in the air is a skipper out of your hair, and it was also good to hear Fozzie admit – after many, many lengthy and contrary discussions betweem hizzoner and your host on the bridge of the Connie boat back in the day – the manifold advantages of the FA-18F. I admit to the merest possibility that this was directed more to impress his other guests than to admit defeat in a long-running argument with his former Operations Officer.
Then there are the ship’s people themselves: The PAO crew were outstanding, as they usually must be, reflecting as they do the ship’s face to the non-naval public. We got a great flight deck brief by an E-2 pilot serving his disassociated sea tour as the Hangar Deck division officer and Catapult Officer. He was a bearish but humorous young man afflicted with the call sign of “Freak Show,” and as is so often the case in the E-2 community, he came to the Navy after having completed a career as a circus entertainer – in his particular case as a trapeeze artist. We also got a great brief from a second class Operations Specialist in the Combat Direction Center whose name I cannot instantly recall. Which is a shame, because – based at least on his facilty with briefing the complexities of the ship’s operational nerve center – the young man ought to be on his way to a commissioning program. He was sharp.
The Ordies were a hoot, and I got my first look both at the ship’s armory and magazines. In ordnance control I innocently (keeping my previous career something on the down low) asked the impressive first class ordnancemen briefing us what “IYAOYAS” meant, hoping to hear him explaining the acronym to the mixed company of civvies while dealing with that problematic “S” at the end. In the event, the young man showed no hesitation spelling it out for us front to back. I should’ve remembered, but that’s the thing about Ordies – they give it to you straight.
Truth be told, DV embarks are a huge PITA for the ship’s company. Wide-bodied civilians blocking all the passageways and ladder wells, stepping ever so carefully over the knee knockers, climbing the ladders like asthmatics and descending them like invalids. Asking silly questions, lingering over their coffee in the wardroom, hanging their tushes out of the ice cream locker for what seems like an eternity. Nimitz treated us as honored guests though, people were happy to oblige throughout the hull, whether it meant patiently waiting for the train to get moving, or whether it was engaging in pleasant conversation. It’s a good thing too, because it isn’t like the average American citizen can go down to the corner aircraft carrier and see how his tax dollars are being spent – the Navy does its best work at sea.
I think the bloggers were impressed by what they saw, which is not at all surprising. But I was impressed too, and very happy to be so. Even if I was homesick.
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.
My pics, and Scoble’s (with videos). Scoble’s main pics.
Homesick, indeed. Even reading this brought back memories way out of proportion to the time I spent at sea. Did I ever point you to my Flickr set from Connie’s 9/11 Tiger Cruise? An rare ring side seat, as your (unknowing) guest, thanks to a young Marine fighter pilot. (The last few B&W pix in that set, and a couple of color ones, were taken almost 30 years earlier.)
Tailspin, thanks for the link.
Great pics, though your comments on the timing (almost 30 years) of your returning from Vietnam on the same ship; then after seeing the Arizona and a few days later having 9/11 happen. Has me still pondering how things happen sometimes.
And how we all too often have to relearn forgotten lessons.
Regards,
Thanks Lex.
Were any of the other bloggers pilots?
Nope, as far as I can tell they were all of them sane.
Nice.
I thought Scoble’s pics were good (they were) but I like yours better. You have a better sense of what’s important … like all those cool Hornets!
Lex was a great wingman to have on this embark. I have TONS of Hornets. Someday I’ll have to post more. I like some of Lex’s better too. He does have a good eye.
Oh, and Lex, you should link here because that’s the permanent home of my USS Nimitz photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scobleizer/sets/72157619022982454/
Hey, I’ve seen that face before -
http://tweetingtoohard.com/u/Scobleizer
So, Lex writes and shoots? Whoda thunk he’s a man of many talents…including being one who is precise at placing warheads on foreheads!
You didn’t mention one important Nimitz first, if I remember correctly, while in the Indian Ocean, Nimitz was the lead ship for “beer day at sea” in 1980.
kent -
Close, but that would be the Ike.
Capt. Lex -
What, no RX/Engineering space pics? Not even an Aux TG tour? Not to worry, greasing is verboten nowadays.
Snipes – Out of sight, out of mind.
Right up until there’s no hot water, no water, no steam, no AC, no 60/400hz, or the “throne” is not taking it’s contents away…then…they all holler for someone to fix it!
They wouldn’t let us down there!
Something-something about security, and that.
Tight arses.
Minor correction: Freakshow’s another rung or two up the evolutionary ladder, Lex. He’s a Naval Flight Officer and a good one at that!
Austere crowd of online folks you accompanied out to the boat. Very glad the Navy’s seeing the importance of influencing that audience and that you were there to provide a little “interpretation” and color commentary! Cheers!
Yeah, he is probably bemoaning this right now.
Props rock.
Word.
Glad to hear Nimitz is in such great shape, with a great crew and outstanding leaders.
My old community (1110) seems to be having trouble with systemic corrosion. INSURV has not been kind to a number of surface combatants lately.
Guy Kawasaki is a legend to me, as he started the path to Mac evangelist. He was the first “blogger” I followed, many years ago.
It’s been interesting clicking your links, and seeing what intelligent and opinionated civilian bloggers make of today’s Navy.
Like the click to edit feature.
Lex:
Three cruises on Old Salt, starting in ‘78 and my last was ‘92. We took her out after her extended yard in ‘90 and all I’ll say is that she wasn’t a show boat at that point and the command atmosphere was, well, not like in ‘78 or just two years later in ‘92. Glad to hear she’s doing well; somehow I wound up cruising on six different carriers and she’s still my favorite, with Ike a close second.
So, did you go out to the platform?
VR,
Comjam
Nah, that would have felt like intruding. And they’d never have let the other kids come, just too many of us.
Awesome pics! And I loved the commentary from an expert-but-humorous eye. I have to wonder, though, if your stirring the pot was limited to that one occasion in Ordnance…
Oh, I also asked Freakshow – after he started down the path of explaining something or other about aerodynamics before giving himself a wave-off – whether he could enlighten us on the relationship of gross weight, airspeed and angle of attack.
He actually started to answer…
Lex, in those pix with you in them you looked kind of wistful. I truly wish you could have strapped on a Hornet again. BTW, the Admiral’s ride: nice.
Another sign of a great ship is how the crew treats visitors. Speaks highly of the CO and his leadership all the way down to the LPOs, and on to the sailors who smiled and waited.
Been on lots of inspections as the “I’m here to help” guy and that’s a measure that regularly pointed to a great all around ship.
IYAOYAS??? I don’t know it. Someone please share.
If you ain’t ordnance, you ain’t …
I met the Ordies a cuppla back. A great bunch!
Loosely , if you aren’t one of them, you don’t amount to much.
Among the reasons I liked being in Munitions (Ordnance in Navy Speak) was that the bomb dumps were isolated areas from the rest of the base, got to spend a lot of time on the flight line (special area to be at night with unforgettable sights, sounds and smells what with the JP-4 and all), and we had no CS in our area.
The beauty and power of the planes as they were taking off was incredible.
Excellent camaraderie, hard work, not dangerous if you knew what you were doing, and we made the pointy end of the stick, well, pointy.
T’was a satisfying and rewarding time.
Ron Snyder/
You might appreciate this story. While stationed in the UK I became friends with a young 2nd LT who lived in the Quonset-hut next to me who was the Munitions Maintenance Officer for a sister squadron. Got to know him well, drank together, listened to music together, taped each other’s albums, etc. Was a red-headed John Lennon look-alike from KC complete with wire-rimmed glasses who had been a civilian photog for–get this–Rolling Stone mag!
At any rate, one day while I was good naturedly chiding him about fighter pilots being the REALLY IMPORTANT people on base/Earth, he really put me in my place by calmly saying: “You know, my bombs are the end product of all this, (gesturing with a sweep of his hand) you guys are just one of several means used to get them on tgt. You’re just the delivery boys–my bombs are actually the important things.” LOL!! Told me! HA!
(He was a REALLY great guy too, often wondered what happened to him these 40 yrs on…..)
VX, thanks for the story.
I did, we did, took great pride in knowing that what we did helped the pilots achieve their mission. In a very real, visceral manner.
More than made up for the occasional “less than pleasant” aspects of being where we had to be.
We also appreciated it when the planes came back without any ordnance (probably meant that some bad people were no longer with us, and selfishly, made our job easier).
But we wanted those damn planes and pilots to come back safely. (Well, a few holes in the planes was o.k.)
Chew Tobacca!
Chew Tobacca!
Chew Tobacca!
Spit!
If you ain’t an Airdale
You ain’t sh!T!
Old AW cheer from the sidelines when VP-10 played the Marines at NAS Bermuda in an allegedly “touch” game of football. Corpsmen were on hand, not that we REALLY needed them. Much.
Tangent! Secant! Cosine! Sine!
Three point one four one five nine!
e to the x, dy, dx,
E to y dy!
sliderule, slipstick, Go Nukes!
Which, yeah, didn’t seem to impress anybody else. I think it was our timing — the message was perfectly obvious.
Also, cheering this at a hockey game may not have been the appropriate venue.
– Max
I still have my slipstick from early Engineering School days in ‘74.
Max/
Are you sure you’re not making a dry run as a replacement for the SNL chess-club cheerleaders? Don’t you have to get permission from Will Ferrell or somethin’ ?
On the top of the aircraft number 215 in the photo from Flikr, on the top of the fuselage near the vertical stabilizer, I see two intakes of some sort. They appear to be in the open position, look like they have a saw tooth edge and will close.
What are those for?
They look like auxiliary air intakes to provide cooling air around the afterburners.
Lex,
I know how hard it must have been, keeping your past on the down low, while there. As I start my next career, I am just another doddering old man, not a guy with a Sheriffs badge, on the other side, and a pocket full of memories.
How tempting was it, over coffee, to bring up that CSSC-3 site, that you and I both benefited from those years ago?
The good news is that I can now wear bowties in the open, not just in mess dress.
V/r,
BF
Perhaps you CAN go back. At least once anyway. Always wanted to do something like that. Low profile as I know what you mean about visitors being a PITA. Missed getting a tour of the Constellation in Pearl in Dec 99 after spending 9 days in the back 40 at Schofield Barracks on a WFX. Timing is everything. Right place at the right time. Happy for you!
Pogue,
I heard that while watching PBS Carrier on Hulu. Great documentry, and it was filmed on Nimitz.
Thanks, I just had a facepalm moment.
No Love for the rotors on board?? Jeez!!
Very Young Men, True Professionals, going in Harms’ Way, …….. and doing so with flair and class.
Is this a great country or what?
Subsunk
Yes it is.
Both the CO and Admiral should be grounded for coming in faster than 350KTS and 4 Gs, per current FA-18A-F guidance to save FLE…
At least that is what they tell the rank and file…
Oh well, do as I say, not as I do… we’re used to it!
I was one of the blogger guests on this embark.
Lex – you were fantastic. Thanks for hanging out with us newbies and giving us the real scoop. Such as where to get a 1500-calorie breakfast at 1 am.
Lex got two great reactions. Many pilots, of all ages, would look, eyebrows would go up, and they would say “Are you Lex?” and run over to shake his hand. Lots of respect for him. And the people who didn’t know him probably thought he was some sort of secret inspector, because his questions were way too good.
Andy
His questions were way too good because in one of his more recent reincarnations, he was a secret inspector. Right, Lex?
Wow…that’s a great insight! And, one Lex would never tell.
(Hint to you other fellow travelers on that trip: Fill us in!)
I went aboard Nimitz on the day she was commissioned. Gerry Ford spoke at the commissioning. I would be very interested in going aboard again 34 years later.
Once again I’m chuckling over a great Lex story instead of working. Thanks for the updates.
[...] Neputuns Lex – The Ship [...]
[...] “Lex” LeFon: The Embark, The Ship, The Wing, and The Bloggers. Perspective from Lex is especially helpful given that he used to be a [...]