Embarking on the USS Nimitz
By Melissa
Photo Credit: Joe Brunner, RMCM, USN, Ret., via Joseph M. Radigan, MACM, USN, Ret
Last Friday, I was part of a group of local community/business/media "Distinguished Visitor" embarkation aboard the USS Nimitz, a Navy carrier currently sailing through the Hawaiian waters. It was, without a doubt, a rare once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and there are so many details and photos that I can't possibly share it with you in one blog--so I'll be giving you snippets of the experience every day this week.
It was difficult to truly capture the essence of the experience through just still photos, so I hope you will access the other blogs mentioned here to watch their videos.
Our embarkation group.
The Navy is big on using Social Media--which I will talk about on Friday--so I got to embark on the USS Nimitz with social media evangelist Roxanne Darling of Barefeet Studios. As you read this, Burt Lum of Bytemarks and blogger/PR guy Nathan Kam are on their way home from their own embarkation.
Shane Robinson & Roxanne Darling interview Community Relations Director LTJG Theresa Donnelly, USN upon check in at Pearl Harbor. Big kudos to Theresa for helping us coordinate this embarkation!
The trip started with quite an intense experience! We arrived and departed on a "COD" (Carrier OnboarD) C-2 Greyhound cargo plane, and due to the nature of the flight, we needed to strap on safety gear and helmets. We were seated in the butt end of the cargo plane with no windows except two little portholes on either side.
If you've seen "Top Gun," you know how planes land on a Navy carrier: The runway is short, so a hook is let out as they are touching ground and they grab on to a wire to catch them. (If they miss the wire, they have to fly back out and try again.) The force of being dragged to a stop from 120 mph to 0 in two seconds was so amazing! As my former boss (and former Navy man) Floyd Williamson put it, "It's the ultimate E-ticket!" Despite compacting my sitting position and bracing myself, my knee still flew up and I was startled by the extreme force pressing me backwards.
Deputy Public Affairs Officer Dave Bennett briefs us on safety.
Shooter, Lt. Sam Kesler, was our guide to the flight deck. Can you see in the background that they are watching Top Gun?
I'll tell you more about the people aboard the ship, but for now I want to show you the most exciting part of the embarkation: Watching planes take off and land from the flight deck. The photos really don't do the experience justice; I hope you can see how close we were to the whole operation by my photos.
On the flight deck, in full safety gear.
Flight deck crew signals for takeoff
See how close we were? When the planes took off, the force was so great that it shut off Shane's video camera. Debris and hot air sandblast you, but the whole operation is so loud that no one can hear you screaming all the swear words that come out of your mouth on reflex. It was amazing, simply amazing.
Watching the planes land. Yes, this close!
The cable dragging the plane to a stop.
We got to watch several planes--several kinds of planes--take off and land. Truth be told, I couldn't get enough of it. The other amazing thing to watch was the ground crew: there are so many people, yet they are all working in unison, wordlessly orchestrating precise operations on an ever-changing schedule. The shirts are color coded so you know what each person's role is and can easily spot them for quick access if you need something done.
"There she is! Big Sexy!" yelled Lt. Sam Kesler when he spotted the Hawkeye.
"Why do you call it 'Big Sexy?'" I asked.
"Look at it! Can't you tell?" he said excitedly. As it turns out, I think Lt. Kesler is the only one who calls the Hawkeye "Big Sexy," because whenever I mentioned the nickname to any other Navy crew, they would say, "What?!" and start laughing!
As you can see, it's easily identified by the funny "hat" on the top, the radar used for airborne early warning.
I want to show you one last thing from the flight deck that I thought was kind of cool. You'll find that most of the aircraft will have standard identification painted on them, but every so often you will find one with special art on it. These are known as the CAG (Commander of the Air Group), the first in each series of the type of aircraft. The art identifies it as the CAG and it ends up being the one shot the most in PR photos. Below is one such sample.
It's a pretty cool way to decorate a helicopter.
The front of the helicopter. These paintings are on both sides.
Like our overnight trip, this was just the tip of the iceberg. Join me tomorrow as I show you the people behind the scenes. In the meantime, you can also enjoy Roxanne's photos!
Coming tomorrow: A few of the people behind the scenes on the USS Nimitz.
Urban Mix Plate
August 10th, 2009 at 6:23 am
Melissa, can't wait to hear more! Sounds like the most amazing experience!
August 10th, 2009 at 6:29 am
Hey Melissa, can I be your wing man?
Whoo Hoo TOP GUN baby!! Man get plenny pics and video to go through, but gotta go check um out. Your excitement making me excited too. Nice
August 10th, 2009 at 6:42 am
Who knew full safety gear could look so fashionable. What a great life experience!
August 10th, 2009 at 6:54 am
Good morning Melissa!
Wow! A once in a life time experience for a civilian!
August 10th, 2009 at 7:23 am
What an absolutely amazing experience! I'm like you, I could probably watch the planes land and take off forever! I totally cannot wait to read the rest of your entries!
August 10th, 2009 at 7:27 am
Wow!! Melissa - what an incredible opportunity that only a few can experience! I will live vicariously through your photos!
August 10th, 2009 at 8:02 am
WOW! This is awesome! You seriously get to do what people dream of doing! (at least my little brother) I sent him the blog too! He is jealous!
By the way- the fashion police may come after you! Such dull colors for a safety suit! You would think there would be hints of orange and yellow!
Great job & it looked SUPER fun! I love hearing about your adventures & look forward to more!
August 10th, 2009 at 8:08 am
HI Melissa
Wow
man I would love to experience something like dat 
NKHEA...can't wait for mo
August 10th, 2009 at 8:10 am
thanks everyone for the comments!!
Obviously, this part is the most breathtaking part of the trip, but there was so much to learn-see-do on the carrier. In general, it's rare for people to see such operations because carriers are not as easily accessible as the ground operations of the army, air force, and marines.
Oh, BTW, here are some videos from Ryan Ozawa and Neenz Faleafine's embark on the USS Ronald Reagan.
Ryan Ozawa -- Hawaii:
http://www.hawaiiweblog.com/2009/06/06/aircraft-carrier-video
Neenz Faleafine -- From the Mind of Neenz:
http://www.faleafine.com/2009/06/08/life-liberty-and-tears
August 10th, 2009 at 8:23 am
i LOVE aircraft carriers, think i even went on the nimitz one yr when it was docked and open to the public. did u watch the pbs series carrier? was abt the nimitz as it sailed home to san diego from the gulf region, i think.
main question: how was the food???
August 10th, 2009 at 8:26 am
What an amazing experience you must have had! So jealous! Can't wait to see the rest of your posts and photos this week.
August 10th, 2009 at 8:27 am
How was the food? That's a later blog entry, so you have to come back this week to see!
I didn't see "Carrier," but everyone onboard kept referring back to that show, so that's probably a must-see for anyone who gets to go on the next one!
August 10th, 2009 at 8:39 am
Awesomg blog entry!
You're so blessed to have this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Congrats and thanks for sharing the journey with us!
August 10th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Awesome first post, Melissa! Looking forward to the rest of the week.
Rox and I are busy working through the 5+ hours of video we have. So many stories and so many great people and experiences were packed into a short 21 hours. It's still overwhelming to think about it.
For those interested, we've created a "tag page" at "In Hawaii Now" dedicated to Twitter messages tagged with "USS_Nimitz" so you can easily find links and updates that we're all sharing on Twitter
http://www.inhawaiinow.com/tag/uss_nimitz/
August 10th, 2009 at 8:54 am
Now that's cool. You "Big Sexy" in that safety gear. Great blog!
August 10th, 2009 at 9:12 am
Did the carrier go out to sea?
August 10th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Say hi to Goose for me. Wait - didn't he die?
August 10th, 2009 at 9:26 am
OMFGoodness!!!!!!
WTF!!!!!!
AGAIN I'm left shafted! I am so frickin' J! I would have donated an organ to have been on dat carrier and seeing all dat!
How come you no like invite me on cool assignments eh?
I would have definetly wasted vacation days to be there! I've always wanted to be a "Naval Aviator".
Sounds/looks like you had a blast!
August 10th, 2009 at 10:12 am
Oh man, I'd love to do something that like. I can't wait to see the rest of the photos.
(BTW, all 10 hours of Carrier are viewable on the PBS website: http://www.pbs.org/weta/carrier/full_episodes.htm)
August 10th, 2009 at 10:27 am
Watarigoro thanks for the shout out!!
Shane, I'll definitely add links to the blog as we go along this week.
M, the carrier is out. We had to be flown on the COD to wherever it was (at that time it was off the Big Island) and it keeps moving. They don't get to come into port--they just whizz by the Hawaiian Islands.
Rex, keep checking back! I got an entry for every day this week. One of the women in my group is an Iron Man like you!
Braddah Lance, actually this wasn't an assignment! I got selected by the Navy...I'll tell you more about that in my blog post on Friday.
Scott, you're so mean!
Amber, kathi, glad to bring you along on the ride thru the blog!!
August 10th, 2009 at 11:03 am
I've only seen Top Gun and other news video's about these jets taking off and landing on aircraft carriers. How lucky you are to be able to experience it up close and personal. While visiting San Diego, I took a drive to Mirimar to watch these jets after watching Top Gun. I get to see the jets doing their daily aerial surveillance over our island from Hickam now that I'm at the airport and it's pretty loud, so I can imagine literally being blown away being on the deck of the Nimitz. Look forward to the entire week of postings!
August 10th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
what an experience...great photos
did you see Tim Kaneshiro from Hawaii Baptist/Nuuanu Baptist?
August 10th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
wow, you're so lucky! what an incredible experience to have had - once in a lifetime! "top gun" sure made being a navy pilot look sexy and/but what they really do for us is pretty amazing. thanks for sharing with us - i look forward to the rest of your adventure!
August 10th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
great article and great photos but my question is - do you fly sitting backwards in the plane? Hmm, maybe there's a lesson in this for Hawaiian Air.
August 10th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Tell them you want your mug on the next CAG (donning safety gear of course)!
August 10th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Hi Val, this was hot....literally! The thing that got me was all the debris, that was pretty funny.
chopsueyboy, yes! Tim Kaneshiro came up to me when I arrived but I didn't recognize him. all these Nuuanu Baptist people catching up to me.
snow, yes....Navy men sure are hunky. I thought it was only in the movies, but apparently they cast "Top Gun" accurately.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Wow, terrific photos.
Great thanks to all the men and women who serve.
August 10th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Wow, this is COOL!!!
I wish I could go with you on that day.
I'm only noticed "Nimitz" as a highway...
(sorry, I am a foreign people that's why)
August 10th, 2009 at 3:14 pm
d, you do sit backwards in the plane. not sure why.
Kelly, if they put me on the next CAG they'll CAG!
KAN, these were a great bunch of folks....more tomorrow.
Maile, no problem!
August 10th, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Melissa! You are soooo lucky! My father was a navy pilot, and then commanded aircraft carriers, but I NEVER got to sail on one.
You look adorable in your deckhand gear. Will that be your new blog photo, o
Or will there be another photo of you in bellbottoms and a white sailor hat?
My BIL does the cartoon for "Navy Times". Did you happen to read it while at sea?
August 10th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
wow! when i first saw your byline, i thought, why her?? how lucky. then, someone slapped me upside the head, and made me remember i was once on a navy ship for two years, and it wasn't a very pleasant experience.
anyway, its too bad that you didn't give me a heads up about this navy adventure, cos, if you did, i would have taken you down to hotel street, and got you a real swab tattoo. my treat. lol.
i guess by now, you know port from starboard. did you enjoy the geedunk?
August 10th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
BL; you no can be "Naval Aviator you way to short
NKHEA.... but you can be naval cleaner
August 10th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
So happy for you. VIP once in a lifetime for sure. Can't wait to read the rest.
But very sad that you didn't tell me!!!!!!!! I was at work that day and could have drove out to say hello!
August 10th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Lucy! I didn't have time to read nuthin! It was only overnight so it was a true whirlwind. Plus I was sleep deprived from the week leading up to it.
kuranosuke....LOL!!!! I enjoyed the Mid Rats, the stuff they cook for late night watch is very good.
NKHEA...hee hee I agree
Moki, you got my text yeah? I really had no idea it was connected to Hickam. If you heard the questions we civilians were asking, you would know how truly ignorant we are of the military. Also I was sleep deprived from being so busy during the week leading up to it. I would never have remembered!
August 10th, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Melissa, this was a cool blog post. I look forward to the rest of the posts on the Nimitz.
I'm glad you folks all got to head out via COD, rather than boarding the ship dockside at Pearl Harbor.
As far as coming into port, the reason it didn't do that, was probably because it was headed out to WestPac. If you watch the show Carrier, that others have mentioned, you'll see the Nimitz dock in Pearl Harbor and pick up "Tigers" for the final leg of the trip home.
August 10th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
ok, its me, kuranosuke. heres a sea story.
after two long years on the ship, i got paroled for good behavior, and was scheduled for a cod flt to cubi pt in the pi. my flt was to be of of the pussy bird. anybody wanna guess the ships name?
anyway, our ship got diverted to hong kong for a little r&r. so i sailed with the ship to hk. i had a hell of a farewell party in the hong kong hilton. one of the more memorable events of the party was that of the young comm officer putting the make on the captains wife. she was very playful. too bad the old man was there.
August 10th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Wow! How blessed are you?! Are those the kind of planes Karen loads? Very cool blog!
August 11th, 2009 at 3:12 am
Very nice Melissa.
Reminds me of my Navy days during the 70's.
August 11th, 2009 at 4:17 am
You are a lucky person. Love the shot of the jet landing! How exciting.
August 11th, 2009 at 6:46 am
Melissa, so glad you enjoyed your trip and we were happy to have you onboard! Mahalo!
August 11th, 2009 at 7:22 am
waiting for "Melissa in space" episode!!!
August 11th, 2009 at 7:31 am
Good morning Melissa!
I'm so J.....
August 12th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Kewl beenz.