everyone - just found it strange to have high speed Internet access 120 miles off shore. If you're wondering, I am sitting in the Truman Strikegroup's Chief of Staff office aboard the USS Truman

Being on an aircraft carrier (for fun) is incredible! Even though this a "Friends and Family" cruise, having the COS as your uncle gets you to enjoy the more luxurious side of carrier cruising It has certainly been nice enjoying air conditioning next to the Admiral's/Flag's quarters in the Flag Mess all day with about 20 other people while 5,000 other visitors have been suffering the heat in the hangar bays or on the flight deck We also got to watch the air show from the command tower (A/C and shade) instead of sitting in the middle of the flight deck. Having full access to the ship has been - only part I haven't seen is the reactor and I don't really care to see that.

I did tour the enlisted living quarters, and I really feel sorry for those guys - I couldn't do that for 2 nights, let alone 6 months - we're really not paying you guys enough.

Anyway, I just wanted to post something saying I've posted from 120 miles off shore and to give some of the S2Ki Navy people crap because when I come aboard a carrier I get to live like the admiral

 

 

way to not shove it in dood

j/k enjoy your time on it. i know some friends that did that before (F&F) and they were on stormy seas for a bit

i visited the uss north carolina from ww2 era in NC and it was stuck in feet of mud wasn't moving and i got sick while i was under decks touring around

 

TOTALLY. We should demand cuts to the salaries and perks of Congress people and Senators and demand raises for the military.

While in Honolulu in 2003 with a female co-worker we took a tour of the legendary Battleship Missouri. The main deck of the Missouri is where the Japanese signed the unconditonal surrender papers that ended WWII. One starts off on the main deck and the first couple of cabins that one comes to is the Captain's Quarters, then the Executive Officer (XO) and then the descending ranking officer's quarters. When we got to about the quarters of the forth ranking officer on board, my co-worker commented how cramped and sparse it was, with just a small sink.

I told her to just wait until we got to the enlisted man's quarters. As I knew what to expect. When we got to the "hot racks" (bunks, that are five high with about 18" of head room clearance between them and they are called "hot racks" because they are used on a rotating basis by the three shifts on board and never cool off from the person that just got out of it. She was APPALLED! She COULD NOT believe it.

For those of you that are thinking, yeah but that was sixty years ago and things have changed. Refer back to Poindexter's original post. Nope, the "hot racks" are still in use.

As a Veteran, I will state. That if you are reading this in English (not German or some other foreign language) thank a veteran. Now that we have had a volunteer force for so long, IMO most people have lost sight (because son's of rich people that got drafted no longer whine how tuff it is) of the living conditions that our military still endure.

To those of you that may read this that are on active duty. This Vietnam era Army veteran salutes you.

P.S. "Pointy" Based on what you experienced, I am curious if you have and comments about my comments?

 

You're on the TRUMAN???!!

You've gotta be kidding me. I spent 5 1/2 freakin' YEARS on that thing. And I can tell you that the quality of life on boad during a Friends and Family cruise is WAY better than during a routine underway period. We used to look forward to the F&F cruises because we knew the food would be better for a couple days

If you feel like you want the real Navy experience, you can do a few of these things:

• Turn the hot water on and off at random ten or twelve times while you're in the shower.
  
• Have someone wake you up at 3AM by screaming that you've got exactly two minutes to be fully dressed at the other end of the ship (and now that you're on it, you know it ain't small) while the rest of the crew runs the opposite direction.
  
• Lose all of your clothes.
  
• Tell the guy sleeping closest to you to stop bathing for three months. And make sure he only has one pair of socks.
  
• Eat "jerk chicken" for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a few weeks straight.
  
• See if you can't find a rack either right under the arresting cable or right under the catapult to sleep in during flight operations. You think people near Oceana have jet noise?

That's just a small list of activities for you to try if you want a more authentic sailor experience, but remember, you can only do this stuff between your eighteen hour work days. With no off days. Not even weekends. For three or four months



And if you get the chance, stop by Main Comm (03-118-0-C) and tell them IT2 Long sends his regards

Have fun!

 

Matt - I really don't want to get political, but being an outsider looking in I'd have to say that most of these people aren't doing this for the immediate paycheck. I will say that living on the ship at any rank is not the greatest experience. The admiral's quarters are at best like being in a 3 star hotel. While the COS's (Second in Command) semi-suite-like setup is more like a two star, but super cramped. If that is just 2 of the 5,000 some people on board you can just imagine how everyone else lives. I have lived on 2 different boats before, and I didn't find the sleeping arrangments to be that much different on the carrier - it is just much quieter off the carrier.

Dave

I'm not going to try any of that - are you kidding

I was below deck for two catapults (don't know how close I was to the flight deck, but I was in the enlisted living area) and yeah, jet noise is now a funny thing.

I may have missed Main Comm, but judging by those deck numbers it sounds like it was close by to where I spent most of my time (near the Flag Mess). I did go into the very dark "computer room"
(tactical command?) where all targets are displayed along with other stuff - cool room - some hollywood movies are pretty dead on.

 

Thanks for sharing your experience on board the Truman. It sounds like an eye opening venue. Indeed we ought to give our sailors our support and encouragement for serving our nation under austere circumstances. I can't even begin to imagine how large that ship must be. I got sea sick from being on board the party boat off Montauk, Long Island for deep sea fishing.

 

Not to get too political either, but...

Totally agree on the pay raises for the military - I remember something I saw that had pictures of a police officer, a fireman, a teacher and a soldier - and it said "We say they are our heroes, but we pay them like chumps"...

 

try being a poor Marine being ferried around by the gator navy.... we get stacked 4 high, 24+ in each compartment..... and our belongings stuffed into a locker slightly larger than what you had back in gym class.

glad you enjoyed the experience....

 

wow... looks like something that I would like to do. It definitely sounds fun! Hey Dave is it really true the submarines get the best food?