TIGER CRUISE
USS John C Stennis
Our son, Ryan is a pilot in the United States Navy flying the F-18E Super Hornet. He is a member of the Tophatters Squadron and has been deployed on the USS Stennis for the past 7 months in the North Arabian Sea. The Tophatters are one of 8 Squadrons. There are 17 pilots in his squadron and a total of 220 people comprise the full squadron support operations with Commander Kevin McLaughlin in command. Kevin and Ryan did the flyover at Busch Stadium, St. Louis on July 3, 2010.
Mark and I were honored and thrilled to be part of the Tiger Cruise which the Navy offers to parents, siblings and friends of shipmates. This reunion of military families is a great morale booster and a chance for we parents to see first hand what our sons/daughters are actually doing while on board the ship.
We flew to Hawaii on February 16th and the next morning, we were at the Pearl Harbor Memorial with binoculars and cameras watching and waiting along with other families as the Stennis came into view. Our loved ones were home safe and sound! How awesome to see all those sailors and officers in their dress whites surround the flight deck and salute as they passed the USS Arizona. 1 ½ hours later, we were reunited with Ryan.....and then enjoyed 3 wonderful days in Honolulu. What a great destination for Ryan (and us) to rejoice, relax and rejuvenate!
Waiting at Pearl Harbor for ship to come in.
The Stennis coming home
The evening of the 20th (my birthday), we boarded the ship. I met my roommate, Jackie from New Orleans. I could not have asked for a better roommie – we hit it off so well and I now have a very special, fun new friend! Her son, William is also a Tophatter pilot. We were lucky to have a room to ourselves. Mark and Ryan shared their room with 7 others – cozy quarters for the guys!
Jackie and Pat
Ryan and Pat in his room
A few facts about the Stennis......it is MASSIVE....18 stories tall with almost NO windows, weighing 97,000 tons and the flight deck, the size of 3 football fields. The Stennis was commissioned in 1995 and needs at least 37 feet of water to navigate safely. Depths in the Pacific were greater than 1 mile deep.
More stats...Length: 1,092; length at waterline (which determines maximum speed) 1,040 feet. Beam (width) 252 feet; 134 feet at waterline. Speed 40+ miles per hour. We frequently were doing 30 mph.
Nuclear power drives 4 propellers. Each are 25 feet in diameter and weigh 66,000 lbs each. Two rudders steer the ship. They are 29 ft. tall and 22 ft long. Each weighs 110,000 lbs. Ship can carry 3.3 million gallons of fuel for the aircraft.
1 of 2 Anchors
Dock Lines
We had a brief orientation and safety meeting the next morning, followed by a rousing welcome from the Admiral, Captain and Executive Officer of the ship. And promptly at noon, 1,200+ Tigers and 4,500 Navy personnel were on our way for a six-day journey seeing what life aboard an aircraft carrier is all about! We are crossing the Pacific Ocean headed to San Diego.
Orientation and Welcome
Proud moment for Mom/Dad
So many new sights and sounds to get acclimated to and of course, just learning our way around the ship was a challenge. Two long hallways on either side (port and starboard) with bulkheads or knee knockers about every 15' (step over or knock your shins) went on forever. And ladders, ladders everywhere. Off each long hallway, were sooo many rooms just going every which way! Talk about a maze!
Knee kockers and long hallways
The Ready Room is where the Tophatter pilots hang out for briefings, receive the latest news on what is going on with their mission, watch movies, sharing all the goodies sent from home and just relax and unwind after a day of flying. This Ready Room soon became the “hang-out” spot for the Tophatter Tigers, too.
Ready Room
There were many children (must be age 8 or above) on this cruise and what experiences they will take back to their classrooms and friends! There were many activities to keep these kids busy and have fun throughout the week.
Sumo Wrestling
Some of the tours we took:
The medical/dental department – very interesting and set up like a mini hospital with operating room, etc. They performed 120 operations during this deployment(90 were vasectomies).
Dental Hygienist, Jackie ready to work on Mark
The Brig (or prison) can house up to 15 prisoners. Offenses that will get you in the Brig are adultery, abuse, assault, and frequent tardiness. Most severe punishment is a 3 day bread and water diet in your own cell. This area is where the captured Somali pirates were held a few months ago and kept for 10 days.
Flight Deck Control manages the logistics of all aircraft before take-off and after recoveries (landings). It is a never ending puzzle with things always changing.
Flight deck control handler, Edward.
Bridge - Keeping the ship on course, speed, etc. A bit more complicated than our Catrina.
Pat steering the ship (at least pretending).
Mark in the navigator chair.
Flight Gear
Mark trying on Ryan's gear.
Air Traffic control or: "Primary Flight Control." This is the carrier's 'control tower'. The domain of the Air Boss, the god of the flight traffic pattern. Pri-fly is also staffed with experienced pilots who can advise on emergency procedures if needed.
Ryan and Pat in Air Traffic Control
View from Air Traffic Control
John C. Stennis Room – where dignitaries meet with many pictures and info on the namesake of this ship – a US Senator from Mississippi for over 40 years.
Stennis Room
LSO- Landing Signal Officer, popularly known as "paddles"; (years ago they signaled with paddles). The LSO mans a platform on the port side of the ship during recoveries. The LSO is situated such that his eyes are on the glide slope. He has primary radio contact with the pilot on final approach, and serves both as a backup to the mirror system for the pilot and as an early warning of impending trouble. The LSO is able to detect power and attitude changes in the landing aircraft, and issue a call for adjustments.
LSO crew watching clear deck and plane landing.
LSO crew at work grading the landing
We were ready to help out if needed
There are 4 wires for the tail hooks – 40' apart
Caught the wire. Goal is to catch 3rd wire.
Also, saw the post office, barber shop. Exchange, and java bean for coffee (Starbucks)
Cdr McLaughlin commented that this deployment was sort of on a timeline with all the sports that were missed during the various seasons. The ship departed on July 29, so....1/2 of baseball, all of football, and a big chunk of basketball were not to be seen. They did enjoy the Super Bowl via Satellite.
Replenishment of ship – the US is the only country with the capability of replenishing food, supplies and fuel while at sea. Seas were very rough the day the USNS Rainier (a merchant ship) came alongside us and what a site to see those fuel pumps joined with the Stennis to give us 1.1 million gallons of fuel strictly for the aircraft. The Stennis can hold 3.3 million gallons of aircraft fuel and can go 45 days without reprovisioning (food/supplies) while at sea – that's an unbelievable amount of food as there are 6,000+ mouths to feed 3x a day.
Pulling along side USNS Rainier
Fuel hoses for transfer
The air show on Wednesday was a big highlight. Mark and I put in the ear plugs and donned the helmets. I got to wear “Droopy's” (Ryan's call sign) with the squadrons showing their talents in the sky and then 15 flying in perfect formation.
Pat wearing Ryan's helmet
Very protective of our hearing with these loud jets.
Throngs gathered on the flight deck for the air show
Flying in formation
The very end was 2 helicopters flying together and one of them gently unfurled the American flag as Lee Greenwood sang “And I'm Proud to be an American” - now, that was a tear jerker.
End to a spectacular air show
The day following the air show, the 5 ships in support of the Stennis came by (passing of the fleet) and then had a gun salute. It was very windy and then started to rain, so didn't get to watch all of it, but felt for those Tigers on board the destroyer, cruiser, battleship, etc....as they were really rockin' and rollin' and we heard 75% of them were seasick!
Here come the support ships for the Stennis (5 total)
One of the fleet
We had an interesting discussion with 2 officers from the Nuclear part of the ship. The reactor creates steam that runs the turbines for: the 4 propellor shafts, powering the 4 launching catapaults and for the water making systems on board. They make 400,000 gallons of water per day. Medical told us the water is checked 12x per day!
Could not go into Nuclear center so a poster board had to suffice.
With all the walking, steps/ladders to climb....it was nice to take some breaks in the Ready Room OR our favorite secluded spot and best kept secret on the ship - the chapel. Usually we had the place to ourselves – quiet and good place to read. We went to mass 4x including Ash Wednesday and enjoyed Lt. Jose Bausista Rojas or Father B and his simple, thought-provoking sermons.
Father B
The food was good and plentiful..... specialty cuisine in the evenings included themes of “Taste of Italy”, “Sports Bar”, “Tex Mex”, “Bar-B-Que”, “Surf & Turf” and 2 ice cream socials.
Miscellaneous Photos
View from hanger bay, only way to see outside when not on flight deck.
Nautical flags in hanger bay.
Sunset looking from hanger bay.
Bombs landing during air show.
Meatball lights which help pilots line up for landing.
Rainbow over LSO team and flight deck.
Ryan in deep thought.
The "Island"
Opening for guns is in center. 6000 rounds per minute.
Ryan and CAG, Capt. Dell Bull.
Displays for LSO team
Gavin, the XO, and Kevin the Commander.
Planes on elevator ready to go from hanger bay to flight deck.
Admiral (blue shirt) stops by to thank the team in the ready room.
Commander Kevin and his son Declan.
Note size of anchor link compared to Pat's hand.
Manning the rails in winter blues.
Cruise ends in San Diego.
The Tiger Cruise was an incredible experience and so thankful we were able to participate. Meeting so many nice folks (e.g. Jackie) from around the country, so many sights and sounds to absorb and just the thrill of hanging out with Ryan and seeing him “do his thing” made for many lasting memories! After cruising on the USS Stennis, our admiration of the Navy and pride in our country has reached new heights! What a privilege to see first hand the ins and outs of an aircraft carrier. And what remarkable young men and women serve their country with skillful knowledge to make it all happen. Thank you Ryan, thank you United States Navy and God Bless America!!!
Other links you may enjoy.
More info on the USS Stennis: http://www.dump.com/2011/04/16/one-us-aircraft-carrier-has-a-more-powerful-air-force-than-70-of-all-countries-video/
Ryan flying the F-18E:http://tinyurl.com/76vd8wy
A salute to the Tophatters: http://tinyurl.com/72nrl3f
