On Monday, February 7th, my friend
The ship was due to make port in
Click on any picture
to see a larger image.
We began the evening with a few beers and conversations about the Navy, being on an aircraft carrier, and working on the relief effort in Aceh. I asked each man to provide with their name and contact information. Email is available aboard the carrier and the men all said it was a great way to maintain communications with the outside world and to not feel so isolated on long voyages. In the first picture on the left we have Mr. Robert Roomsburg, and on the right is the nephew of John’s friend, Mr. Donald “Trey” Caruthers. In the next picture we have Mr. Shad Danielson, and yours truly.
As the evening went by the conversation became more animated
as we talked about everything from the Navy, to politics,
Grace prepares our meal and Trey adds a helping hand.
We had an excellent meal of potatoes fried in goose fat, corn on the cob, barbequed pork ribs, sausage, and a fresh green salad… with plenty of beer to wash it down.
A toast is in order after a great dinner, then one shot of
Shad and
We had more pictures of the guys and dinner. Unfortunately, they were on my camera, which got lifted from the car in the parking garage when we took our sailor friends out for a night on the town. There are plenty of stories to tell about the night out but perhaps they are best saved to be told by Trey, Robert, and Shad. They do have a private web page of the evening’s pictures; perhaps they will release the URL.
On Monday, we took our tour of the USS Abraham Lincoln. Much of the ship is off limits to even the sailors on it unless they have clearance, and so for us civilians there was much we could not see… for example, they wouldn’t let us tour the nuclear powered engine room or the main bridge. But, we got to see lots of the aircraft carrier, particularly the flight operations areas. A great experience. Lots of information about the ship is classified. For example, although the official website of the ship says the ship will make “in excess” of 30 knots, no one will say how large the excess actually is.
We start our photo tour of the ship with a view of the carrier at dock, followed by a view from the dock, and a couple of pictures of the support ships. The ship is docked at the Changi Naval Base, the home of the Singapore Navy.
We are welcomed on board.
Our tour began with a look around the main hangar deck. Below are views of the hangar, some aircraft in it, and a shot into the Straits of Malacca through one of the elevators used to move airplanes to the flight deck.
Next, we were taken to the main deck to look around. I start with pictures of the bridge, followed by some photos of the planes and helicopters on deck, and a shot of the controls of one of the helicopters. Almost as many switches as your average stereo receiver!
A couple of photos of the flight operations area. Not much happening while the ship is in port, but this room is very busy when launching and retrieving aircraft.
Next, we stopped in at the
From the
A picture of John and our guide for the afternoon, Lt. JG Oliver. When not dragging tourists around the ship, Lt. Oliver flies helicopters, and will soon lose the JG in his rank. He was most informative, courteous, and friendly. The second photo proves that duct tape is a universal “repair all” tool.
While on vultures row, I took a couple of photos of some
I shot a few photos of the typical “hallways” we walked through. The ship is divided from fore to aft into frames, and every deck is numbered. No matter where you are there is a sign on the way which indicates which deck and frame you are in, and whether you are on the port or starboard side of the ship.
Next, we got to see the “arresting engines” that are used to stop the airplanes when they land on deck. As an airplane lands, it snags a thick cable on deck, and is instantly decelerated from flight speed to zero in just a couple of seconds. The arresting engine is basically a hydraulic device that permits the arresting cable to be released at a controlled rate, allowing the aircraft to be stopped. The operators are in constant communication with the flight deck during operations for every airplane has a different weight and approach speed, and the engine must be set in a very short period of time for the next airplane.
Our last stop was the flight operations ready room. When not in use as the ready room, movies are available. The chairs hearken back to earlier Navy days and are part of tradition. The “bull” on this ship is a female intelligence officer. When one of our tourist mates enquired as to whether “cow” would be more appropriate, we were informed that this particular word was reserved for the wives of certain high ranking officers.
With that, our tour ended. My overall impressions were as follows: A ship like this is an amazing feat of engineering… so many different parts, so many complex pieces, and yet it has all been put together to create a massive warship. More impressive though, are the people that man (and woman) this ship. The sailors we met (including are three new friends) were committed, disciplined, and friendly). The chiefs we met had knowledge of their areas that was extensive… there was no detail that they didn’t know about. The officers were intelligent and motivated. Actually, all the words apply to all the crew. There is a reason that “ship shape” means what it does.