Cool Bunny

"Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."    John Fitzgerald Kennedy


Last week I had the rare pleasure and privilege of spending a few days on the carrier USS John F. Kennedy.   During that time I had the opportunity to meet and talk with many of the sailors and officers of that fine ship, as well as a fair number of the 500 marines who had been embarked on board to come up to New York City for the annual Fleet Week Celebration.

The last time the Kennedy was in NYC was shortly before 9/11, and this is the first time that a capital ship such as the Kennedy has been in New York for the Fleet Week celebrations since 9/11.   The "Big John," as it is affectionately known to the crew, returned from the Persian Gulf last December.  Since then they've based out of Florida, but have been cruising the east coast of the US doing training and providing an opportunity for land based squadrons to get in some practice doing carrier landings ("traps") and take-offs ("shooting").  

The Kennedy is one of only two non-nuclear carriers and that is why it is able to come into New York harbor which has declared itself a "nuclear free zone"!   When I asked one very high ranking officer (who, coincidentally, grew up in my home town and graduated from the parochial elementary school where my wife teaches....small world, eh?) about this "nuclear free" stuff, and whether federal requirements and national security didn't trump such things, he kind of smiled and suggested that in the event of a serious emergency, he thought something might be worked out.   In general, the navy acknowledges and abides by these local declarations, but only insofar as it does not impact on military needs and national security.

We flew out to the Kennedy (in really crummy weather) in one of the navy transport aircraft known as a "COD" (that stands for "Carrier On-board Delivery"...the technical designation of the aircraft is C-2A Greyhound...see picture below).    The seats face to the rear, and the only windows are a couple of very small portholes about three quarters of the way back from the cockpit.   I was fortunate enough to sit next to one of those portholes, but there wasn't much to see anyway.   As we approached the carrier, we circled for awhile and only later found out that because of the low ceiling, the pilot took awhile to locate the ship.   When we descended, we came out of the cloud cover almost on the deck, barely a few hundred feet above the water.....and then we were on the deck.   There was barely enough time to register that we were landing on the carrier when the plane went from 130 miles/hour to absolute zero....in about two seconds.    Definitely an e-ticket ride!

We spent our time on board watching flight operations (until the weather shut them down...picture below), then were taken on tours of the ship.   In the process, we pretty much covered everything there was to see, from the bridge(s) and flight operations center, down into the very bowels of the ship in engineering.

Everywhere we went we met personnel who were engaged, friendly, knowledgeable, and very hard-working.   This is a young person's game and these folks work really hard...even cruising along the American coast.   When deployed, they work their proverbial a**s*s off!

The 500 marines on-board had just rotated back from Iraq.   There were a few who had fought in the recent battles in Falluja, others who provided the perimeter to seal off that city.....and quite a few who had been involved in the first effort to clear out Falluja in April of 2004, which was halted prematurely by politicians in Washington (yes, children, Republican administrations micro-manage military operations too).   Needless to say, they didn't think much of that decision.   Again, these were all great people, dedicated and motivated.

On Wednesday morning we sailed into New York harbor along with a dozen or so other ships from a variety of nations.   I've sailed into New York many time on board ships, but I can honestly say that nothing ever has or will equal the experience of coming into this great city.....and the emotions of pointing out the site where the WTC once stood to officers and crew who had become our friends in these few days......on board the "Big John."

The Kennedy is scheduled for DeCom (decommissioning) right now, though a final decision has been put on hold until the next Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) is completed.   It's an old ship, but still very (VERY) capable, manned by the best men and women our country has to offer.   If they do retire the "Big John", I will take considerable pride in having sailed, albeit briefly, on her.     It is an experience I shall treasure always.

To the men and women of the "Big John," I thank you for your hospitality and generosity, and I salute you.

dtf