I was pleasantly surprised at the range of people who were interviewed for this series. From the guy taking out the garbage and a low ranked enlisted female scrubbing the stoves (all the while being near harassed by a Petty Officer to "do it right" (being in her place you'd want to say "get off my "rear" and let me do my job" - from the Captain to the pilots - Navy and Marine - really gave an honest view of what life is aboard a huge - 5,000 crew - Nimitz-class carrier.
Without giving too many spoilers I recommend this series - I ended up buying the DVD - of honest life aboard a carrier.
Some of the things that stood out - was the sacrifices some make with their families being gone for 6 months - or more. There was a mother of 3 children - an air traffic controller - in the Navy for 16 years - waiting to meet her children in Hawaii near the close of the deployment - a pilot whose wife had a miscarriage while he was at sea feeling helpless - A tough Marine Gunnery Sgt in near tears because he couldn't be with his pregnant wife - I believe the military wives (and husbands now?) deserve as much credit as their deployed military spouses. I always felt that but this brought it up close and personal.
Another segment that really stood out for me was the practice touch and goes - with a ship in seas so rough an old hand said he hadn't seen as bad for 20 years - with the Captain deciding that these conditions would warrant some practice.
Imagine being in a plane approaching at 150 mph or so - trying to catch one of 3 cables on a deck that rode up and down vertically 20 feet - a very dangerous time. Some Navy archival videos will show you just how dangerous.
By the way, the Special Features alone are worth the price of the DVD - one segment deals with flight deck operations - "one of the most dangerous places on earth". Some of Navy archive videos will show you why.
The more I have watched this DVD set, the more I have been amazed at the sheer scope and quality of this production. I am trying to just imagine the job on the cutting room floor - what to keep and what to edit to get down to 10 hours of viewing.
Out of a crew of 5,000 they profiled close up about 12-15 - with the different things going on in their lives, their jobs...
Working on the flight deck in 140 degree temperatures - being aware that a moment's inattention can mean death....
You start the 10 hour series leaving San Diego and by the time you have returned to San Diego you will have gotten as close to reality of a 6 month carrier deployment that you will get without actually enlisting...
Without giving too many spoilers I recommend this series - I ended up buying the DVD - of honest life aboard a carrier.
Some of the things that stood out - was the sacrifices some make with their families being gone for 6 months - or more. There was a mother of 3 children - an air traffic controller - in the Navy for 16 years - waiting to meet her children in Hawaii near the close of the deployment - a pilot whose wife had a miscarriage while he was at sea feeling helpless - A tough Marine Gunnery Sgt in near tears because he couldn't be with his pregnant wife - I believe the military wives (and husbands now?) deserve as much credit as their deployed military spouses. I always felt that but this brought it up close and personal.
Another segment that really stood out for me was the practice touch and goes - with a ship in seas so rough an old hand said he hadn't seen as bad for 20 years - with the Captain deciding that these conditions would warrant some practice.
Imagine being in a plane approaching at 150 mph or so - trying to catch one of 3 cables on a deck that rode up and down vertically 20 feet - a very dangerous time. Some Navy archival videos will show you just how dangerous.
By the way, the Special Features alone are worth the price of the DVD - one segment deals with flight deck operations - "one of the most dangerous places on earth". Some of Navy archive videos will show you why.
The more I have watched this DVD set, the more I have been amazed at the sheer scope and quality of this production. I am trying to just imagine the job on the cutting room floor - what to keep and what to edit to get down to 10 hours of viewing.
Out of a crew of 5,000 they profiled close up about 12-15 - with the different things going on in their lives, their jobs...
Working on the flight deck in 140 degree temperatures - being aware that a moment's inattention can mean death....
You start the 10 hour series leaving San Diego and by the time you have returned to San Diego you will have gotten as close to reality of a 6 month carrier deployment that you will get without actually enlisting...