From within yet another list of alphabet soup Navy acronyms comes COMPTUEX! We spent the greater part of January out off the balmy Florida and Bahamian coasts, playing war games against the dreaded 'Red Team'. Apparently, we did something right, as CSG8 (Carrier Strike Group...go google it...) passed and is certified for deployment and blue water flight ops. And now the pictures:
An E-2 Hawkeye comes in for a trap while the USS Vicksburg (CG 69) keeps watch in the background. There was usually one of the strike group guided missile cruisers within sight of the IKE, as an escort and a maneuvering buddy. Or something like that... my surface warfare qualifications are non existent.
A C-2 Greyhound pulls into the slot for a shot off catapult #3, slowly bringing its wings up for flight.
The same C-2 (obviously, its side number is 54) at the beginning of the shot. The shooter (yellow jersey guy pointing down the flight deck) gives the all clear to fire, the hold-back bar drops from behind the front landing gear, and steam starts to rise as the catapult pistons move down their chutes.
For the first time, I really got to see some ordinance being moved around this ship. Laser-guided bits of joy that hose red-shirted guys
really love. Seriously. They dig blowing stuff up.
Late afternoon glance up the flight deck. When cats 3 & 4 are active, the fore of the deck becomes a 2 acre parking lot.
An E-2 Hawkeye comes in for a trap while the USS Vicksburg (CG 69) keeps watch in the background. There was usually one of the strike group guided missile cruisers within sight of the IKE, as an escort and a maneuvering buddy. Or something like that... my surface warfare qualifications are non existent.
A C-2 Greyhound pulls into the slot for a shot off catapult #3, slowly bringing its wings up for flight.
The same C-2 (obviously, its side number is 54) at the beginning of the shot. The shooter (yellow jersey guy pointing down the flight deck) gives the all clear to fire, the hold-back bar drops from behind the front landing gear, and steam starts to rise as the catapult pistons move down their chutes.
For the first time, I really got to see some ordinance being moved around this ship. Laser-guided bits of joy that hose red-shirted guys really love. Seriously. They dig blowing stuff up.
Late afternoon glance up the flight deck. When cats 3 & 4 are active, the fore of the deck becomes a 2 acre parking lot.
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