HD Show Carrier...

[mudkow60]

Anyone watch the HD or History Channel show "Carrier"...

Damn, that is the closest to the real thing that I have seen.

And to anyone who was polishing a knee knocker and I was too busy to say excuse me as I passed through... I sincerely apologize.

God bless all who serve upon the seas.

 

[ultrarunner]

Next time you see one of your Navy sisters or brothers, you thank 'em for keeping us safe and having to come back and trap at night on a pitching deck!

 

[pilotyip]

PBS Carrier Series

I think you are referring to the PBS carrier series that ran last week. As an aviator who did the career enhancing "Sheep's Company" tour, it brought back memories, most good. I was extremely lucky to see the whole ship as few people do. To qualify as an OOD (U) you had to understand how the ship functions from top to bottom. I got to work in the reactor spaces, go out on the deck and watch cat shots, man an unrep station to observe that evolution. I was impressed with the hard working attitude of the white hats back then. I was impressed again watching the series, these sailors worked hard to do their job and to see them recognized on national TV is something they deserved. To quote March Mitcher's (sp?) from the "Bridges of Toko Ri" "Where do we find such men"

 

[T-prop]

I gotta kick out of the leftover FA18's the Marines got to play with, while the Navy got brand new E and F models.

...some things never change.

I hope that once the CH46's are all finally replaced with the V-22's, the Marine Air Wing catches up on "updating" the rest of their aircraft inventory.

Great documentary.

 

[SIG600]

What are you talking about? Marine squadrons are using the same legacy Hornets as the Navy. A lot of Marine squadrons are getting higher lot Hornets from the Navy, and the Navy is taking their older A+ models because of the trap life left on them. Marines are also carrying LITNING pods instead of the ATFLIR we have.

Bottom line, they're all capable of putting bombs on target in support of the guys on the ground. Quit being so bitter.

 

[trip]

It was a good show that was suprisingly well done, brought back lots of memories. Phone banks & e-mail wow! anybody still write letters??

 

[pilotyip]

Phone call from Cubi in 1976, you scheduled a max of five minutes up to a week in advance. $5.00/min paid in advance. Stood in line waited for your turn. This is when as a 9 yr O-3 I was making 14K/yr. So we wrote a lot of letters, still have most of them a real snap shot on hte adventures of 1975 and 1976 aboard CVN-65

 

[T-prop]

What are you talking about? Marine squadrons are using the same legacy Hornets as the Navy. A lot of Marine squadrons are getting higher lot Hornets from the Navy, and the Navy is taking their older A+ models because of the trap life left on them. Marines are also carrying LITNING pods instead of the ATFLIR we have.

Bottom line, they're all capable of putting bombs on target in support of the guys on the ground. Quit being so bitter.

I'm not bitter, I was just pointing out an observation from the show.

I also noticed that the Navy pilots had distinctly different flight helmets. I'm assuming they had the ability to project a HUD image on the visor. I didn't see any VMFA 232 flight crew with them. So maybe they were the only squadron in the entire Marine Corps that didn't have super hornets and super helmets in '05.

The Marine Air Wing primarily consists of: (circle the appropriate answers)

CH46's
CH47's
AH64's
AH1's
UH1's
F22's
FA18's
AV8B's
UH60's
CH53's

If you did your homework properly, you'll notice that they fly some of the oldest equipment of all services. Which is about to change, finally.

When I was in, I fired SAW's that were 14 years old, and were unable to send more than five rounds down range before they would jam. Thank goodness they were FINALLY replaced just prior to Iraq. I distinctly remember riding to shore in an amphibious assault vehicle with 2 feet of sea water inside wondering if we gonna have to swim to the beach.

I remember calling in 60mm mortars using means no more advanced than my grandfather had. Plotting board, binoculars, Vietnam era compass, grid coordinates derived from a paper map, and a radio. While the Army National Guard who was sharing the range with us had the latest generation computers, comm systems, GPS's, and laser range finders for their forward observer (I think they even used a weather balloon.) I am proud to say, that we were able to get our rounds on target faster and more accurate than they (they were new to their new weapon systems, I hope.) They even dropped one round 400 yards from the FO position ("danger-close" on the range during peacetime is, I believe 1000 meters) range control had to close the range for an afternoon to investigate. Which was OK, cause we had already expended our allotted 20 rounds for the entire month.

We've always had to do more with less. It appears that the V-22, AAAV, JSF are a signal to an end of that way of doing business.

I'm not bitter, I just commented on an observation of footage taken almost 3 years ago. When I compared it to my experience, I got a "kick" out of it, sorry. Glad to hear you know different. I'm very glad the V22 is coming on line, and in a few more years the last CH46 will be on its way to a museum.

 

[SIG600]

I know of more USMC Legacy Hornet squadrons flying with Helmet than Navy.

 

[JungleJett]

The Navy needs to hire some recruiters that can identify some attractive women and put them at sea.