More Pics from USS Midway...

CH-46 Sea Knight, aka "Phrog"

When I saw that blue helo in the opening photo, it reminded me of The WSO's introduction to naval aviation. It was the summer of 2003, she had just completed her first year at the College of the Holy Cross and as a midshipman on an NROTC scholarship, it was time for CORTRAMID (Career ORientation and TRAining for MIDshipmen). This is the summer cruise¹ where the prospective naval officer gets a one week taste of: the surface warfare community, the submarine community, the aviation community, and the Marine Corps.

I can't remember where The WSO did her COTRAMID cruise (it was a while back after all) but when it was aviation week she was introduced to the mighty Phrog. It was a Marine Phrog and the first thing it's pilot asked the young midshipmen was where everyone was going to school. As luck would have it, the Marine pilot was from Massachusetts and as The WSO was the only midshipman going to school in Massachusetts, she got to fly first.

In fact, as I recall, she had about 20 to 30 minutes of stick time (stick and collective time?) and the others had quite a bit less. She loved it and made the decision to go the aviation route. Now she didn't go helos, she went jets. But still, that old helicopter has a place in our hearts.

The Phrog's cockpit.

The Phrog's cargo/passenger bay.

Vought F-8 Crusader
The Last Gunfighter

The view from the flight deck. The tall pair of buildings in the foreground is my hotel.
My room is in the tower furthest from the camera. I can see this part of the ship from my room.

Looking over at NASNI. That's USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) at the pier.
Couldn't make out the hull numbers on the two Fleet Replenishment Oilers forward of her.

The Shooter. How could I not take a picture of this iconic figure on the flight deck?

See the statue of the sailor kissing the nurse? An iconic image from the end of WWII.

The photo upon which the statue is based.
(Source)

Okay, so there is rather a funny story about that statue. Well, not the statue itself but my perception of said statue.

Now I had been in Sandy Eggo for one week. Up every day at 0500 (or earlier) and out the door of the hotel by 0600. I'd been looking out my window at the scene below all that time and not once had noticed that statue. Until Sunday morning when I awakened after "sleeping in" until 0730.

Upon opening the shades I noticed the statue, perhaps it was a trick of the light, or just random synapses firing in my brain, but I wondered to myself, "Why is there a statue of a penguin in that park?"

You can see the statue in this photo, circled in yellow.

Now you might remember that I rather like penguins, as I confessed in this post. So I am perhaps fixated on that aquatic creature. (I am also the sort of person who, upon hearing hoofbeats, might think zebras, not horses. I am wired differently. Let's leave it at that...)

After breakfast, with two cups of coffee on board, I decided to look up why there was a statue of a penguin in Sandy Eggo. Imagine my chagrin when I discovered that it was not, most assuredly not, a statue of a penguin, but a statue known as "Unconditional Surrender" which is in Tuna Harbor Park. (I had no idea Tuna had a harbor named after him...)

Yeah, not a penguin...

Of course I had to visit the pilot ready rooms.
(Yes, the Phantom called to me...)

The WSO's first operational squadron was VFA-32. Back in the day it was VF-32.

We must never forget those who gave all...

The guy at the desk caught my attention. That's a very typical "cruise 'stache." Yes, Big Time grows one every time he goes on deployment. Yes, The WSO makes him shave it off. Well, "makes him" is too strong, convinces him to shave it off is more accurate.

Never forget...

Had to throw this one in for my buddy, The Steeljaw Scribe. I also appreciate the tough job the VAW squadrons² have. The eyes of the carrier they are!

So yes, you get more pictures, so I can get more rack time. Though today (Wednesday) was "only" ten hours, I'm still tired. I'm getting too old for this...

Until tomorrow!

¹ Midshipman at the Naval Academy and on a Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) scholarship will spend a month (or more) each summer learning about the Navy. The first cruise they visit each warfare community, the second they learn about the men and women they will lead someday, this is their "enlisted" cruise, and the final summer before their senior year is their "officer" cruise.

² VAW = Carrier Airborne Early Warning Squadron.