After completion of Aviation Machinist Mate School I was assigned to Helicopter Anti-submarine Squadron 15 (HS-15) power plant shop. At that time, HS-15 was something of a fill-in unit. We served aboard the USS Guam, USS Independence, USS America and USS Nimitz. We were attached to the USS Nimitz when it was commissioned in 1975. My duties consisted of night shift flight deck troubleshooter (green shirt), maintenance test flight aircrew and search and rescue swimmer.

There are many fond memories of my time on Nimitz. From scuba diving off Cuba during our hot weather trials at “Gitmo” to being as cold as I have ever been, above the Arctic Circle a week later during cold weather trials. But one of the most memorable events was during recovery after a successful maintenance test flight.

The pilot hit the flight deck so hard with the rear of the helicopter that it sheared off the tail wheel assembly. The Sikorsky SH-3 cannot land without a tail wheel, so we hovered abeam of the ship while the deck crew figured out how to get us back aboard. I watched out of the cargo door as the flight deck crew tied a mattress to a wheeled dolly and lashed the dolly to the flight deck with chains. The pilot did a remarkable job of landing the back end of that aircraft centered on the dolly without visual reference to our position. The moment the helicopter was safely down, the deck crew massed around it to chain it to the flight deck.

It seemed like a long time at the moment, but the entire event, from losing the tail wheel to chaining down the aircraft took all of about 10 minutes. This event was not something that can be trained for. It showed me how ingenuity, resourcefulness and teamwork can overcome a difficult situation.

Among others, my Naval experiences gave me confidence in myself, showed me the value of teamwork and “how to make lemonade when life gives you lemons.”

I served in the Unites States Navy for thirty years.  During that time, I deployed fourteen times on nine different aircraft carriers – as an aviator, as an Executive Officer aboard the USS George Washington (CVN-73), and as a Commanding Officer on the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70), [which are both carriers]. 

As a young aviator, I learned to appreciate the tremendous support and team work required to enable me to do my job.  As an Executive Officer and Commanding Officer, I got tremendous insight into the power of leadership at all levels in the successful operation of this 92,000-ton ship in a very demanding and complex work environment.  The aforementioned leadership enabled young nineteen year old men and women – average by their own account – to perform at an exceptional level. Collectively, they operated two nuclear reactor plants, launched and recovered up to 150 aircraft per day in a very dynamic environment, prepared and served over 20,000 meals a day, ran a dental and medical facility that took care of over 5,000 people, safely handled over three million gallons of jet fuel and over 2,000 tons of high-explosive ordnance ... and they represented our nation with aplomb and professionalism in numerous countries, all around the world.  It was my honor and privilege to be a part of these different crews, no matter the capacity in which I served. 

David M. Crocker
RADM (Ret) US Navy
Computer Sciences Corporation
Business Development, Navy & Joint Programs
Virginia Beach, Va.

Before a mission over Iraq.  I am on the right in the tan flight suit and the guy I am flying with is CAPT Terry Toms, the Operations Officer for the Battle Group.

I spent my first career in the Navy flying off of aircraft carriers in the A-6 Intruder. I deployed on the USS Enterprise twice, the USS Independence, the USS Constellation and the USS Abraham Lincoln. I also did carrier qualifications on the USS America, USS Nimitz, USS Carl Vinson and the USS Lexington.

There are way too many good stories to include here but I will give one quick story and one observation.

I was on my first carrier qualification (CQ) detachment on the USS America (CV-66). It was the first time that I was ever on a Navy ship, much less an aircraft carrier. The guy I was flying with was a fleet experienced guy so I was not too worried. After we finished our day and night landings we were both assigned a stateroom to sleep in for the night. Staterooms are great to sleep in because they are very dark, and the ship rocks you to sleep.

About 0230 in the morning I heard, over the 1MC (the ship’s announcement system), “Fire. Fire. Fire. Fire in compartment (and I don’t remember the location anymore). Away the flying squad, away.” After having been briefed on fires on the USS Forrestal and USS Enterprise I was aware of how bad a fire could be on a carrier. My crew member didn’t stir. I was way nervous and he was snoring. I lay there for about another 30 minutes before I fell back asleep. When I awoke the next morning I asked him if he had heard the call over the 1MC and he said that he hadn’t. I asked him how he could sleep through a fire and he said, “Caz, it’s a big ship and there are small fires all of the time. When it is really bad, believe me, you will know it.”

He was right, over the course of five overseas deployments I must have heard that call made at least once a day, not counting drills. But I never ignored them.

Coming in for a landing.

My other observation is that the flight deck of an aircraft carrier is probably THE most dangerous place I have ever been. That there are so few accidents that occur is a testament to the training and professionalism of the men and women that work up there every day. As a flyer, I only went on the flight deck during flight operations to go to my jet, and to go from the jet to THE nearest exit off of the flight deck. I knew what I was doing and knew exactly where to be and when to be there and I still only went up there when I had to go fly.

On my last set of work ups prior to the deployment (we called them cruises) I was the squadron safety officer. Part of that assignment was to be the Air Wing Safety Officer on a set rotation and that required that I be on the deck during flight operations to monitor safety. I wont say I was scared but I had a very healthy respect for the environment I was in and how quickly things could go wrong. On my last day that I was the Air Wing Safety Officer everything was going great. We were on the last launch of the night and I was between Catapult 1 and 2 on the bow. There were only a few planes to go when one of the F/A-18s launched off of the end and immediately nosed over into the Pacific Ocean. The pilot didn’t make it out. What was really amazing was that everyone knew exactly what to do. I don’t believe you could choreograph a Broadway show any better than the way a flight deck is choreographed. Even knowing that a shipmate had just been lost, everyone went into action and did what they were trained to do. True professionalism.

Like I said, the flight deck of an aircraft is the most dangerous place I have ever been. It is probably the most dangerous working environment in the world. And here is the real amazing thing. I think the average age of the guys working on the flight deck is about 18-20.

Steve McCaslin
Director
Business Development
CSC National Security Programs