Several dispatches today from the USS Kitty Hawk on station in the Gulf.
This report from the AP profiles some of the crew who prepare the planes for war:
Known as ``Mag rats,'' the sailors who ready the bombs and missiles that are loaded onto the more than 70 warplanes aboard this carrier say the strike force wouldn't have much punch without them. ``Without us it's just an unscheduled airline,'' said Lt. Phil Szuba, 40, of Detroit, who heads one of the Kitty Hawk's magazines.
Storing too many battle-ready bombs on a ship is considered dangerous because of the risk of detonation. In most cases, the crews put the final touches on bomb casings stored on board, such as attaching computer guidance and detonation systems, and mechanisms to fix and release them from the planes.
The Japanese source Daily Yomiuri reports:
On the USS Kitty Hawk, which is operating in the Persian Gulf in preparation for a possible war with Iraq, tension is at a peak as warplanes make reconnaissance sorties day and night, some of them coming under attack from Iraqi forces. "For us, the war has already begun," said a 36-year-old sailor who has been aboard the Kitty Hawk and in the Gulf for nearly a month.
Stars and Stripes has its own story about their steel-beach picnic. I like this photo caption:
After less than 10 minutes, the [death metal/hardcore] band, Blood Clot, was pulled off stage because some sailors were slamdancing.
And the AFP lets us know the crew is handling everything just fine:
The psychologist and a chaplain aboard this aircraft carrier say few of the more than 5,000 sailors and airmen aboard this ship have come to them with worries about a war. "That's really been a lot less frequent than I expected," Lieutenant Jennifer Johnson, the ship's psychologist, told AFP in an interview.
Posted by Alan at March 10, 2003 06:41 PM