I am finally back on land! Man, it feels so great just to sit in my apartment and veg out. It wasn’t even a long underway, but for some reason, it felt like an eternity. I’ve finally got some time to just sit and relax, so I should start posting more frequently.
I was working on drafts for the official ship website when one of the guys who works in the engineering department gave me some pictures to add to our gallery. I never would have thought this guy to be a photographer, but his pictures were really good. I decided to show some of them here to give people just a little taste of some of the stuff that happens everyday in the Navy. Enjoy the pictures, courtesy of HT2 Lundquist.
Sometimes when the helos are flying back and forth between ships, they send over a batch of cookies for the other pilots. Other times when the helos fly to shore to pick up parts the ship needs, they bring back McDonald’s.
Chiefs are the backbone of the Navy, and sometimes they need to have a strong hand when trying to instruct and condition junior Sailors. After all, we fight like we train. If you have someone up your ass the whole time you’re training to put out a fire, then when it’s an actual fire, you might move with a little sense of urgency.
A common way to move supplies from ship to ship is via helos. VertReps, or vertical replenishments use cargo nets hooked to the underside of the helo to transfer and receive supplies.
The USS Kitty Hawk anchored off the shore of Sasebo.
UNREPS, or Underway Replenishments, consist of two ships sailing side by side and transferring supplies and fuel back and forth using wire lines and gravity. This particular one was going on while the ship took a little dip. No one was hurt.
A helo flies over the The Fighting Fitz, the USS Fitzgerald.
A Sailor mans the 50 caliber gun for a training evolution. “Born to Kill” has to be the most overused slogan on a helmet.
If anything can make you feel small, it’s miles of open ocean.
I have no idea what country this jet is from. My guess would be South Korea, our allies.
So many ships were in close proximity because we were conducting a PHOTOEX, where all the ships have restricted maneuvering so official photos can be taken of the whole carrier and the rest of the ships in the battle group. Usually we’re a few miles away from one another.
Nearly all of 7th Fleet was in Sasebo before we started AnnualEx 18G. Sasebo is boring and there’s nothing to do, so leaving was almost better than pulling in.
Here a fire party is assembled on the starboard side for fire-fighting training.
What collection of underway pictures would be complete without the picturesque sunset? This scene is actually pretty common. Being out to sea blows for the most part, but it does have its little surprises and things of beauty.
Comments 9
Nice pics. Hope you had a good thanksgiving.
Posted 25 Nov 2006 at 10:25 am ¶Yeah, it wasn’t great. I was alone, which is common now that I’ve been in the Navy a while. I did have both McDonald’s AND pizza that day, so it wasn’t too bad.
Posted 25 Nov 2006 at 10:26 am ¶omfg mcdonalds and pizza. *hugs* when you get back to the usa omfg you so deserve hardcore leet dinner fixings.
Nice pictures. It’s fun to see life in the Navy.
Posted 25 Nov 2006 at 10:53 am ¶Those are some awesome pictures. I didn’t even know they still wrote “Born to Kill” on their helmets.
Posted 25 Nov 2006 at 7:49 pm ¶Wow - they’re great photos. Really interesting to see what things are like on that side of the world. I have always wondered why ships are grey though - is it so they’re harder to see from a distance or something?
Posted 29 Nov 2006 at 7:56 am ¶Ships are painted gray to help simulate “an enternity of hell” for all the young sailors lucky enough to be on board.
Posted 13 Feb 2007 at 5:23 pm ¶these are awesome pics. i have some like this from my ship. but that one that says born to kill, the guy is on a 25 mike mike, not a 50 cal.
Posted 04 Jul 2008 at 6:21 pm ¶The title above the picture of the USS KITTYHAWK CV-63 is unwarranted and offensive. You have no right to comment negatively about any COMMAND in the US Navy especially if you have never served aboard
Posted 22 Jul 2008 at 1:18 pm ¶DCCM (SW/AW) D. Singer
Those pictures are pretty. The one with the sunset is the reason why I enjoy being underway. Plus these pictures are coming from soneone else other than the media department. Sometimes it sucks to have pictures taken of stuff that you don’t care about. Keep up the blogs man!
Posted 02 Oct 2008 at 6:44 am ¶Post a Comment
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