Carrier: A Guided Tour of an Aircraft Carrier

14

The CSS Virginia is more widely, though incorrectly, known as the Merrimac, after the Union ship that she was built from.

15

In 1995, the Air Force signed an agreement with the Navy and Marine Corps to retire their fleet of EF- 111A Raven electronic warfarc/jamming aircraft for a series of joint squadrons composed of EA-6B Prowlers. These joint squadrons, which have personnel from all three services, have been formed to provide suppression of enemy air defense (SEAD) services for joint component commanders, and deployed CVWs.

16

Navy jargon for a rookie flier on their first cruise or deployment.

17

The most extreme of these engagements occurred early in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, when the commander of Air Group Nine aboard the USS Essex (CV-9), Commander David McCampbell, and a single wingman, Lieutenant Roy Rushing, engaged an incoming Japanese fighter force of over fifty enemy aircraft. McCampbell shot down at least nine, while Rushing killed six. No other American fighter mission-in any war-shot down so many. For this performance, McCampbell was awarded the Medal of Honor, and Rushing the Navy Cross.

18

A pun. For the Navy, Airedales are not a breed of English terrier but the nickname used by ship's personnel to describe the Naval aviators of the embarked air wing.

19

The worst of these losses occurred on the 1967/68 cruise of the USS Oriskany (CVA-34) and CVW-16. During 122 days of action on 'the line' in the Tonkin Gulf, thirty-nine CVW-16 aircraft were lost to combat and accidents, with twenty air crew killed, and another seven taken prisoner-over half the embarked aircraft, and something over 10 % of the aircrew personnel. Vietnam combat cruises with losses of over twenty aircraft were not unusual.

20

Elmo Zumwalt was an early leader in improving conditions for enlisted personnel in the Navy. He provided much of the impetus for the necessary changes required for the all-volunteer military force that followed Vietnam. He also helped redefine the relationship between officers and enlisted personnel, greatly increasing respect and courtesy between the two groups.

21

The name derives from the Tailhook Association, a civilian organization that promotes and supports Naval aviation. The Association, which actually sponsors the Las Vegas conferences, had nothing at all to do with the Tailhook scandal (and was officially exonerated during the Department of Defense investigation). The Association is a fine organization, which publishes a superb magazine, The Hook.

22

There are still a few enlisted billets in naval aviation, but these arc limited to personnel in charge of cargo loading, para-rescue, and some sensor operations. In general, any position of responsibility is going to have an officer in it.

23

The naval aviation program also trains air crews for the Coast Guard, which is technically a part of the Department of Transportation. These include graduates of the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, as well as the Coast Guard Officer Candidate School at Yorktown, Virginia. Other nations also send their naval aviation candidates to take their training in the U.S.

24

Just a few years ago, service academy graduates automatically received a regular commission upon graduation. However, in an attempt to even the playing field for non-academy graduates, all new officer commissions are now reserve commissions. Once officers have risen to the rank of lieutenant, they can apply for what is called 'augmentation' to a regular status.

25

Most new aircraft have replaced traditional dial and 'strip' instruments with computer-driven MultiFunctional