THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 9, 1996 TAG: 9610080438
SECTION: MILITARY NEWS PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: AT SEA
SOURCE: BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER
LENGTH: 82 lines
Whether it's a dream come true or a nightmare depends on whom you're asking. If you ask some of our more experienced hands at sea, say the crusty chief petty officer with 20-plus years of naval service, then forward deploying to critical areas of the world on an aircraft carrier is the greatest thing to happen since the invention of color television.
But if you're asking young Joe Recruit, the sailor who's been on the ship for a grand total of eight weeks, then this is the toughest thing that could have happened since high school finals. That's because when these young men and women report to the ship, one of their first jobs may be a temporary three-month assignment. This could include the galley (kitchen), the laundry division or a berthing area where they dust, sweep and strip and wax decks. In general, these are some of the most essential jobs, but often taken for granted.
Most are working in jobs they chose when they enlisted. Whether that is on the flight deck or inside the ship, the real task during a six-month deployment is finding a routine and sticking with it as you move from one day to the next. It's much like any job on shore, with a few exceptions.
One is the shipboard announcement system, known as the ``1MC.'' This system can only be compared to taking a department store's announcing system and having it installed everywhere you go at your job, plus at least three speakers in your living room and bedroom, where your hear it day and night. Our system is on 24 hours a day, but used minimally at night.
At various times throughout the day a voice will come out of nowhere to announce anything from a fire drill to the gathering of a work crew. The system works beautifully, reaching more than 5,000 people with a single announcement. And I've discovered there's an art to listening to it., For instance, the announcer could be speaking so fast that it shouldn't be humanly possible to understand what's being said. Or the announcer could be speaking so quietly you're forced to find the nearest speaker and lean against it to hear the message. It's usually the chief with 20 years of service who never seems to have a problem with this. The announcer could be speaking in Klingon and the chief will still be able to recite without difficulty what is being said.
On the flip side, junior sailors (and some not so junior) have formed ``1MC Selective hearing.''
For example, the announcement will go like this: ``Sweepers, Sweepers. Give the ship a clean sweep down. Sweep down all lower decks, ladderwells and passageways. MAIL CALL!'' But what people seem to hear is ``Sweepers . . . MAIL CALL.''
There are two things about this announcement that never seem to amaze me. First, how the announcement that mail is ready for pickup from the post office seemed to be subliminally placed behind other announcements. Second, no matter how quietly ``mail call'' is said, or what preceded it - or if jets are roaring overhead - sailors and Marines always seem to hear it. Within seconds, they're lining up in an excited state normally seen only when every person in a Bingo parlor has one number left and each of them is watching the last ball roll.
I guess we're so tuned into it because mail has the power to make our day. Bless those sailors in postal who do their best to keep the mail moving and who take most of the grief when it's not on time.
I've discovered there are only four types of mail received out here: Late Mail (postmarked at least a month ago); Bulk Rate Mail (flyers and advertisements that seem to break the barrier of time and arrive the day they were sent); ``Who the heck is this guy'' Mail (things addressed to someone nobody has ever heard of); and Packages.
The reason packages require their own category is simply that these poor things take more of a beating than your average suitcase in a major airport. For example, when the packages are flown aboard, the plane catches an arresting gear wire on the flight deck at about 110 mph and is brought to a quick stop in less than three seconds. That can really rattle a fragile package.
For those who are generous enough to send something that shows you care, please keep them coming, but heed this one little warning: It if has a chance of breaking, use plenty - as in massive amounts - of packing.
Well, that's about it. Being forward deployed on an aircraft carrier, away from loved ones, is tough. But there are a lot of little things to stop and have a laugh about. Mail is one of those things out here that brings plenty of smiles and laughs. MEMO: Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Christopher is a personnelman
with Air Anti-submarine Squadron 30, which operates S-3 Viking
sub-hunting aircraft. by CNB