marcandalysse 0 #1 April 23, 2008 Quote10-part Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) series filmed aboard a U.S. nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, titled Carrier. The program premieres Sunday, April 27 and runs through Thursday, May 1, in five two-hour episodes airing on PBS from 9:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. ET/PT. Tune in each evening as Carrier follows the lives of more than 5,000 men and women of the Nimitz during a six-month deployment in the Persian Gulf in 2005. This looks cool! There is a website for the PBS show that has lots of detail - info on the aircraft of carrier airwing11, naval ranks etc: http://www.pbs.org/weta/carrier/ Here's a page from the Nimitz website http://www.nimitz.navy.mil/_links/shipinformation.html detailing its size: Commissioned: May 3, 1975 Propulsion system: Two nuclear power plants Main Engines: Four Speed: 30+ Knots Overall length: 1,092 feet Overall width: 252 feet Beam at waterline: 134 feet Area of flight deck: About 4.5 acres Full load displacement: About 95,000 tons Accommodations: About 6,000 persons - Nimitz reaches over 23 stories high from the keel to the top of the mast. - Four distilling units enable Nimitz engineers to make over 400,000 gallons of fresh water a day, for use by the propulsion plants, catapults and crew. - Nimitz' Food Services Department provides 18,000-20,000 meals a day. - Nimitz can stock at least 70 days of refrigerated and dry storage goods. - Literally tons of wash are done every day by Nimitz' laundry, dry cleaning and tailoring services personnel. - Nimitz' one barber shop trims over 1,500 heads each week. - The Post Office processes more than one million pounds of mail each year. - The ship has a fully-equipped dental facility, staffed by five dentists. - The Medical Department is manned by six doctors, including a general surgeon, who provide everything from surgery to hydro-therapy. The ship also features a 53-bed hospital ward, a three bed ICU, and acts as the hospital ship for the entire Nimitz battle group. - Nuclear power allows the ship to store 50 percent more ammunition and almost twice as much aviation fuel as the largest conventional carrier. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #2 April 24, 2008 That does look cool. Then again, so someone who was in the Navy or a Marine, then they probably don't care, but for us civilians it looks really cool!--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marcandalysse 0 #3 April 24, 2008 The beginning chapter of "Deep Survival" by Laurence Gonzales, takes place on a carrier as planes are practicing night landings. Very well written, feels like you are there. The chapter is titled "Look out, here comes Ray Charles" and you can read it on amazon.com I wonder if anyone on DZ.com has worked on a carrier...? "The reason angels can fly is that they take themselves so lightly." --GK Chesterton Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #4 April 24, 2008 Cool, thanks! I'll be sure to tune in to watch. In 1982 I was able to tour the USS Tarawa in San Diego between her 2nd and 3rd deployment. Our High School history teacher's brother was serving onboard and extended an invitation to our brass ensemble to come and play onboard, then tour the ship (not a boat, a ship!! our history teacher would reprimand us). (He'd also served in the Navy during the unrest in the Pacific--way back when > ) Twin Brothers, Goodwin. I was absolutely amazed how gigantic that vessel was. If we hadn't had a tour guide (one of the officers) we would have surely gotten lost! ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 35 #5 April 24, 2008 I'm pretty sure my father-in-law is going to watch this program. He works for the Newport News Shipbuilding company as a CAD drafter. He helped draw up the piping layouts for the USS Reagan aircraft carrier, and is currently working on the newest one, the USS Ford. He says although they're the same class, each successive one is different because of improvements in technology and methods."Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #6 April 24, 2008 How ironic that the USS Ford is going to be a symbol of freedom in our modern world. The history and beliefs of the man show that he was anything but the symbol of freedom.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SARLDO 0 #7 April 24, 2008 QuoteI wonder if anyone on DZ.com has worked on a carrier...? Yes, I have. Ike 2000 TR 2001 Anyone else?"Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest" ~Samuel Clemens MB#4300 Dudeist Skydiver #68 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 35 #8 April 24, 2008 Quote How ironic that the USS Ford is going to be a symbol of freedom in our modern world. The history and beliefs of the man show that he was anything but the symbol of freedom. How so? Did he not end the Vietnam War? Am I missing something here? As far as I know, his presidency was unremarkable, other than a couple of assassination attempts by looney bins and the only one who was not elected. Hardly a presidency worthy of having a carrier named for, at the very least. Now if it was Lyndon B Johnson, I'd understand your point more easily. But hey, let's not get this thread sent to Speakers Corner... "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #9 April 24, 2008 HA, sorry, I was thinking Henry Ford, not former President Ford. That's my mistake. Henry Ford was definitely NOT the poster child for civil liberties and freedom, except for the fabulously wealthy.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
normiss 900 #10 April 29, 2008 Anybody else almost embarrassed by this series??? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beerlight 0 #11 April 29, 2008 Quote Anybody else almost embarrassed by this series??? How about very embarrassed by it! A. Glad I never joined the Navy! B. They should try and "hold down" the little reality series they have going there. Proud of them people, but damn they do look bad on many occasions. Is that necessary? Not a very good "recruiting" effort..... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ltdiver 3 #12 April 29, 2008 Quote Anybody else almost embarrassed by this series??? I was hoping to see the actual workings of the Nimitz, but perhaps that's too restricted. ltdiver Don't tell me the sky's the limit when there are footprints on the moon Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
marcandalysse 0 #13 April 29, 2008 Normiss, I didn't realize your butt was that hairy! As was mentioned early in the series, many of these recruits come from troubled backgrounds and this is the first encounter with discipline and a work ethic. They described the environment being like a high school. They have been showing the complexities of all the activities on the ship, and how every member of the crew, no matter how low in rank, is needed for everything to run smoothly. So they are showing the lives of some of them in more detail. I am not a bellicose/warlike guy and usually not interested in military topics, but I do like aircraft, and this is a view I certainly won't ever see close up. Marc "The reason angels can fly is that they take themselves so lightly." --GK Chesterton Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
normiss 900 #14 April 29, 2008 The Navy has changed in many strange ways since I was in....24 years ago! As a society, we seem to be seriously lacking in education if this series is a fair cross-section of "yougins". I realize the broad range of careers and skills....but some of these people are barely able to communicate! I was also surprised that PBS beeps out so many words, but yet "nigger" is ok with them.Our military is an amazing thing..and I know as a whole they are more than capable of carrying out their duties (hee....I said doody). Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
