I can’t believe it’s been nearly two years since I participated on an embark of the USS Nimitz during RIMPAC 2012. The sights, the sounds, the surprises, and the memories. If I could, who would I nominate for an embark? The Ambassador of VH07V In the footsteps of the original Ambassadors of Aloha, Ed Sugimoto […]
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Recap of USS Nimitz Posts
Consolidating and linking all my recent USS Nimitz posts for convenience sakes. The Continuum of the U.S. Navy: The Past, the Present, and the Future USS Nimitz Flight Operations Sounds from the USS Nimitz Marines Flying Jets from a Naval Vessel? Surprises While Touring the USS Nimitz Six Things to Pack for a DV Embark […]
Six Things to Pack for a DV Embark
Through good graces, you’ve been nominated and selected to participate in the Navy’s Distinguished Visitors (DV) Embark Program. You can let out a “woo hoo,” don’t be ashamed. As your departure date nears, you’ll have to pack for this short but dense trip. What do you bring? Embarking on a military aircraft carrier is not […]
Surprises While Touring the USS Nimitz
During the short, overnight embark on the USS Nimitz, there were a few surprises (to me anyways). Here’s a list in no particular order. COD Landing and Takeoff There’s a lot of attention placed on the catapult launch off the carrier. Truly, it is an exhilarating experience. But there’s not much mentioned about the arrested […]
Marines Flying Jets from a Naval Vessel?
There are Marine Corps aviators flying jets from the Navy’s supercarrier, the USS Nimitz? Call sign SAS from the VMFA-323 “Death Rattlers” squadron explains this long-standing arrangement. USS Nimitz Death Rattlers from Gee Why on Vimeo. Sorry, I missed the part about the squadron’s history explaining the Death Rattler name, but you can read about […]
Sounds from the USS Nimitz
I’ve given you pictures and videos from my DV embark on the USS Nimitz. Â How about some of the sounds from the ship? This first one is boring. It’s the continual drone you hear during the COD flight. This is without ear protection. It’s loud. And it’s non-stop. Can you imagine listening to this for […]
USS Nimitz Flight Operations
I wrote about my observations onboard the USS Nimitz, but when talking about an aircraft carrier, there’s the obvious question, “Where are the jets?” Here they are. Cue up the Top Gun music (it’s a must). Unfortunately, there were no flight operations at night so I didn’t get to witness the skills of the pilots […]
The Continuum of the U.S. Navy: The Past, the Present, and the Future
Prologue How do I recount my overnight stay onboard the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz? There was so much in so little time. I won’t run through all the details of my Distinguished Visitors (DV) tour, deferring to the excellent experiences previously captured in the individual stories of the Ambassadors of Aloha. Instead, […]
Ambassadors of Aloha
It began in 2009. Â This was the very first time I had heard of the US Navy’s Distinguished Visitors’ Embark program where a few fortunate, Hawaii-based personalities participated in an unforgetable adventure. Â I dub this Class of 2009 as the Ambassadors of Aloha, paving the way for the rest who followed. Â The Ambassadors of Aloha […]
Pictures from the USS Abraham Lincoln
Last weekend, right after Hawaii’s tsunami scare, I had the luck of touring the Navy aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln. The Lincoln was on its way back to San Diego then Washington for servicing. While docked in Hawaii, the Lincoln hosted many tours, and I latched onto one for Kamehameha students. I had always […]
Social Media, the POTUS, and Thanks
The end of 2010 brought up a totally unexpected social media opportunity – to watch the arrival of Air Force One and its primary passenger, President Barack Obama. President Obama and the First Family have been making it their Holiday tradition to vacation in Hawaii, but never would I have thought that I would be […]
The First Family Finishes Their Hawaiian Holidays
President Obama, the First Lady, and their children concluded their holiday vacation in Hawaii flying back to Washington DC in Air Force One. I’ll post more pictures later on Tuesday. I’m tired and most of my pics were bad. This one is real bad. This is probably one of the better pics unassisted by a […]