A Veteran's Journey

Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)

1. Who said, “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty.”?
2. In what movie (and who said it) did we hear, “Unless we’re parked in San Diego Bay, you’re at war every time you step on this boat.”?
3. In what song (and who sang it) did we hear the following:
   Ooh, a storm is threatening
   My very life today
   If I don’t get some shelter
   Ooh yeah I’m gonna fade away

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Skittles on the Flight Deck…

Boy, that combination of verbiage conjures up a whole slew of potentially weird-and-horrific images. That is, unless you’ve had the opportunity to experience one of the greatest adrenaline rushes life has to offer.

But then… I AM a little biased. I’m a United States Navy veteran.

I worked on the flight deck of USS Kitty Hawk, CV-63 from 1975 to 77. As part of the V-1 Division, I served in both Crash & Rescue and as a Yellow Shirt director. Both jobs were, in a word… awesome!

During flight operations, the flight deck is busy and dangerous as it launches 15-20 aircraft in a matter of minutes. Then, after that cycle of aircraft launches, the flight deck crew readies the deck for both the next launch and the recovery of the first group, usually within an hour to an hour and a half.

As I often reminisce in these blog posts, it was one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve had. Many airdales express the same feelings and, given the chance, would want a return trip.

Speaking of getting back on the flight deck…

Actually, a few years ago I had the opportunity to do just that. When I was “researching” my Navy memoir, Three Years, Eleven Months, & 29 Days: But Who’s Counting, I asked the Navy for three things.

One, to visit a Navy Recruit Training Center—there’s only one now, Great Lakes RTC. The Navy allowed me to spend a few days at Great Lakes, interviewing both recruits and company commanders. During that visit, I also welcomed the opportunity to watch boot camp graduation. Awesome trip down memory lane!

And yes… a “few” things had changed since I went to boot camp at Orlando RTC in July 1973.

Two, I asked to spend time on an active aircraft carrier to observe flight operations. Again, the Navy provided that opportunity to spend a few days aboard USS Ronald Reagan, CV-76. They flew me out of NAS North Island on a C-2 Greyhound COD (Carrier On-board Delivery) to the Reagan.

At first, I thought I’d only be able to observe flight ops from Vulture’s Row. But no, the V-1 Division Officer—a fellow ABH who worked his way up the ranks to a “mustang”—gave me a float-coat, a cranial helmet, and said, “follow me.” I also had brought along my camera… Awesome!

Three, I asked if I might experience a catapult launch. When my brief visit was up and time to leave, we boarded a C-2 Greyhound and launched off Cat 2. Those two seconds of a cat launch were unforgettable and… Awesome!

Wow—three wishes… all granted.

I wrote about this experience in a 3-part blog series: Writing Your Own Memoir.

Aircraft Carrier Flight Operations

Flight ops involve many people with different jobs.

Back in my day, there were about 200 men (and now women) on the flight deck during flight ops. The Navy figured out a long time ago that different colored jerseys with stenciled IDs would help to identify who does what on the flight deck. And after a little while, you learn what each crew member does and you learn to appreciate and respect the teamwork it takes to keep things moving and… keeping it safe.

Because of these different colored jerseys, flight deck personnel are now often referred to as “Skittles.” Skittles is the actual name of a candy (Mars) with many different colors. They had just been invented (1974), but hadn’t yet made their way in the Navy glossary.

Safety Equipment

Everyone on the flight deck wore pretty much the same safety equipment: a colored “float-coat” which you’d activate a CO2 cartridge if you were accidentally blown overboard. The float-coat was also equipped with a strobe light you could activate in the event your sixty foot trip down to the water happened at night.

You’d also wear steel-toed shoes which were supposed to protect you in the event something heavy (like a Crash truck or an aircraft wheel) rolled over your foot. In addition, everyone wore a colored cranial helmet with safety goggles, which has changed little over the years. In my day, we could wear GI fatigues while working on the flight deck. Nowadays, I believe most flight deck personnel wear camouflaged fatigues.

Officers and specific flight deck crew wore cranial helmets with battery-powered wireless headsets and microphones; we used these to communicate with other flight deck members. All others on the flight deck used hand signals to communicate. None of us on the flight deck talked with the individual pilots—that was handled by the Air Boss and Squadron personnel.

We “spoke” to the pilots using specific hand signals when moving their aircraft around on the flight deck.

It sounds a little confusing, and it is. But after a day or so, you get used to the routines, the communications, and all that other “environmental stuff” (smells, grease, oils, jet exhaust, “special” hand signals, etc.).

It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure!

Air Department (Ship’s Company)

The Air Department aboard an aircraft carrier comprises five divisions, V-1 through V-5.

The V-1 Division works on the flight deck, moving aircraft around (Yellow Shirts & Blue Shirts); the aircraft Crash & Salvage crew (Red Shirts) are also part of V-1. Yellow Shirts are assigned to one of three “Flys.” Fly 1 covers the bow area; Fly 2, the waist (i.e., mid-ship) area; and Fly 3 covers the recovery (fantail) area.

During flight ops on a flight deck “re-spot,” (i.e., getting aircraft into position for the next recovery and/or launch cycle) you’ll find between 12-15 Yellow Shirts on the flight deck.

When I first arrived aboard Kitty Hawk, I was assigned to Crash & Salvage and I remained there during Westpac ’75. After our year (1976) in the Bremerton Shipyards, I transferred from Crash to Fly 3 Yellow Shirt. Both were… awesome!

V-2 Division personnel also work on the flight deck and handle the aircraft launch & recovery equipment. Kitty Hawk had four launch catapults (Cats #1 & #2 were bow cats; Cats #3 & #4 were waist cats). V-2 Division wore Green Shirts, green float-coats, and green helmets. During my time aboard Kitty Hawk, V-2 was the largest Air Department division with more than 200 personnel.

The Catapult & Gear Officers wore a Yellow Shirt and a yellow float-coat, but a green cranial helmet. Cat Officers are known as “Shooters,” because… well, they shoot aircraft off the flight deck.

The V-3 Division works on the hangar deck and is responsible for all aircraft movement on the hangar deck and to/from the aircraft elevators. Back in the day, there were about 80 personnel in V-3. They also wear Yellow Shirts (directors) and Blue Shirts (handlers).

V-4 Division wear Purple Shirts, purple float-coats, and purple helmets. Affectionately known as “Grapes,” they’re responsible for fueling and when needed, defueling aircraft both on the flight deck and the hangar deck. Usually, you’ll find 50-60 grapes on the flight deck. They also maintain fuel stations.

The V-5 Division consists of approximately 15 personnel who work in Primary Flight Control. This division works directly with the Air Boss and keeps track of all the aircraft in the air wing assigned to the carrier. They wear a White jersey, white float-coats, and a white helmet. They always seemed to have clean jerseys.

When VIPs land or take off from the carrier, V-5 personnel are the ones who escort them to and from the aircraft. They also retrieve and deliver mail to and from the COD, or Carrier On-board Delivery aircraft. And yes, with Mail Call, everybody likes the V-5 Division.

Officers on Deck

All officers on the flight deck, no matter what division they work in, wear three, 1-inch vertical strips of red reflective tape on their cranial helmets. This is to help easily identify them on the deck as officers. If you are a WWII history buff, Army officers similarly wore a single, white vertical stripe on the back of their helmet.

Five people control operations on the flight deck: The Air Boss directs all aspects of flight deck operations from Primary Flight Control including the launch, recovery, and shipboard handling of the aircraft. Pri-Fly is located on the island, overlooking the flight deck. The Mini Boss is the Air Boss’ assistant and sits next to the Air Boss in PriFly.

The Handler directs the movement and placement of aircraft on the flight deck and in the hangar bay. S/he uses a scaled-version of the flight deck and hangar deck, known as the “Ouija Board,” to indicate where all aircraft are located when aboard the ship.

The Air Bos’n supervises the Crash crew and fire parties in handling aircraft emergencies during flight ops and General Quarters.

The Landing Signal Officer (LSO) monitors and directs the final approach and landing of every fixed-wing aircraft. In the days of old, the LSO would signal the landing pilot holding out two large “paddles” with outstretched arms, on his approach. The LSO is also known as “Paddles.”

Aircraft Squadrons

When an aircraft carrier takes to sea, she is accompanied by several air squadrons, specific to her mission. Face it… an aircraft carrier would be pretty lame if it didn’t carry aircraft. The Carrier Air Wing (CVW) comprises both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft and provides most of the striking power and electronic warfare capabilities of the carrier battle group.

Back during my day, Westpac ’75 carried CVW-11, composed of 12 squadrons: fighters, attack, early warning, electronic jammers, anti-submarine warfare, reconnaissance, and helos. I blogged about these squadrons earlier. While Ship’s Company included about 3,000 personnel, the squadrons included an additional 2,500 personnel.

I know things have changed a tad since my time in the 70s. Even though a carrier’s mission remains the same, the aircraft, the equipment, and the personnel are still one dedicated bunch. I didn’t interact with a lot of squadron personnel. As a Yellow Shirt, I remember we interacted with Plane Captains more than any other squadron personnel.

And… if my squadron crew descriptions below are off, I’m sure someone will point out the error.

Plane Captains wear Brown Shirts, brown float-coats, and brown helmets; they oversee the maintenance, launch & recovery of their aircraft as well as the others in their squadron. There’s an old adage, “The Plane Captain is the one who truly ‘owns the jet,’ and the Pilot merely borrows it for a couple of hours at a time.”

Also known as “brake riders,” Plane Captains man the cockpit during repositioning of their aircraft on the flight deck & hangar deck.

Squadron Maintenance personnel wear Green Shirts, yellow float-coats, and green helmets. They constantly inspect the aircraft before the launch and after recovery. It’s amazing the different types of maintenance personnel required for each aircraft, but these are the ones who keep the aircraft in tip-top shape.  

Quality Control (Safety) personnel wear White Shirts, white float-coats, and a green helmet. When you watch videos of aircraft launching off the flight deck, these are the guys on both sides (usually one crew member on each side of the aircraft), kneeling down sideways at an angle toward the bow with both thumbs up, signaling all is okay to launch.

Ordnance crew load aircraft with bombs, missiles, mines, ammunition, and probably a few more classified items that we shouldn’t know about. They wear Red Shirts, red float-coats, and red helmets. I’ve watched as a team of four ordnance crew lift and attach a 700-pound bomb onto the underside of an aircraft wing. I wouldn’t want to arm wrestle any of those guys.

Winding Down

That may be more than you wanted to know about the different colored jerseys worn by flight deck personnel, but having been both a Crash Red shirt and a Yellow Shirt director, it’s still hard for me to call myself a “skittle.” But rest assured, the next time you watch a movie about flight operations, you’ll have no excuse to NOT know the various skittles and their responsibilities on the flight deck.

Until we meet again,
Andy

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Andy Adkins is a US Navy veteran (’73-77) and the author of several books. His newest novel, NEVER FORGET, is the story of A Vietnam Veteran’s Journey for Redemption & Forgiveness. NEVER FORGET is FREE (eBook, PDF) for all veterans. Download your FREE copy HERE.

Previous posts mentioned in this blog

• #4—From Civilian to US Navy
• #49—Westpac ’75: After Six Months, We’re Going Home
• #54—Westpac ’75 Aircraft Carrier Squadrons
• #30—USS Kitty Hawk @ Bremerton Shipyards, Part 1
• #42—The Shipyards, Part 2
• #77—Bremerton Shipyards April ’77: Adios

Answers

1. Winston Churchill.
2. Behind Enemy Lines (2001), Reigart (Gene Hackman).
3. Gimme Shelter (1969), The Rolling Stones; written by Michael Phillip Jagger.