{"id":6192,"date":"2022-09-27T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-27T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/?p=6192"},"modified":"2022-09-26T15:49:54","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T19:49:54","slug":"127-rig-the-barricade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/azadkinsiii.com\/blog\/127-rig-the-barricade\/","title":{"rendered":"#127\u2014Rig the Barricade"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Trivia Questions (Answers @ end)<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Who said, \u201cOne you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.\u201d<\/em>?<\/li>
  2. Match the following one-liners with the appropriate movie:<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    “It\u2019s alive! It\u2019s alive!”<\/em><\/td>2001 A Space Odyssey<\/td><\/tr>
    “What we\u2019ve got here is a failure to communicate.”<\/em><\/td>Apollo 13<\/td><\/tr>
    “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”<\/em><\/td>Frankenstein<\/td><\/tr>
    “Open the door, Hal.”<\/em><\/td>Cool Hand Luke<\/td><\/tr>
    “Houston, we have a problem.”<\/em><\/td>Dirty Dancing<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    \n\n\n
    <\/div>
    Blog #127 (Audio)<\/div><\/div>
    <\/div>

    Blog #127 – Rig the Barricade<\/p>\n<\/div>

    Published: <\/span>September 26, 2022<\/span><\/div>
    <\/div>Audio by Andy Adkins<\/a><\/div><\/form><\/span>2<\/span> Downloads<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>
    <\/div>\n\n\n
    \n\n\n\n

    USS Kitty Hawk<\/em> (CV-63). Westpac \u201975.<\/strong>
    Somewhere in the South China Sea.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Imagine this\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    You work on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier and you learn that one of the recently launched aircraft cannot lower its tail hook. He could be in deep trouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Since the ship is at sea in the middle of nowhere, there\u2019s no other place for the aircraft to land. There are only<\/em> two options. While there may be some <\/em>discussion about the pilot punching out, that BS is quickly squashed. Especially if that aircraft is an A-3D Skywarrior<\/strong>, which carries a crew of three and is not<\/em> equipped with ejection seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Douglas EA-3B “Skywarrior” of Fleet Air Reconnaissance Squadron 2 (VQ-2).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    The only<\/em> option: We bring \u2018em back on board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My \u201chome\u201d was USS Kitty Hawk<\/em><\/strong> (CV-63), an aircraft carrier, from March 1975 until I was honorably discharged from the US Navy in July 1977. My \u201coffice\u201d was the flight deck. When I first arrived from NAS Agana, Guam<\/a><\/strong> (my first duty station), I was assigned to V-1 Division<\/strong> Crash & Salvage<\/strong>. I made the Westpac \u201975<\/strong> cruise<\/a> in the Pacific Ocean. Our overseas home port was the Philippine Islands (\u201cPI\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Our job in Crash was simple: wait until an aircraft crashed, then try to put out the fire and rescue the crew.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Obviously, there was more to it than that and we never<\/em> fought fires alone\u2014the entire flight deck crew and aircraft squadron personnel were always there with us. We just happen to be the ones who donned the \u201csexy\u201d silver asbestos \u201chot suits.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Back during my time, our Carrier<\/strong> Air Wing (CVW-11)<\/strong> comprised twelve squadrons of the Navy\u2019s finest. This included attack & fighter jet aircraft, electronic early warning & electronic jammers, anti-submarine and cargo, and helicopters. Back then, almost all were different aircraft, as opposed to today\u2019s squadrons, which consist primarily of the multi-purpose F\/A-18 Hornets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Don\u2019t get me wrong, the F\/A-18s are stupendous aircraft. But I still liked the variety we flew back in the 70s. I\u2019ve written about those aircraft<\/a> several times in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Back to the Scenario<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    An A-3D Skywarrior was probably the biggest & heaviest plane we carried in the air wing. It was huge\u2014over 75 feet long with a 73-foot wingspan. It just so happens this Westpac \u201975 squadron, VQ-1 \u201cBats<\/strong>,\u201d were my old friends from NAS Agana, Guam, and joined us as we cruised past the island on our way to PI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The A-3\/D weighed in at about 70,000 pounds, depending on armament and fuel. That\u2019s a whopper, so to speak, and it\u2019s no wonder its nickname was the \u201cWhale.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Depending on the speed of the carrier and the wind speed coming across the deck, you would expect the Whale to hit the flight deck anywhere from 120 to 150 miles per hour and stop within about 300 feet. That\u2019s a lot of weight coming in at high speed. And to think if he can\u2019t lower his tail hook, we have to rely on the aircraft barricade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Aircraft Barricade<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    The easiest way to describe what an aircraft barricade looks like is to imagine a giant 20-foot-tall tennis court net, stretched across the flight deck in the recovery area, between the #3 and #4 arresting gear wires.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Aircraft
    The crash barricade on the flight deck of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln<\/em><\/strong> (CVN 72) is given a final check. Preparations are being made to recover an aircraft with damaged landing gear.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    During flight operations, it\u2019s stored on the starboard side in a compartment located just underneath the flight deck. The barricade has expandable nylon webbing with two arresting gear size cables, one on the top and one on the bottom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    When needed, the barricade was pulled and stretched across the deck using a tow tractor and connected to two stanchions hinged to the flight deck and then raised. All flight deck personnel take part in raising the barricade and the requirement was to \u201crig the barricade\u201d within five minutes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Flight
    Crewmembers aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln<\/em><\/strong> (CVN 72) prepare to rig the emergency-landing barricade during a flight deck drill as the ship operates in the western Pacific on Nov. 18, 2004.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    We\u2019d train on rigging the barricade once or twice every<\/em> at sea period (usually every week or so). That way, when the time came, we not only knew what to do, but we\u2019d be both physically and mentally prepared for what came next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"A-3D
    An A-3B Skywarrior (VAH-10 “Vikings”) hits the crash barrier aboard USS Constellation<\/em><\/strong> (CVA-64). <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Fortunately\u2026<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    \u2026 for me, during our 6-month Westpac \u201975, while we trained dozens <\/em>of times to \u201crig the barricade,\u201d we never<\/em> needed to trap an aircraft in the barricade. There were several other unfortunately incidents\u2014I\u2019ve written about a few times in past blog posts<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    And, if you\u2019ve seen the new Top Gun: Maverick<\/em><\/strong> movie, I won\u2019t spoil you with the ending. The only thing I\u2019ll state\u2014which every airdale who\u2019s seen the movie will say\u2014is that there\u2019s no effing way flight deck personnel can keep their flight jerseys, float coats, and cranial helmets THAT CLEAN!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    One last note:<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    I recently volunteered with our church to be part of an \u201cEarly Response Team\u201d for disasters. I was a bit hesitant at first, asking myself, \u201cat my age, what do I have to offer?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But after an invitation by a church friend and the initial training sessions, I realized that while my disaster recovery skills need a bit of refining, I\u2019ve actually done much of this stuff as a necessity, living in Florida.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A hurricane does a lot of damage and oftentimes, is widespread. I\u2019ve lived in north central Florida most of my life and while I\u2019ve experienced a lot of wind and rain through the years and spent a few sleepless nights on sofa cushions in the hallway (away from windows), cleanup is always<\/em> required.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Many times, there\u2019s a bunch of \u201csalad,\u201d as we call branches, leaves, and moss, all over the yard that needs to be picked up. Other times\u2026 well, let\u2019s just say it takes longer and there\u2019s a lot more heartache and emotions involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Be Prepared…<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Not too many years ago, a hurricane made its way up the east coast, causing a lot of damage. I have a close friend whose house sat on the St. John\u2019s River in St. Augustine; literally about twenty feet away from the bulkhead. They\u2019d been through many hurricanes over the years. But this one\u2026 well, it decided to hang around a little longer than others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    That and the fact that it was high tide\u2014a disastrous combination and unfortunately, further defining a “storm surge.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Long story short, I went over the day after the hurricane to help. Where does one start? First, I couldn\u2019t get to the house\u2014there were downed trees and power lines, so I had to back trail it down some unknown (to me) county roads, across a potato field or two, then, \u201cturn left when I got back to the main road.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Believe it or not, the hurricane \u201csurge\u201d pushed the St. John\u2019s River back enough to not only flow over the river bulkhead, but through the house. Truly, \u201ca river ran through it.\u201d We measured the waterline about six inches up the walls\u2026 the house was already on concrete blocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It was a mess, but because he elected to stay there during the hurricane surge, he managed to save most of their possessions by piling things on beds & tables. I helped with what I could. It was not only physically exhausting, but equally emotionally exhausting. Besides pushing water out of the house with brooms and mops, we ripped up all the carpets and took them outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It took several trips, but we got most of their belongings out of the house and into storage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I don\u2019t know how much of my Navy training, both in Crash firefighting and working on the flight deck played in this event. But I know that when I got there, my instincts took charge, and I had the confidence of a veteran to tackle what I could and when I could.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    My new \u201cventure,\u201d or whatever you want to call it\u2014part of an ERT\u2014will certainly rely on training and experience. But having served in the Navy and spending a few years as a city firefighter will definitely help when the time comes to \u201crig the barricade.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Of that, I\u2019m sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Until we meet again,
    Andy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Answers<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Willie Nelson.<\/li>
    2. Match the movie one-liners:<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      “It\u2019s alive! It\u2019s alive!”<\/em><\/td>Frankenstein <\/strong>(1931)<\/td><\/tr>
      “What we\u2019ve got here is a failure to communicate.”<\/em><\/td>Cool Hand Luke<\/strong> (1967)<\/td><\/tr>
      “Nobody puts Baby in a corner.”<\/em><\/td>Dirty Dancing<\/strong> (1987)<\/td><\/tr>
      “Open the door, Hal.”<\/em><\/td>2001 A Space Odyssey<\/strong> (1968)<\/td><\/tr>
      “Houston, we have a problem.”<\/em><\/td>Apollo 13<\/strong> (1995)<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Previous posts mentioned in this blog:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n