Aerospace Blog

Deployment aboard an aircraft carrier usually lasts for six months - as long as nothing extreme happens and you don't get extended, which can happen from time to time. For the first three months, you act like a robot, just doing your job and not thinking about home too much because you know there's still a long way to go. Then, when that three-month mark hit and you're on the second half of your deployment, something clicks in your head and the countdown begins. It isn't so bad until the fourth month and you're just two months from the end.

People would always have a countdown on their computers. A lot of people would start talking about the first thing they were going to do when they got back, or their plans for when they went on leave. This is also the most dangerous time on deployment. Because people are thinking about their homes and families, their heads are somewhere else than where they need to be – concentrating on their jobs.

This applies especially to people working on the flight deck. That's easily the most dangerous part of the ship to work on. The last month is the worst because you just want the deployment to be over with. You start getting anxious about being home and what's happened during the last six months. For most part, you have no idea what's happened in society since you've been away. You've missed out on what movies have come out, new music, and family stuff that wasn't the most urgent in letters from home

These are just some examples. The sailors who have it the worst are the ones with a new baby at home that they've haven't seen yet. All you hear them talk about is how they can't wait to see their kid and spend time with him or her.

Finally, the day comes when the deployment is over and you're pulling in to the pier. You have to be in your dress white or dress blue uniforms and man the rails. This is a ceremonial thing - to put on a display and look our best, I suppose When you pull in, you can see a huge gathering with everybody's family, from mothers and fathers to wives and sweethearts waiting for their loved ones on the pier. They have all kinds of signs up saying "Welcome Home" and things like that. It's a great feeling to be home finally, and to know that you made it back alive and in one piece from a deployment where, usually, someone else didn't.

Editor's Note: Click here for Part 1 of this multi-part series.