Steeljaw Scribe

Welcome to Marseilles!

SJS,
So since I last wrote you I was in Rhodes Greece. Since then about a week has elapsed and we have operated with the French Naval Air Force, being a flex deck for them to get some carrier quals in with their E-2’s and Rafales. A couple of the Rafales landed onboard [...]

Southern’s latest missive arrives following liberty call in Rhodes as the Truman CSG is headed home. Having spent some time batting about the Aegean Sea in an LST for a midshipman cruise and liberty in Athens (a very long time ago - and yes, there is a story courtesy our airwing buds from [...]

SJS,

So two carriers or one? I can’t say, don’t know, and even if I did can’t talk about it. That being said, the media and some of their retired talking heads are playing up something out of nothing. We traded off with our relief and am now out in the IO cruising around Gonzo Station. [...]

SJS,
I am sure that most of have heard of the new offensive where the Iraqi Army is trying to replace the various anti-government militias in cities such as Baghdad and Basra. So that has lead to us being extended here on our current line period. They have extended us twice because of the need for [...]

SJS,
From our ship’s newspaper though the folks back home might get a laugh out of this:
Sailors Rescue a Nocturnal Creature
MC3 Damian Martinez
When the words foreign object debris (FOD) come to mind the last thing someone thinks about is an owl. On the morning of March 17 on board USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75), an [...]

(ed. Online Damage Control school/library here  . - SJS)

SJS,

So it has been a couple of days since we pulled back out of our home away from home. I know, I know, I was just there; but the powers to be decided to vary our sked up so we showed back up. Spent the time [...]

Today’s postcard from Southern is a look at another side of life at sea and one that’s not always pleasant - the enforcement of good order and discipline. The further up the leadership chain one finds onself, the greater the expectations are for standards of conduct and professionalism - and the greater the penalties [...]

Twenty-four/seven. No phrase better describes life aboard a deployed carrier than 24/7. No matter the time of day, somewhere on the floating, restless city something is going on. Come April, PBS will air what looks to be an excellent 10-hr series of life aboard the Nimitz 4, filmed during the entirety of [...]

Southern drops another note from the sandbox this way - more time in Abu Dubai and, well, let’s just let him tell the story:

Well it has now been about four days since we pulled out yet again from Dubai. This time unlike last time we were allowed into town. I have included some shots of [...]

So - life as a Sailor in this modern Navy — you’ve caught glimpses here and at other spots like Lex’s, Pinch, and Yankee Sailor. But that’s the view from Officer Country. Southern logs in this week with some thoughts across a wide-range of topics from the enlisted POV. We’ve said it [...]