navy carriers?

Question

is it true that the air wing on ships has different schedules than a normal sea-going rating such as a b.m.? my freind tells me that a sailor on the air wing such as av,ao,or am works 12 on 12 off,instead of the crazy normal sailors routine.is this true?he says that they dont have to do the watches that a bm would do. is it a better life?

Answer 1

working on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. EVERYBODY on board a carrier works crazy insane hours in crappy conditions.

Answer 2

Your friend is wrong. Air wing personnel belong to the air wing. Their job is to take care of the the aircraft that do not belong to the ship. The ship personnel, like your BM friend belong to the ship and thus take care of the ship. Air wing people work 24 hours a day somehow or another. They have to do whatever it takes to keep those planes and helicopters in the air. Sometimes that requires A LOT of work by A LOT of people. They have watches too, but they aren't watches like your BM friend is standing. Two different kinds of jobs and with that two different kinds of watches while underway. Your BM friends has a lot of different watches or jobs they could be required to do on a carrier. For example, they could drive the ship, a huge responsibility for any sailor, but this is the responsibility of a SN or a BMSN depending on the paygrade. Bo'sn of the Watch also on the bridge. Sea and anchor detail, line handling details....... Tons of stuff for a BM to do. BM is not an easy job at all, but neither is the job of the air wing. Both require many hours of work while underway. But that is not unique to just those two types of jobs. ADMIN folks are also working 24 hours a day in shifts. Day shift and nights. For example, these people work 0700 to 2200. That is way more than 12 hours and it is 7 days a week. Don't think one rate or job has it better than another. Any job that has anything to do with the flight deck for example is even harder. Do you want to work on a steel deck in the Persian Gulf when the air temps are way above 100 degrees and the temps on the flight deck are even hotter than that? Being out to sea requires everyone in every rate to give their all. This doesn't mean you don't get time for yourself either. Lots of time to work out, eat, worship, whatever. It is the military and it is a great life regardless if you have to work long hours or not. What else are you going to do when you are at sea, you can't fish off the fantail or anything so you might as well work.

Answer 3

Men and women on carriers at sea work 7 days a week with a minimum of 12 hours a day...some departments work 12-16 or more hours a day.
No, aviation personnel do not stand the watches the ship's force personnel do. They have their own jobs in their departments.
The life of an airdale is a tough and dangerous life and I applaud anyone in one of those rates who make a career in it.. I was only on the flight deck a few times: in port and during a 'steel beach picnic'. I wouldn't even go up on 'vulture's row'. Not that I didn't trust our pilots, but... I
'm glad I was a black shoe, not a brown shoe. First and last carrier was one too many for me.
(Ex-USS Nimitz CVN-68 SK sailor...final cruise before retiring.)

Answer 4

My hubby was on CVN-72 (USS Abe Lincoln) and I can tell you that his schedule was NUTS!!! (this was before Sept. 11. He was in the Gulf when the USS Cole was bombed. He has been through 2 WestPac's, 3 RimPac's, and various other tours... He's flushed more salt water than a lot of other sailors...) He was crash & salvage (ABH/SW E-4)and worked LOOONNNG, HAARRRD hours while out to sea. He was ALPO of his division and only got maybe 4-5 hours of sleep a night. He'd go from one day working days to the next working nights. I think those guys have it ROUGH!!!!! IMHO!

**EDIT:Just like the gal below me was saying... and going on what my hubby has told me...

He worked on the flight deck where temps do soar over 140 degrees (sun along with Jet blast). And those men (like my husband) who have to wear the "tin foil" suits to fight fires have it even hotter. My husband actually passed out on the flight deck from the heat and dehydration. He was drinking MASSIVE amounts of water and was still dehydrated. So as far as working conditions, air wing on the flight deck (fulies, catapult, ordinance, crash, any of them have it the worst!!!) But my hubby aslo said that he LOVED his job. He was proud to be a sailor. As I of him for serving our country.