NORFOLK, Va. (WHNT) – A few weeks ago, WHNT News 19 got a rare invitation by the United States Navy, to spend a few days at Naval Station Norfolk and out at sea with the brave men and women on the U.S.S. Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Reporter Chris Davis and Photojournalist Gregg Stone give us a glimpse behind the curtain, at what the Naval Life is really like.
“A good Navy is not a provocation to war, it is the surest guaranty of peace,” said Commodore George Dewey. The minute Chris and Gregg drove onto the naval base, those words started to make more sense.
They departed land, for the sea by the air in a C-2 Greyhound, or as the sailors call it, a “COD flight.”
They landed the same way the pros do, quickly! The COD goes from 150 mph to a dead stop, just like that, using a series of arresting cables.
The trip was a whirlwind from that point on.
A quick dinner and they were up to a part of the ship called “Vulture’s Row” to see those dramatic landings and launches in the dark.
The next morning, they traversed nearly ever inch of the cavernous ship. They met with several Alabama sailors in the electrical engineering division.
“Sometimes equipment does catch fire and we are extremely well trained,” says Chief Petty Officer Owen Key, from New Market.
The most exciting part – getting to witness the fastest launches the military does from just a mere 10 yards away.
Within each cockpit, underneath every suit, behind every lens is a fascinating sailor’s story – one of sacrifice and service to our country.
It’s our privilege this week to share their stories, take you places most people don’t get to go and show you what it means to be a Sailor for a day.
You can watch each piece, Monday – Friday at 6 a.m. only on WHNT News 19.