https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EypzUduBqiQ It’s an event years in the making: No, not the new Star Wars movie. The aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower is out of the yards! The ship officially emerged in late August, and as it prepares for its first deployment next summer after two years in a Norfolk dry-dock, the public affairs department released an anticipation-building video parody entitled, “Sea Wars: The Ike Awakens.” The video mirrors the “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” trailer, with a very startled petty officer third class on the flight deck, a rolling mop bucket beeping like R2-D2 and an F/A-18 Hornet battling an…
Browsing: Norfolk
Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford began testing the ship’s new electromagnetic aircraft launch system in Virginia’s James River on June 5, but before they can launch real aircraft, they have to practice. It’s not quite like a real, live flight deck, but it’s close. Gone are the cargo pants, brightly colored turtlenecks and helmets. Instead, a sailor in blueberries and a hard hat mimics the signals of a deck handler before the catapult launches a weight sled out over the river in a graceful swan dive. The slow motion impact with the water at the end is rather dramatic. EMALS testing began June 5, the latest step…
Calling all amateur shipbuilders! The Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk, Va., is hosting its annual LEGO shipbuilding contest Feb. 8 for architects of all ages. Adults and kids are invited to bring in their pre-made LEGO ships before 2 p.m. to be judged in the official contest. Winners will be chosen from each of five age categories, in addition to a “fan favorite” award voted on by attendees. If you don’t have time to throw something together before Saturday, you can visit the free ship-building stations at the event. If you’re so inclined, you can even use provided diagrams…
Three months after Information Systems Technician 1st Class (EXW) Ernie Torres set an unofficial world record for breaking pine boards while plummeting toward Earth, the Guinness Book of World records has confirmed it. Torres now holds the record for “Most Pine Boards Broken in Free-fall.” Torres punched through 12 boards while free-falling 16,000 feet at 120 mph, and didn’t do it for the fame. He did it to bring awareness to his fundraising efforts with the Wounded Warrior Project. “I know the news of the record went worldwide,” Torres said in a Navy release. “My goal was to raise awareness…
If you’ve finally watched every “Last Resort” episode on your DVR and are going through Navy-themed TV withdrawal, cheer up — one aquaflage-filled drama just cast its female lead, while another has advanced to the production stage. Per the plugged-in folks at Deadline, Gage Golightly (who recently appeared in “Teen Wolf” — this one, not that one, and we can all pretend this one never happened) will play the wife of a Navy lieutenant in “Company Town,” a young-adult drama set in Norfolk, Va., against the background of a fictional Navy scandal. Golightly’s relationship with a longtime “townie” friend, and how…
With “Last Resort” sailing toward its “kick-ass ending,” fans of Navy-centric television that doesn’t include the initials “NCIS” are out of luck for a few months. But as we reported earlier this month, there are a half-dozen shows with Navy ties in the Hollywood development pipeline, ranging from dramas set on aircraft carriers to updates of Cold War-era apocalypse novels. One of those new shows, a pilot headed to the CW network about young sailors’ lives and loves on a large East Coast naval base, was supposed to be titled “Norfolk.” Here’s a summary, courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter: A…
NavyTimes.com readers already know the WWE is heading to Norfolk, Va., on Dec. 9 for its annual “Tribute to the Troops” mega-show. (Navy Times subscribers knew earlier. Just saying.) When the event was announced, Navy officials weren’t sure how or when the free tickets would be distributed. But a Navy Region Mid-Atlantic Facebook post has some answers: Tickets to the event are available only to active-duty service members and their families, and eligible wrestling fans can stop by their local Information, Tickets and Travel office beginning Monday to pick them up. For more information, call 757-462-5337. There’s also a list…
With the ABC drama “Last Resort” on life support, it appeared fans of Navy-themed television shows were stuck with Agent Gibbs and the folks at “NCIS,” “NCIS: Los Angeles,” “NCIS: SVU,” “NCIS: 90210,” and so on. But fear not — the young-adult-oriented CW network is saving the day. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the network and the production group behind “NCIS” will partner to create a new Navy drama, dubbed “Norfolk.” The report says the show “revolves around the lives and loves of the young people at the Norfolk Naval Station.” Think of it as “Melrose Place,” only with more…
