Scoop Deck blogger Lance M. Bacon just completed a 24-hour embark aboard the carrier Harry S Truman. This is the play-by-play.
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We’re boarding the C2-A Greyhound COD (Carrier Onboard Delivery) that will take us to the ship. Flight time will be about an hour. Last week, Scoop Deck wrote about the first-class treatment inherent to flights with the Chief of Naval Operations. This isn’t quite the same. The cabin is hot, cramped and wreaks of hydraulic fuel and exhaust.
And I love it.
While flying with CNO is nice, this is more my environment. It so motivated me that I wanted to stand up, buckle up and shuffle to the door, jump right out and shout “MARINE CORPS!”
Ummm … adrenaline is getting the best of me. I better close until we land. Especially since I see no parachutes on board.
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It’s not my first trap on a carrier, but I will say this: Whoever had the idea of bumping the number of blades on the COD propellers from four to eight should be promoted. Twice. That was one smooth ride.
And whoever added the nuclear-powered air conditioning to the bird should have a base named after them, or something.
