Goat Locker - Steel Beach
CMC
CO AZCS
CO
Hank Handling his hose
Island
Steel Beach
Steel Beach (Man these guys do it up right! Our steel beaches were pretty mundane in comparrison.)
Tres Amigos
XO
USS Truman(top) and IKE(bottom) during their Ammo load.
I received an email from someone worried that the bottom picture wasn't the IKE since it was missing the ramp off the bow for the starboard CAT.
Here's the story about that ramp/protrusion: That ramp was initially needed to launch A-7's (I think that was the plane). I don't remember the entire story - but due to the configuration of the CAT, something would sling around on launch and without that protrusion, whatever it was would swing around and bash IKE's hull. Maybe an Airdale can give a more coherent explanation? Anyway - shortly after I got there in '79, that plane was removed from the IKE so that ramp was just a chunk of excess ballast for 25 years. I received an email from Hank, "The protruding chunk was taken off during this past 4 year yard period known as RCOH (Refueling and Complex Overhaul)." .... So now you know the "rest of the story"
And it was off this ramp that 3 of us were leaning out over the water at a 45 degree angle (thanks to IKE steaming into a 40 knot head wind.) And an Airdale chief chased us away from there... Since there was no catwalk under that ramp, he thought there was some danger that we might fall 100 feet into the water and get run over by a 90,000 ton vessel.
