VANITY: Airmen on Navy ships?

Political debate board ^

[CheezyD]

VANITY: My first vanity post... I'm looking for corroboration that members of the military in branches other than the Navy serve on Navy vessels. I was defending Bush's landing on the Abraham Lincoln on a political debate board and indicated that his doing so lifted the morale of sailors and airmen on the ship. A leftist whacko on the board is now claiming I cannot be a vet (which I am) because a "real veteran" wouldn't claim there would be airmen on an aircraft carrier. Any links would be appreciated. I've also attached the link to the debate forum if anyone here would like to stop by. Can't have too many conservative voices. Seems like the lefties are bringing in their friends from "D..." well, you know where.

[SolutionsOnly]

DD-214? Isn't that a destroyer? USS Freedom or something like that? :-)

Just kidding....

[Graybeard58]

DD 214?

I enlisted when I was 18 years and one week old and hadn't registered for the draft. The recruiter told me not to bother with it since I was going "active" it wouldn't be neccessary to register.
Four years later with an honorable discharge in hand I went home.A few months later I received a notice from the draft board to report for induction because I had not registered for the draft. The only thing those folks would accept as proof of prior service was my DD214.
Two lessons here:
#1 - Never, ever, ever believe anything a recruiter says.
#2 - Hold on to that DD214.

[CTOCS]

I was TAD on the Kennedy back in '76 in the Med...They had an AF detachment on board at the time...However, they were flying Naval aircraft...Some kind of JTF thing, I guess...

The only way to stop an AF aircraft on a carrier is to put a big piece of yellow gear in front of it!!!

[em2vn]

There are AF pilots who are carrier qualified. That was the case when I was in the Navy nearly thirty five years ago and it is the case today. I don't know the reasons for the process but a small number of AF pilots are trained for service aboard birdfarms.Of course they fly Navy craft not the garden variety fixed field flyers that the AF uses. To use the term "airmen" may very well be correct in all cases. When I served, the term "airmen" refered to the brown shoes flyers in the Navy.

[SolutionsOnly]

1976 would have made them F-4 Phantoms. I've never heard of carrier qualified Air force pilots. That must have been a very special case situation.

[epaul]

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/misc-42/dooltl.htm

How's this? But did it ever happen again?

[SolutionsOnly]

Now that is the ultimate 'special case situation'!

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

you don't 'drive' ships - you 'sail' them. :-)

I have a friend who is a retired Navy Captain of a nuclear sub who refers to himself as a former sub driver.

[CTOCS]

Coincidences abound today...I had orders to the Indy in '78 right b4 I got out...Was gonna be the Comm Chief for the spook detachment...

No threat on the GF...Happily married for 14 years to the sweetest/sexiest thing alive...However, if it's on the menu, I "will" look at it...

The Indy pulled in to Hong Kong in '97 right b4 the handover...The PAO was staying at the same hotel I was...We got to BS'ing and I finagled a private tour one afternoon...Rode out to her on the Captain's gig, had dinner in the wardroom, got two rolls of film...great time...She was flying the "Don't Tread On Me" Ensign off the fantail...Signifies the oldest ship in the fleet...Didn't know that at the time...All around enjoyable day...Made me want to re-up...

[Consort]

Aircrewman.

[chainsaw]

what's the difference between a ship and a boat?

A ship has a keel. A boat does not. A submarine has no keel and thus is called a boat. Submariners have no problem with that. In fact I know submariners that are insulted if you call their vessel a ship.

[CTOCS]

Nope, F14's...Out of Oceana near Norfolk...

Yes there are carrier qual'd AF pilots. Don't know why...I was never important enough or curious enough to ask...

[CTOCS]

You have put a very fine, but correct, point on the matter...

BTW, My 30' Catalina sloop has a keel and it's not called a "ship"...Go figure...

You're right about the boomers and fast attack boys...To them, it's always been and forever will be a "boat"...

[SolutionsOnly]

Interesting - F-14 qualified Air Force pilots. I wonder what the rationale was. Perhaps the Air Force was interested in acquiring the Phoenix missile system (which was F-14 specific)

[A.A. Cunningham]

There are only Navy and Marine aviators flying off off Naval ships. 'Airmen' implies 'Air force' and no, there are no Air Force pilots flying off carriers. Perhaps they may deploy as observers, but not to fly.

Incorrect. There are Air Force pilots flying with Marine and Navy squadrons and vice versa. Said zoomies do in fact get carrier qual'd if they serve with tactical fixed wing squadrons. The following story about Major Phillip Malebranche is only one example of the exchange pilot program. In fact, some Air Force pilots got carrier qual'd in the U-2 back in the 60s.

The last aircraft used by both the Navy nd the Air Force was the F-4 Phantom - originally designed for the Navy and then later adopted by the Air Force.

Incorrect. The last aircraft used by both the Air Force and the Navy is the F-16 Falcon. F-16s are used by aggressor squadrons in the Navy for ACM training. The last aircraft used tactically by both is the A-7 Corsair II. The Phantom II was initially designed for both the Marine Corps and the Navy.

[Ed Straker]

I've heard of some exchange programs where a pilot (or Aviator) from one service will be assigned to another service, for whatever reason, for a year or two. Thus you have a Marine flying F-15s with the Air Force, and possibly an Air Force pilot in an F-18.

[Tallguy]

Remember the F14 when it first came out. The Airforce morphed it into the F111. Saw one of the first ones at Eglin Field back in the 70's...

It was the other way 'round. The F-111 was part of the TFX program which goes back to the MacNamara days at Defense. MacNamara wanted as much commonality as possible between the services. This included the fighter-bombers. Hence, the F-4 Phantom, originally a fleet defence fighter, was used by the Navy/Marines/Air Force. The F-111 was intended to follow that track from the start, but the Navy gave up on it because of performance deficiencies. Aircraft tend to get heavier as the prototype is developed.

A lot of what was developed for the F-111 was transfered to the F-14 Tomcat program. The F-14 was originally developed as a pure interceptor to replace the F-4 Phantom in that role. The Swing Wing was far more advanced on the F-14 because, unlike the F-111, the degree of sweep was automatically & continually changed with a computer that monitored the flight data. The experience gleaned from the F-111's wings made this possible. The Pratt & Whitney Turbo Fan engines were basically the same too.

Incidentally, the Air Force gave up on the F-111 as a fighter for the same reasons. They scrambled to develop the F-15 as a pure Air Superiority Fighter and left the F-111 to the bombing role. A later version of the F-111 was even refered to as the FB-111.

[75thOVI]

That is, of course except for submarines, which are all boats. Although, as any submariner can tell you, there are really only two kinds of ships. Submarines, and targets. Aircraft carriers,(bird farms) are of the subclass "High Value Targets".

[Ed Straker]

Yeah, you and I know that, but I was referring to the know-it-all questioning CheezyD's veteran status. 8~)