[Drew68]

I've learned the hard way.

Do you really want to learn what happens when your load team screws up a load on a Nimitz class carrier?

It ain't pretty!

Yeah, we f'ed up a Mk 46 download. Accidentally hung up the arming lanyard against a swaybrace when we were dropping the weapon. Oops! We had to do proficiency loads in front of our MO and CAG Gunner for a week to prove we weren't completely incompetent.

The Navy doesn't f' around with mistakes.

[SAJ]

Really, I had thought that all loads were, as you put it, ambidextrous. It was intended as a joke, a la the old ''left-handed monkey wrench''.

That NOT being the case, I quite agree it's not a topic for jokes at all.

And, thank you for your service!