There was nothing more special than seeing a sunrise or sunset in the middle of a calm ocean. I used to love those days when I would sit on the flight deck alone with the stars at night or in the early morning mist. Just me, the ship, and the Pacific Ocean.
Alas, I was headed to the Middle-east in some poor country that was being blamed for having weapons of mass destruction and for having a tyrannical leader. I often wondered if I would ever even make it home or if we would even go to war with such an outmatched enemy.
The ship was the USS Cleveland and it has been long decommissioned (2011) and the quarters were tight, the temps in the spaces were stifling and the sleeping areas were so crammed and tiny. I felt like a hot dog in a bun... Or you know how Almond Joy comes in those little crates inside the wrapper? Good times.
In this pic, we were nearing the Mariana Trench and heavy handed on getting all the Marines' medical records transcribed into the Navy's new automated medical records system (SAMS). I forget what the acronym stands for but it was very tedious and time-consuming. Hence the gesture from me to the camera man (not you, the audience). Thanks for reading.