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Lincoln Heading Home After Longest Deployment

Aired April 29, 2003 - 13:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It has completed the longest deployment for a ship of its type. After ten months of battle in both the war on terror and Operation Iraqi Freedom, the USS Abraham Lincoln finally coming home. Along for the ride, a familiar face to many of the crew, and maybe to you out there, we hope. Kyra Phillips reported from the Lincoln during Iraq. She was embedded, as they say.
Hey, Kyra, I never asked you, do you have a call sign?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I do, but I can't tell you that on national television. Can I tell you off the record, maybe by phone?

O'BRIEN: Oh, gosh, now you're just -- you're teasing our audience.

PHILLIPS: All right, so it's Blowout, but I'll tell you why later. OK. We're going to get to serious business.

O'BRIEN: We're going to have to ask you about that later.

PHILLIPS: It's not my flying. I promise it is not about my flying.

O'BRIEN: Blowout. OK.

PHILLIPS: I'm OK with the flying.

O'BRIEN: Why don't you press on, and we'll ask you later about Blowout, OK?

PHILLIPS: All right, Miles. Well, just repeat it one more time.

Well, you probably recognize where I am. I'm up at the very top where everything happens. A lot of people have been asking me, how the heck do you drive a ship like the USS Abraham Lincoln? Well, we are bringing you up here, and we're going to show you exactly how it's done. As a matter of fact, we are going to take you outside for just a second and show you a shot. It's just amazing, when you look off the front of the ship and you see how fast it's going and the wild swells. Now, the advantages of the wild swells -- kind of a play on words there, hard to say -- is that it makes you sleep well. And I think Lieutenant Commander Tom Baker (ph) would agree with me. He is the command duty officer up here on the bridge. That probably is the only advantage, right, of those wild swells?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It really is. It makes our world a little bit more difficult when we are dealing with these types of seas. We have to go a little bit slower. It's a lot more difficult to land aircraft on the aircraft carrier when the ship is pitching and rolling like it is today.

PHILLIPS: You know what, we are going to talk about that and how it affects flight operations. But first, give us a little tour here. We're going to come over here. The guys actually driving the ship here at the helm. Tell us what they're doing. Rodriguez (ph) actually taking charge right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seaman Rodriguez (ph), he likes to drive the -- this 100,000 tons of American warship like a low-rider, with one hand. Likes to kick back, and he does a fantastic job for us. He is one of our finest helmsman that we have here on the ship. He actually receives his orders from our junior officer of the deck and then he will steer whatever course we desire.

PHILLIPS: Outstanding. Let's make ourselves around -- we are going to head over to -- grab the cables there -- head over to Brandy. Tell me about Brandy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have BM-3 Ellen (ph). She is our boson's mate, and she is the person that wakes us up every morning with her boson pipe.

PHILLIPS: And this is what it sounds like. Come on, Brandy, give us a little.

And that's what wakes us up every morning. It's you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, and it's actually longer.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we know. We feel it. Thank you, Brandy. We are going to let you get back to work, maybe wake up those people who are sleeping in a little too late.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Now, another very important part of driving this ship, the charts and the GPS. Tell us what's happening over here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. We've got QM-3 Mason (ph). He is working the charts. He does all our calculations. He backs up our global positioning system, and keeps us in deep water. He also keeps our logs and records to make sure that he takes down everything that is said on the ship, except everything that goes on TV. Every course change, every -- everything that we do here on the ship he takes notes, and like I said, keeps us in deep water, and keeps us safe. Does a great job.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's move over to the next spot. Bunch of different types of radars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We have got Ensign Lovelace (ph), who is our junior officer of the watch today. He is in charge of our radars. We have two radars and a global positioning system moving map. The SPS-73 (ph) will take radar contacts and move the radar contacts onto the moving map. So if you can picture a moving map, and then put radar contacts on top of that, you can see where in the world those contacts really are, rather than just on a green scope. You can actually see where they are in terms of sea space, which came in extremely helpful, when we're up in the northern Arabian gulf.

PHILLIPS: OK, Tom (ph), let's talk about Operation Iraqi Freedom, and just the winds, a major factor, as you're driving the ship, keeping the winds down angle, I think is how you say it. Let's talk about the challenges of that, and why it's so important to monitor the winds and keep the ship aligned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure. Even though the ship -- this ship is about three football fields long, and every time we're up here doing flight ops, we're literally fighting for yards of sea space. We have to launch and recover aircraft downwind -- I'm sorry, into the wind. So what we'll do is we will turn the ship into the wind, go as fast as we need to go to launch and recover aircraft, and then as quick as we possibly can, turn the ship 180 degrees and run back in the other direction to get ready for the next launch and recovery cycle. We call them cycles. And, like I say, we're literally fighting for yards. Once we are finished with launch recovery, we can turn this thing in about five and a half minutes, and run the other direction.

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about fighting the elements. I remember going live out there on the flight deck during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The sandstorms, the thunderstorms. I mean, how do you deal with these elements? That's an extremely big challenge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a huge challenge. It's more of a challenge for the air crew, for sure. But we try to put them in the best position possible. We try to position the carrier in the best position possible so that they can get aboard safely.

PHILLIPS: How do you do that? So let's say the thunderstorms that took place, and the sandstorms. How did you direct them in and get the carrier right there with them so they were able to land? Because they couldn't even see the deck.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, they really couldn't. They broke out about five seconds -- in one of the sandstorms, I remember distinctly -- they broke out about five seconds before they hit the deck. What we had is -- excuse me one second -- what they had is -- we have our mitro (ph) officer up here, and he is making -- helping us make the decisions. And really, all you do is just kind of put your game face on and make the best decision you can with the information that you've got, and try to put the carrier in the right place in the sea, so...

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about the supply ships, off-loading and loading. How do you keep the carrier going and these other ships coming up? I mean, the suction of the ships -- that's a challenge, too, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a challenge. Whenever you get two ships next to each other, you have a suction that occurs between the bow and stern of the ship. So you are constantly trying to pull away, and what people might not realize is every -- once a week or so, we go alongside to replenish, get fresh fruits and vegetables, soda, ammunition, whatever we happen to need, so we go alongside a supply ship. And when we go alongside, we get to within about 180 feet. So you've got a 100,000 ton vessel next to, probably, a 60,000 ton vessel, within 180 feet. That may seem like a long way, but it's really not, and you've got a lot of suction, and a lot of other natural factors that go into -- that could create a very dangerous situation.

PHILLIPS: Lieutenant Tom Baker (ph), I'll let you get back to work. Thank you so much.

And Miles, as I kind of bring you back around here, another important element that takes place up here, that's the sighting teams, and those are the sailors that are out around, on the bridges that kind of -- in case where we are up here, as the ship is being driven by seamen like Rodriguez over there, and they have to basically be the eyes for the carrier, looking for any type of threat out in the water, any type of aircraft or small boat during a war-time situation. Now they are just sort of making sure that the elements are safe as they start heading home.

O'BRIEN: All right, Kyra, quick question for you, because we're up against a time constraint here, the fighter wings...

PHILLIPS: OK.

O'BRIEN: ... do they do much flying when they're on their way home? I saw the helicopter spooling up there. Or do they just take a break?

PHILLIPS: That's actually a great question. Yes. As they prepare -- you know how it is, as they get closer to home, and all the different aircraft are getting ready to fly off and head to their home ports. It's called a fly-off, and it is a very exciting time for them. They have got to prep the aircraft. They will take the different aircraft out to just test them, make sure there's no fuel leaks, make sure the engines are running OK, so then when the big fly off happens, they feel good that everything will go well and securely, and they won't have to turn around and come back. The last thing they want to do, Miles, is come back. These guys and women are ready to get home.

O'BRIEN: There you go. Kyra Phillips, Blowout. We'll leave it at that.

PHILLIPS: Oh, Miles.

O'BRIEN: I can only imagine.

PHILLIPS: Remember, I never get mad at you. I get even.

O'BRIEN: See you later.

PHILLIPS: All right. O'BRIEN: And thanks for the tour of the bridge. That was interesting.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired April 29, 2003 - 13:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It has completed the longest deployment for a ship of its type. After ten months of battle in both the war on terror and Operation Iraqi Freedom, the USS Abraham Lincoln finally coming home. Along for the ride, a familiar face to many of the crew, and maybe to you out there, we hope. Kyra Phillips reported from the Lincoln during Iraq. She was embedded, as they say.
Hey, Kyra, I never asked you, do you have a call sign?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I do, but I can't tell you that on national television. Can I tell you off the record, maybe by phone?

O'BRIEN: Oh, gosh, now you're just -- you're teasing our audience.

PHILLIPS: All right, so it's Blowout, but I'll tell you why later. OK. We're going to get to serious business.

O'BRIEN: We're going to have to ask you about that later.

PHILLIPS: It's not my flying. I promise it is not about my flying.

O'BRIEN: Blowout. OK.

PHILLIPS: I'm OK with the flying.

O'BRIEN: Why don't you press on, and we'll ask you later about Blowout, OK?

PHILLIPS: All right, Miles. Well, just repeat it one more time.

Well, you probably recognize where I am. I'm up at the very top where everything happens. A lot of people have been asking me, how the heck do you drive a ship like the USS Abraham Lincoln? Well, we are bringing you up here, and we're going to show you exactly how it's done. As a matter of fact, we are going to take you outside for just a second and show you a shot. It's just amazing, when you look off the front of the ship and you see how fast it's going and the wild swells. Now, the advantages of the wild swells -- kind of a play on words there, hard to say -- is that it makes you sleep well. And I think Lieutenant Commander Tom Baker (ph) would agree with me. He is the command duty officer up here on the bridge. That probably is the only advantage, right, of those wild swells?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It really is. It makes our world a little bit more difficult when we are dealing with these types of seas. We have to go a little bit slower. It's a lot more difficult to land aircraft on the aircraft carrier when the ship is pitching and rolling like it is today.

PHILLIPS: You know what, we are going to talk about that and how it affects flight operations. But first, give us a little tour here. We're going to come over here. The guys actually driving the ship here at the helm. Tell us what they're doing. Rodriguez (ph) actually taking charge right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seaman Rodriguez (ph), he likes to drive the -- this 100,000 tons of American warship like a low-rider, with one hand. Likes to kick back, and he does a fantastic job for us. He is one of our finest helmsman that we have here on the ship. He actually receives his orders from our junior officer of the deck and then he will steer whatever course we desire.

PHILLIPS: Outstanding. Let's make ourselves around -- we are going to head over to -- grab the cables there -- head over to Brandy. Tell me about Brandy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have BM-3 Ellen (ph). She is our boson's mate, and she is the person that wakes us up every morning with her boson pipe.

PHILLIPS: And this is what it sounds like. Come on, Brandy, give us a little.

And that's what wakes us up every morning. It's you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, and it's actually longer.

PHILLIPS: Yes, we know. We feel it. Thank you, Brandy. We are going to let you get back to work, maybe wake up those people who are sleeping in a little too late.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Thank you.

PHILLIPS: All right. Now, another very important part of driving this ship, the charts and the GPS. Tell us what's happening over here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. We've got QM-3 Mason (ph). He is working the charts. He does all our calculations. He backs up our global positioning system, and keeps us in deep water. He also keeps our logs and records to make sure that he takes down everything that is said on the ship, except everything that goes on TV. Every course change, every -- everything that we do here on the ship he takes notes, and like I said, keeps us in deep water, and keeps us safe. Does a great job.

PHILLIPS: Well, let's move over to the next spot. Bunch of different types of radars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. We have got Ensign Lovelace (ph), who is our junior officer of the watch today. He is in charge of our radars. We have two radars and a global positioning system moving map. The SPS-73 (ph) will take radar contacts and move the radar contacts onto the moving map. So if you can picture a moving map, and then put radar contacts on top of that, you can see where in the world those contacts really are, rather than just on a green scope. You can actually see where they are in terms of sea space, which came in extremely helpful, when we're up in the northern Arabian gulf.

PHILLIPS: OK, Tom (ph), let's talk about Operation Iraqi Freedom, and just the winds, a major factor, as you're driving the ship, keeping the winds down angle, I think is how you say it. Let's talk about the challenges of that, and why it's so important to monitor the winds and keep the ship aligned.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure. Even though the ship -- this ship is about three football fields long, and every time we're up here doing flight ops, we're literally fighting for yards of sea space. We have to launch and recover aircraft downwind -- I'm sorry, into the wind. So what we'll do is we will turn the ship into the wind, go as fast as we need to go to launch and recover aircraft, and then as quick as we possibly can, turn the ship 180 degrees and run back in the other direction to get ready for the next launch and recovery cycle. We call them cycles. And, like I say, we're literally fighting for yards. Once we are finished with launch recovery, we can turn this thing in about five and a half minutes, and run the other direction.

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about fighting the elements. I remember going live out there on the flight deck during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The sandstorms, the thunderstorms. I mean, how do you deal with these elements? That's an extremely big challenge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a huge challenge. It's more of a challenge for the air crew, for sure. But we try to put them in the best position possible. We try to position the carrier in the best position possible so that they can get aboard safely.

PHILLIPS: How do you do that? So let's say the thunderstorms that took place, and the sandstorms. How did you direct them in and get the carrier right there with them so they were able to land? Because they couldn't even see the deck.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, they really couldn't. They broke out about five seconds -- in one of the sandstorms, I remember distinctly -- they broke out about five seconds before they hit the deck. What we had is -- excuse me one second -- what they had is -- we have our mitro (ph) officer up here, and he is making -- helping us make the decisions. And really, all you do is just kind of put your game face on and make the best decision you can with the information that you've got, and try to put the carrier in the right place in the sea, so...

PHILLIPS: Let's talk about the supply ships, off-loading and loading. How do you keep the carrier going and these other ships coming up? I mean, the suction of the ships -- that's a challenge, too, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a challenge. Whenever you get two ships next to each other, you have a suction that occurs between the bow and stern of the ship. So you are constantly trying to pull away, and what people might not realize is every -- once a week or so, we go alongside to replenish, get fresh fruits and vegetables, soda, ammunition, whatever we happen to need, so we go alongside a supply ship. And when we go alongside, we get to within about 180 feet. So you've got a 100,000 ton vessel next to, probably, a 60,000 ton vessel, within 180 feet. That may seem like a long way, but it's really not, and you've got a lot of suction, and a lot of other natural factors that go into -- that could create a very dangerous situation.

PHILLIPS: Lieutenant Tom Baker (ph), I'll let you get back to work. Thank you so much.

And Miles, as I kind of bring you back around here, another important element that takes place up here, that's the sighting teams, and those are the sailors that are out around, on the bridges that kind of -- in case where we are up here, as the ship is being driven by seamen like Rodriguez over there, and they have to basically be the eyes for the carrier, looking for any type of threat out in the water, any type of aircraft or small boat during a war-time situation. Now they are just sort of making sure that the elements are safe as they start heading home.

O'BRIEN: All right, Kyra, quick question for you, because we're up against a time constraint here, the fighter wings...

PHILLIPS: OK.

O'BRIEN: ... do they do much flying when they're on their way home? I saw the helicopter spooling up there. Or do they just take a break?

PHILLIPS: That's actually a great question. Yes. As they prepare -- you know how it is, as they get closer to home, and all the different aircraft are getting ready to fly off and head to their home ports. It's called a fly-off, and it is a very exciting time for them. They have got to prep the aircraft. They will take the different aircraft out to just test them, make sure there's no fuel leaks, make sure the engines are running OK, so then when the big fly off happens, they feel good that everything will go well and securely, and they won't have to turn around and come back. The last thing they want to do, Miles, is come back. These guys and women are ready to get home.

O'BRIEN: There you go. Kyra Phillips, Blowout. We'll leave it at that.

PHILLIPS: Oh, Miles.

O'BRIEN: I can only imagine.

PHILLIPS: Remember, I never get mad at you. I get even.

O'BRIEN: See you later.

PHILLIPS: All right. O'BRIEN: And thanks for the tour of the bridge. That was interesting.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com