FLYING OFF THE DECK OF A NAVY AIRCRAFT CARRIER

I’ve always been a news junkie, going back to my youth reading the Los Angeles Times, first for the Dodger scores and later for the hard news and entertainment stories.  In the summer of 1975 after more than a month at sea working on a cargo ship in the Merchant Marine, I managed to find a newsstand (I think it was in Panama) that had a copy of the LA Times.  Didn’t matter that the paper was more than two weeks old…I bought it and delighted in devouring practically every word, even remarking at the time how I’d missed the particular typeface they used in the publication.

A few years later, working in the Promotion Department at television station KTLA back home, I was excited to be able to spend some time inside an actual newsroom in all its glory.  Though I didn’t produce many promo spots for our individual nightly newscasts, I did propose and start producing a series of “image spots” featuring the station’s news team.  First up was KTLA’s longtime lead anchor Hal Fishman, a Los Angeles news icon, who had earned his reputation as a serious journalist (in the days when journalism was fair and unbiased).  I had a photographer shoot Hal in a number of locations around town, including in his own private plane at Santa Monica Airport, talking about his philosophy of TV news. 

The spot turned out great…it was featured on my demo reel for years, but it was the only one in the “series” that would be made.  What I didn’t mention previously was Hal’s famous ego; when we were done with his spot and I asked him which member of the News at 10 team I should feature next, he told me “no need to do any more…this one is sufficient.”

I left KTLA in 1981 for a station in Philadelphia that didn’t have a newscast, and it would be 24 years before I’d work again at a broadcast station which carried news.  That station was KUSI in San Diego.

At KUSI I was very involved with the news department, sitting in on the daily planning meetings and working closely with the writers and photographers to generate compelling spots for our morning and evening newscasts.  Prior to the November “sweeps” in 2006, News Director Steve Cohen, who has since become a dear friend of mine, asked the team to come up with feature story ideas for that all-important ratings period.

My idea was a series of stories about the newly commissioned naval aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, which was home ported at the naval air station right here in San Diego on Coronado.  Over the course of two months I worked closely with the Navy’s local Public Affairs Officer to work out all the details of what would be a 30-hour assignment on (and off) the deck of the Ronald Reagan.

From my journal, October 16, 2006:

                Monday.  Today was one of the most incredible workdays I’ve ever had that didn’t involve a major movie or TV star.  Along with KUSI NEWS reporter Charlotte Starck and photographer Tom Zizzi, I went aboard the US Navy’s newest aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, to shoot new stories and station promos.

                I was up at 5am after an almost sleepless night (reminded of nights before childhood trips to Disneyland when it was oh-so-hard to sleep), and in to KUSI before 6am.  Tom, Charlotte and I took off for the naval station on Coronado Island, where we checked in and were brought aboard the 1100-food long, nuclear powered ship with its 4000-person crew.

                From just after we got on board it was time to work.  Charlotte was working on a two-or-three-part news feature about life on the Reagan, and I was shooting crew members saying “Good Morning San Diego” to run in our morning newscasts.  We were all over the ship, walking what must have been miles, up and down ladders eleven stories top to bottom, over and over again.  The ship’s officers were friendly and helpful; we learned a lot about how much it takes to keep this floating city going.  Best of all, we got to go out on the flight deck as wanna-be pilots did their first carrier take-offs and landings.  The noise, the vibrations, the heat from the engines was incredible.  We lined up in the mess hall for meals that were not as bad as people joke about.

                The dedication of the people who work aboard the ship was remarkable.  The 26 pilots who were being tested seemed oh-so-cool.  The public affairs liaison we worked with couldn’t have been nicer.

                By the time we wrapped up the day’s shooting at 9pm, and I laid in my upper bunk while Tom Zizzi checked today’s tapes, I was exhausted and asleep soundly in less than five minutes!

The Reagan’s purpose on this trip was to test the newly trained pilots, 26 of whom flew out to us well off the coast from Air Force Base Miramar.  One after the other, each incoming pilot was given ONE chance to land on the narrowly drawn target, the “sweet spot” they’d need to hit after every mission.  Those who hit the spot on that first and only attempt continued in the service as pilots.  Those who missed the spot would thereafter be assigned desk jobs.

From my journal, October 17, 2006:

                Tuesday.  My second day aboard the USS Ronald Reagan in international waters about 100 miles off the coast of Mexico.  This has been even more exciting than expected!  Other than getting up at 5am so we could get an early start on our taping of both news pieces and promos for KUSI, it was an enjoyable morning including breakfast with the crew, a visit to the bridge, and taping more take-offs and landings on the flight deck.  Tom Zizzi, Charlotte Starck and I got as much video as we could before it was time to head back to shore.  Shortly after noon we said goodbye to the crew who had helped us for the past 30 hours, and were catapult-launched in a plane from the deck for our half hour flight back to Coronado.

What a great experience it was to be on the Reagan.  The challenge of feeding 4000 people in a crew mess over a few hours, three times a day, was ably met by a remarkable team.  The organization of flight crew and ship’s officers to keep thing going with 26 airplanes going up and down was amazing.  This was an extraordinarily memorable trip, and a great change of pace from my routine at KUSI.

Interestingly, being catapulted off the deck wasn’t very unlike a roller coaster ride. After boarding the military cargo plane we were strapped in (across both chest and waist) facing the rear of the plane, and like the launch of the old California Screamin’ ride at Disney’s California Adventure we were shot like a slingshot off the deck. Once clear of the deck, the plane actually dips down toward the water but as it picks up speed we start to ascend toward the clouds. It’s not for the faint of heart!

The news features Charlotte, Tom and I produced were tremendous and nominated for a local Emmy.  That moment, one my favorite over 13 years at KUSI, would not be equaled until nine years later when I arranged a similar news feature shot aboard a US Navy nuclear submarine.  Stay tuned!