European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - February 16, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 16 the stars and stripes sunday. February 16,1986 pc the aircraft Carrier Saratoga under Way Tesi during operation with the 6th Fleet in the Mediterranean sea. Sailors at sea where Romance meets reality by Norman Black associated press it s approaching Midnight and a weary Michael Wayne Brown has been working for More than 12 hours in the damage control Center of the Carrier Saratoga the ship that launched the planes that intercepted to hts hijackers of the cruise ship Achille Lauro last october. Brown s station is the Type of place where the Romance of men going to sea meets reality. Brown a Beefy Guy you d want on your Side in a fight does t see much of that sea. He does t work on the Bridge. He is an enlisted Man a firefighter a Sailor who signed up when he was 17 and has spent 12 years in the Navy. Proud of his work and skills Brown credits the Navy and the . Taxpayers for getting him out of a Louisi Ana Gas station and providing thousands of dollars Worth of education. But he doubts most americans appreciate what he gives in return. Seven months out of the year i Don t see my two kids Brown says. Last year it was 8v4 months out of 12.1 do not enjoy leaving my  he and his wife have these peaks you know. There s a High divorce level in the Navy. You just grow apart. You re separated so much you can just grow out of love. It takes a very special  making ends Mil is another concern. Brown says he made $16,500 last year. We do worry a lot worry a lot about Money he says. There s never enough  and although it s peacetime he adds you can never forget you re on a combat ship. The Navy is out Here for a reason and we know  his ship is the Saratoga cv-60. Better known to the Crew As super  the Carrier is 29 years old and does t have nuclear Power. But the Saratoga is an aircraft Carrier that has re gained top efficiency ratings and reclaimed its front line position with the Navy patrolling oceans around the world. It s a floating City with 5,000 men its own radio and to stations newspaper and Hospital. It s a self sustain ing Mobile fortress. The Sara is also More a raw dangerous Environ ment where men and machines Are always on the Edge always pushing a technology and weapons sys tem that few nations have Ever mastered. The United states has 13 deployable carriers capable of handling High performance jets. The soviets have none. But whether it s aboard an aircraft Carrier battleship Cruiser or submarine of whatever Vintage there is a certain Pride and rivalry among sailors. A submariner aboard Mie nuclear attack submarine Olympia just can t understand Why men would want to go to work above the sea. The Captain of the 20-year-old guided missile Cruiser Josephus Daniels is somewhat piqued when a reporter runt late for a tour of one of the finest ships Ever  the master chief of the Saratoga the top enlisted Man on Board states forcefully that the Carrier is where the action s  on each of the warships the men live and work in an environment that a civilian would find alien. It is a male Only world women Are not yet allowed to serve on. Combat ships and a Young one. The average age of the 5,000 men on the Saratoga to 19, with Many too Young to buy liquor. Everyday living just climbing ladders and stepping through compartment doors is physically draining. With the exception of the submarine it is also an in credibly noisy world. The submarines have their own kind of noise Low in volume but omnipresent. They Are the sounds of an underwater spaceship of air and water being produced on Board. It is however a clean world. Mothers would be proud. Part of that emphasis is for safety reasons. Part of it stems simply from the need to constantly fight the corrosive effects of Salt water. And another part is simply discipline and the fact that a lot of men Are having to live very close to each other. The hours Are Long. Start  scheduled 12. Six teen is More Likely 18 or 20 not unusual. The hours Are explained by the constant need for maintenance and the necessity of being ready for combat at All times. Aboard the Saratoga everything revolves around the air Wing. Even a Carrier s commander must be a poot the Navy spends More than $1 million to train a Pilot. They have the most dangerous Job in aviation. Spend some time with a Landing signal officer per Ched on a Small platform attached to the Side of the ship near the rear of the flight deck and you la see Why. Day or night foul weather or fair the process of land ing with a proper controlled crash is never routine. The flight deck activity is tightly choreographed and at night surreal. One Roll of the deck one Faure to Duck and you will probably die. It s Exalter Atung. But it is scary says Joe Skender. A 20-year-old Sailor from Mantua. Ohio who works on the deck As part of an a-7 support Crew. And if you re not scared. Wed. That s what keeps you  below away from the flight deck s heat and noise and the cloying Omeo of burning Jet fuel the chief Engi Neer worries about everything from plumbing to electricity to keeping the ship on an even keep one f-14 weighs 33 tons stack a few on the Side of the deck and even a massive ship can list. Fire to a never ending source of concern. The damage control Center can flood the flight deck with foam in seconds. Despite the Carrier s size 1,000 feet at the Watert lne fire Crews Are Given no More than three minutes to reach any reported fire and As sess whether general quarters should be sounded. Drills Are constant. Temperature gauges Are spread throughout the ship. To monitors Are always trained on the flight deck. A nuclear radiation monitoring system stands silent. Squeeze further into the ship s bowels Down into the boiler rooms and confront a different Type of heat and noise. The Sara has eight boilers. Six Are kept on line at any Given moment. Massive air conditioning ducts can t lower the temperature below 100 degrees. Ear Protection and heavy boots Are mandatory. The Man Are matter of fact about the conditions they compete in teams to see who can keep their boiler up and running the longest. But they also have to think