the 18 months since ovehaul Department: Rx Author: Matigar Era: 2006 Date: 10/14/06 I was on ike from sept 02 and stayed up through a month ago. After we did sea trials in Mar 05 (was supposed to have been in January), we did a workup period till june. Another yard period, PSA, till october of 05 and then another set of workups being surge ready march time frame. Did insurv end of MArch 2006. Hit ft lauderdale in april for 4 days on a 28 day underway. Had POM in august. Not sure why deployment got moved from beginning of sept to beginning of october though. Transferred off september 5th. Quick summary of the 18 months. Hope it helps.

COH Department: Ops Author: Ron Eureka Era: 2006 Date: 10/14/06 > So if the yard period ended in Mar 05, why are they just now deploying? A few months for quals and stuff i understand but 18 months? Probably had something to do with this was THE major carrier overhaul for Ike - the mid life ship extension, or whatever they call it. They refueled the reactors, and I think that is the only time they have or will do that. It would be cool to get some yard bird input here.

Bitch Books Department: Rx Author: Peter Era: 1982 Date: 10/16/06 Certainly in the RX division (and probably others) we whiled away the hours on watch reading and writing in so called "Bitch books" - Thanks to Wags and Tim Palange, I now have scans of a couple of p-ages... On the home page, click on the Bitch Books link.

Good Job Department: Rx Author: BisonHead Era: 1988 Date: 10/16/06 Congrats on the Bitch book entries. I well remember spending many hours reading and writing in those books. I just remember that around the time I left,July '88, we were having to start new ones all the time because everyone was being caught by the khaki's with them. Just like they would confiscate our porn if they saw it. Jerks.

bitch book Department: Rx Author: Charlie Era: 1983 Date: 10/18/06 I just looked at the bitch book entry. Man, were we creative, or what? That Nov 23 we were all getting screwed all right. We were still stuck off Lebanon instead of pulling into Norfolk like we were scheduled. I recall Wags got some kind of rejection from the "love of his life" depicted in my cartoon, but it didn't take long for him to find another one. As for me, it was still a lot of "getting drunk with my friends" when we finally got home. I'm looking forward to seeing more of our warped sense of humor displayed. Well done, Wags and Flounder.

House out in Town Department: Rx Author: Dan Era: 1989 Date: 10/20/06 Right after the '88 Med, a few friends invited me to move into a house they were going to rent. The house was in Newport News, while the ship was in the Shipyard, in Portsmouth. All was well, when it was just the 4 of us, because we were all E-5, or E-6 nukes, however someone started inviting some E-2 airdales to move in with us, but they couldn't afford the rent, and so nobody paid, and we all had to move out. But it was pretty cool, as I first met my (then future) wife there.

Wrecking the new car Department: Rx Author: Dan Fuqua Era: 1988 Date: 10/20/06 A few weeks after we got back from the '88 med, I went home to Chicago to buy a car, and all was well, because it was still in cherry condition, though it was an '82. I drove it back to Norfolk, with no incident. However, one of the first days after we moved the ship over to the shipyard in Portsmouth, it was pouring down rain, and the roads were super slick. I was making a left out of the shipyard parking lot, lost traction, and got t-boned in the trunk, on the left side. This bent my axle a little. The car was so new to me, that I hadn't even received the permanent license plates for it yet. I put it in the shop at the Ford dealer, and they supposedly fixed it. However, a few weeks later, while I was driving to Washington DC, the axle separated and the wheel, and axel shaft went flying into the median wall, thank God I was in the left lane. But the Ford dealer right outside of DC was able to fix it right this time, and I kept the car another 7 years.

Valuable life lessons I learned on IKE Department: Rx Author: John Zink Era: 1984 Date: 10/30/06 Here is a short list of some of the more valuable life lessons I learned while living on the IKE. 1. Alcohol does not cause hangovers, ice cubes do. 2. Funnels are for pissing in. 3. Drinking too much cheap Asti will make you puke - a lot. 4. Drinking too much ouzo will make you very drunk. 5. Greek policemen do not have a sense of humor. 6. An entire watch section of drunk machinist mates can start up a nuclear power plant. 7. Anything containing the phrase "6 and 6's" is really bad. 8. Portuguese communists do not have a sense of humor. 9. A "gut" is not a part of the human anatomy. 10. sleeping above a diesel generator below an airport is not recommended.

Chief Mosher Department: Rx Author: Dan Fuqua Era: 1988 Date: 10/31/06 Anybody remember Chief Bryan Mosher? He kinda looked like the actor John Candy. I think he got off Ike, about '88. Anybody know what ever happened to him?

E mail Down Department: Air Author: ABH1 Era: 2000 Date: 10/31/06 I had to laugh when I read Bull's story on pg 84 not because of what the Air Wing did but boy did I use that story so many times when we pulled into a port. I didn't want my boyfriend to know I had extra pay and had kept alot of money he didn't know about. I was staying in 5 star hotels sipping my cold cokes and watching CNN(English)and just living large. We pull out and I would e mail him honey the e mail is back up! I would tell him they couldn't transmit & just couldn't use it when when we plugged into shore power. He didn't know I just didn't want to account for my time or MY money! I learned to use it first in 98. Boy did I get drunk in Marseille! I went to a site looking for carrier screen savers and they had the IKE pulling out of Naples it read Oct 6th 06. We all have the same pictures. I have that one at home its IKE at sunset. Except mine was taken from the liberty boat as we approached her off the coast of Turkey. Hmm it looked just like every other land we pulled away from.