Out checking out his aircraft before launching was the commanding officer of VFA 195, CDR Dave Conaway (below & right) from Louisville, KT. "I get the squadron moving in the right direction in the morning, then get out here and take the young guys up to teach them how to fly around the ship and over Iraq professionally and safely." Conaway said that the "rush" of his job has to be, "how we operate in an inherently dangerous environment where the difference between success and failure is so close to the edge, that the challenge of keeping it all together is truly the rush."

Oliver said he never imagined this is where he would one day be, "shooting planes," but there was a time when he thought he would like be on the other side of shooting; flying. "This is my first ship and it's turning out to a good time," he said. "The family separation is the hardest part about being here, but I email family and friends every day." If there was one thing that he could have to make his day on those "no-end-in-sight" days, he said it would have to be access to a phone that he had no difficulties with getting through. "Email is fast, and it's great for keeping me up on what's going on back at home, but hearing and speaking to those you love, well, email just isn't the same."

"We'll conduct a Combat FOD walkdown at times when a piece of debris or something like a loose fastener is suspected to have fallen onto the flight deck durring flight OP's," said Airman Recruit Derek Leone (below) from St. Louis, MO. Leone is a member of the FOD team [foreign object debris] that collects the items picked up into a bag for later inspection and discussion.

ABF AN Craig Danzi (above) from Canton, CT was busy topping off the tanks for the 1130 launches today. "I was lured into this game by the travel," he said. "I also wanted to get some college and make a good future for myself." A little further down I stopped ATAN Jacob Larsen (left) from Fort Lauderdale, FL to ask him a few Q's. He's been a part of VF 154 for a year and a half and said he enjoys being forward deployed. "I've already seen a lot more than my Shipmates from "A" school. ["A" School is the first school a Sailor attends after bootcamp for their specific rating.] "Having access to email this cruise has made it easier," he said, "but still, being so far away from home is really what makes being here hard."

It's not much longer after pilots like CDR Conaway climb into their cockpits that the stage is set for them to launch. Today the Shooter, who's responsible for the safe launching of the aircraft's and gives the "go," for Conaway's launch was LT Greg Oliver (below & left) from Battle Creek, MI. "It's an awesome responsibility," Oliver said, more on the "size" of the responsibility than the dynamics of it. "It can be scary being that close to that much speed," he said, "especially at night."

(Below) Combat FOD walkdown.

"We use the pieces to later discuss how such an item found could have been prevented to begin with," he said. Holding up his bags, empty.

Well, I was up with the action, the Shooter gave the "touch 'n go," and then the day was gone... We're getting ready to give you what I've been promising, Department Photos. As we continue to post each and every department, we're also adding what will be a very familure look, but is specifically for the departments. Bulletin boards. Check out the first to go on line, Engineering's Bulletin Board where Engineers put together their own photos and happenings around their world. VAW 115 is close and ready to go, and so are the other departments as we hurry and try to bring you closer to your Sailor. Until then...