“Now it is time to go below. After a drop down a stack of six ladders from the bridge, we find ourselves on the 03 or “Gallery” level, directly under the flight deck. Heading inboard, we find two central passageways running the length of the full ship. Almost a quarter-mile long, these passageways seem to go on forever, with only an occasional cross-passageway to break the monotony of “knee knockers” and watertight hatches. Most of what we see here are doors, lots of them, behind some of which are the real “brains” of the ship—the various command, air wing, and squadron spaces. In addition, most of the air wing officers and flag staff personnel live here. If you turn left and head aft down the main starboard passageway, you pass compartments filled with the hydraulic cylinders for the arresting-gear system. These are gigantic, filling the space between the two main corridors. The compartments here are also even more spotlessly clean than the rest of the ship, since one of the first signs of trouble in a hydraulic system is telltale leaks of fluid.” Excerpt From: Tom Clancy. “Carrier.” iBooks. “Farther aft are many of the squadron ready rooms. These large spaces are the headquarters for the various flying squadrons and detachments attached to the carrier’s embarked air wing. The ready room is the inner sanctum of a flying squadron, a combination of clubhouse, rest area, and meeting/ briefing/planning center. Since the rules of naval aviation allow a freedom of speech and expression that would not be tolerated in other areas aboard ship, ready rooms are extremely private places (where life as a naval aviator is seen at its most raw and splendid). This means that they are for aviators and only aviators, and permission is required before anyone else is allowed inside. Ready rooms are wondrous places, filled with historic photos, trophies, and plaques from the unit’s past. At the front of the ready room is the desk for the squadron duty officer and a large white board for briefings and discussions. There also are rows of the most comfortable chairs you will ever sit in. Based on a design that predates the Second World War, they are soft but firm, with thick leather covers embossed with the squadron’s colors and logo. They can also recline for[…]” Excerpt From: Tom Clancy. “Carrier.” iBooks. “After leaving the ready room, we’ll head forward. After we’ve passed through about a third of the ship, the tile changes from normal Navy gray to a bright blue, meaning that we have reached what the crew calls “blue tile country.” This is the central command and control complex for both the ship and the carrier battle group. The deck in “blue tile country” is subdivided into a series of spaces, each dedicated to a different set of warfare tasks” Excerpt From: Tom Clancy. “Carrier.” iBooks. “Ships Signals Exploitation Space (SSES)—This small sealed space is for the really secret stuff: “exploitation” of enemy radio signals and electronic emissions. Equipped with data links to national and ” Excerpt From: Tom Clancy. “Carrier.” iBooks. “theater-level intelligence systems, the SSES can provide battle group leaders with up-to-date information on enemy intentions and activities. Only specially cleared intelligence and communications technicians are allowed inside.” Excerpt From: Tom Clancy. “Carrier.” iBooks. “Normally, these are all quiet places manned by a small staff working in shifts. But when an operation or exercise is under way, they resemble a darkened beehive without the buzz, everyone working around the clock until the exercise is finished. By the way, it’s really cold there, due to the vast amounts of air-conditioning and chill water needed to keep all the electronics and computers from literally melting down. Even in the dog days of August, you often find console operators and other watch-standers wearing wind-breakers and pullover sweaters to keep the chill out of their bones.” Excerpt From: Tom Clancy. “Carrier.” iBooks. “Forward of the living spaces, there is a truly wonderful place, called the “Dirty Shirt” galley and wardroom area. This is the only officers’ wardroom aboard where wearing flight suits and flight deck work gear is “acceptable.” While the other wardrooms belong to the ship, the “Dirty Shirt” wardroom “belongs” to the air wing, which means that aviator traditions apply here. “Dirty Shirt” menus tend to be more informal, and talking “shop” is allowable. Each squadron has its own table, and etiquette dictates that you ask permission to join anyone who is already there. Still, more often than not, you will find a warm smile and an invitation to join the conversation. In the “Dirty Shirt” mess there is also is a neat, little-known secret: the “dog” machine—the nickname for the soft-serve ice cream dispenser, which is kept going around the clock.42 It is a wonderful diversion from the sometimes-spartan life aboard ship; and the “Dirty Shirt’s” dog machine is usually the best on the ship.” Excerpt From: Tom Clancy. “Carrier.” iBooks. “The enlisted personnel eat cafeteria-style in three large spaces amidships that can hold about five hundred personnel at a time. The officers’ wardroom (called “Number Three”) is farther aft, and is essentially a sit-down-style restaurant, though there’s a buffet line if you desire. Always open, Wardroom Three is the social center of the ship. Here the officers can come together for a few minutes and share news of the day with their shipmates. Coffee, “bug juice” (the Navy version of “Kool Aid”), and nacho machines are always powered up, and you can usually beg a meal from the mess stewards if you look as though you’ve worked hard enough. There even is what is jokingly known as the “nuclear-powered cappuccino machine,” which dispenses a passable cup of that delicious brew.” Excerpt From: Tom Clancy. “Carrier.” iBooks. “Aft of the wardroom are more enlisted quarters. These are much like the ones we’ve already ” Excerpt From: Tom Clancy. “Carrier.” iBooks. “visited, except that flight deck sounds are muffled by the mass of the ship; and you’ll probably hear and feel instead the ship’s engineering plant. At high speeds (over twenty-five knots), when the hull begins to resonate, the background buzz can be annoying. Another annoyance is the heat on the lower decks when the ship passes through warm water like the Gulf Stream or Persian Gulf. Things can get downright steamy under some conditions.” Excerpt From: Tom Clancy. “Carrier.” iBooks. “Below the Fourth Deck are the heavily protected and restricted spaces dedicated to the nuclear reactors, propulsion machinery, ammunition magazines, and pump rooms. Surrounded by a double hull with massive voids (specially designed buffer zones to absorb explosions) as protection against damage, these are the safest and most secure areas of the ship. Due to the security restrictions placed upon the Navy by the Department of Energy and the Director of Naval Reactors (NAVSEA 08), I’m not able to describe their layout or equipment.43 I can say, however, that the two Westinghouse A4W reactors provide enough saturated steam to run the ship at thirty-plus knots while leaving enough electricity to power all the ship’s other systems comfortably. The four General Electric steam turbines put out 280,000 shp to four shafts, and are highly agile at starting and stopping.” Excerpt From: Tom Clancy. “Carrier.” iBooks. “By way of example, an expert I spoke with claimed that a 90% reduction in the radar cross section of a carrier could be achieved through relatively minor, though detailed, changes to the ship’s island; sponsion, and deck structures. This would mean that a Nimitz-sized ship might be given a radar signature smaller than a guided-missile frigate’s. Already, outstanding signature reduction work has been done on Arleigh Burke-class (DDG-51) Aegis destroyers, which are extremely tough to see on radar and infrared sensors.” Excerpt From: Tom Clancy. “Carrier.” iBooks.