Local

By RICK REEVES, SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-PRESS

Aboard the USS Ronald Reagan during the 2009 Tiger Cruise are, from left, Martin Cohn, Bob Byers Jr., Capt. Jim Kunkle (USAF retired), Capt. Kenneth Norton (commander of the USS Ronald Reagan), Col. Phillip Conran, Thiep Cung and Rick Reeves. PHOTOS COURTESY RICK REEVES

An EA-6B Prowler returns to the USS Ronald Reagan after an air power-at-sea show.

At top, honorary VFA-22 members, from left, Capt. James Kunkle (USAF retired), Steve Ritchie, and Col. Phillip Conran (USAF retired). Above, at home port Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego, media scramble to get shots of the first sailors off the ship. By Navy tradition, this honor goes to fathers of children born during the deployment.

At top, a shot from aboard the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan shows the scene greeting the sailers as they enter their home port. Above, aircraft are shown on the ship's flight deck.

For the crews of many Navy warships, the final leg of a long deployment is a chance to demonstrate Navy pride to family and friends. The Navy often stages what's called a Tiger Cruise on the home stretch back to home port.

During such a cruise, friends and family -- known as Tigers -- join the crew to experience life on a warship. Tigers observe most aspects of shipboard life, including sons' and daughters' daily duties. The Tigers Cruise is a once-in-a-lifetime sharing experience for everyone on board.

Also invited on the cruises are those with distinguished military service records or who have shown strong support for the Navy mission. This enabled me and five other Santa Barbara Navy League members to join Santa Barbara's adopted aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76) at Naval Air Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for a seven-day voyage across the Pacific to NAS North Island, San Diego, as part of the ship's 2009 Tiger Cruise.

The local participants included Martin Cohn, an attorney from Santa Barbara; Col. Phillip Conran, USAF retired, of Santa Barbara; Thiep Cung, an architect from Santa Barbara; Capt. James Kunkle, USAF retired, of Santa Ynez; and Bob Byers Jr., an investor from Westlake Village.

All were nominated by the Navy League board of directors to attend the cruise in recognition of their support for the armed forces and the Navy League. For example, Col. Conran and Capt. Kunkle are retired decorated military pilots with distinguished service records.

Some perspective on this voyage: USS The Ronald Reagan was returning from a nine-month deployment to Southwest Asia, where the ship's air squadrons provided close air support to ground forces fighting in Afghanistan. At the end of this core mission, en route to San Diego, the ship traveled to Bangkok, Thailand, and other Southeast Asia ports to perform humanitarian work.

The crew was, understandably, travel-weary and eager to return to San Diego, having been separated from family for most of 2009. But the warship was still prepared to make the best possible impression on their cruise guests -- and they did.

To join a ship such as the USS Ronald Reagan for a trip across the Pacific Ocean is to be in awe at the size and scope of the enterprise. Consider the ship's crew -- more than 5,500 men and women (half the population of Montecito), engaged in a complex wartime mission, working and living in close quarters for many months, far from home.

As the trip began, the foremost question on many minds was: What are the qualities that enable ship and crew to achieve a mission so efficiently and successfully? During an eventful week at sea, observing daily operations and getting to know the crew, the answer began to emerge.

• Day 1: Departure from NAS Pearl Harbor

The Tigers were instructed to meet a Navy sponsor, Lt. Cmdr. Ron Flanders, at the main gate at 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 15 in order to check-in, board the ship and secure onboard accommodations. The day before, flying into Honolulu, the 1,092-foot nuclear carrier, its nearly 70 aircraft parked on the flight deck, was easy to spot.

The Santa Barbara Navy League Tigers first met as a group dockside at NAS Pearl Harbor. Once aboard, we were directed to our accommodations in the Distinguished Visitor section of the officers' deck.

Two visitors share a cabin with two spacious bunk beds, two desks, a television, ample drawer, cabinet and storage space plus a sink. Bathroom and shower facilities are located about 30 feet from the cabins.

The USS Ronald Reagan departed Pearl Harbor at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 15, sailing under sunny skies. The flight deck is where we witnessed the ship's transit through Pearl Harbor, past the USS Arizona Memorial and the USS Missouri (in dry-dock undergoing restoration) beyond Diamond Head and into the open Pacific.

As the voyage began, we began to navigate the ship's complex decks and passageways. As distinguished visitors, we were permitted to move at-will throughout the officers' decks -- basically, all decks above the cavernous hangar deck -- in addition to the unrestricted decks below the hangar deck. Exploring the maze of doors, ladders, and passageways required trial and error. Fortunately, as a Tiger in a passageway, we could always rely on a member of the crew to provide directions to our intended destination.

For meals, we had access to the Flight Officers' Wardroom, down the corridor from our staterooms, and to the main Officers' Wardroom, five decks below, on the mess deck.

Once underway, our group dispersed to pursue various activities, regrouping (sometimes) for meals and (most of the time) for special tours arranged by our sponsor. We structured our day around tours scheduled by the Navy sponsors, and special Tiger Cruise events such as the air power-at-sea show, the steel beach barbecue on the flight deck and jazz concerts held in the hangar deck. These planned events were terrific. But there were also many meaningful, spontaneous encounters: conversations with crew members, usually during meals, which led to unexpected and informative tours of the ship.

One example: Two of us ate lunch, by chance, with the ship's senior chaplain, Cmdr. John Denton. The chaplain is a font of knowledge regarding the daily lives and struggles of crew members. As we ate, we discussed morale and discipline issues among the enlisted sailors. This led to an impromptu tour of the enlisted living quarters (sleeping 125 to a room), and to our attendance at the Sunday Gospel Church service.

As the voyage continued, guests' operational knowledge of the ship's daily operations grew. We got to know our sponsors, other crew members and fellow Tigers. And we had some good tours of various divisions (departments). Among a field of excellent tours and briefings, three stand out: the Nuclear Reactor Division, hosted by the assistant reactor officer; air traffic control center, hosted by the senior air traffic controller; and the INTEL (Intelligence) Division, hosted by the senior intelligence officer. Listening and observing, we realized how competent, qualified and team-oriented the crew is.

As our knowledge grew, we began to gain perspective on the qualities that drive the day-to-day operation of the USS Ronald Reagan, qualities best shown with snapshots taken from daily shipboard life. Consider these five events, in chronological order, that illustrate these qualities:

• Day 2 (afternoon): Sailor of the Day ceremony

To build morale and recognize the achievement of high performers among the enlisted crew, each day the ship command selects a sailor of the day. The winner gets to visit the bridge, listening while the captain announces his selection to the ship's crew. Sailor of the Day for Oct. 16 was Airman Alberto Rivera.

• Day 2 (evening): Navy fighter squadron's Adopt-A-Pilot program

Santa Barbara Tiger Col. Conran, who flew helicopters with great distinction during the Vietnam War, and Capt. Kunkle, a much-decorated Army Air Corps fighter pilot (flying P-38 and P-51 aircraft) during World War II, were informally inducted as honorary members of one of the ship's operational fighter squadrons, VFA-22 "The Fighting Redcocks."

The members of VFA-22 bestowed true VIP treatment to all three of these warriors; the best was reserved for Capt. Kunkle, aka "Kunk," who was treated to a surprise 87th birthday party, and an honorary commendation designating him as an "Honorary Redcock and Bad-Ass Living Legend."

• Day 4: Air power-at-sea show

Aircraft carriers are, after all, about aviation, and the Tigers all wanted to learn about the Reagan's aircraft squadrons and to observe flight operations. We were not disappointed in this regard. The squadron flight crews were almost always ready and willing to discuss their craft, and the three days of flight operations always culminated with the air power-at-sea show. During flight operations, all locations on the ship's island with a view of the flight deck -- the bridge, "Pri-Fly" (flight Operations Bridge) and outdoor "Vultures Row" -- were crowded as Tigers and others searched for the best vantage point.

Aside from the pure adrenaline-and-sensory-overload experience of watching the launch and recovery of Navy aircraft, the highlight of this day was seeing the overwhelming pride on the faces of the flight deck crew's families as they watched their kids working the flight deck.

• Day 4: Burial at Sea Ceremony

We had the privilege of observing a long-standing and moving Navy tradition, the burial at sea of a former Navy sailor, performed at sunset, at the edge of the USS Ronald Reagan's hangar deck.

The circumstances of this ceremony illustrate the reach and depth of honor and tradition in the Navy family. Capt. Kenneth Norton, the ship's commanding officer, granted the request of a former member of the Reagan's enlisted crew to bury at sea the ashes of his father, a junior enlisted sailor who had served the Navy more than 30 years ago. The passage of time means little to the Navy family, and the father and his family were accorded full military honors on one of the Navy's largest ships.

The message of this service to all, especially in the enlisted ranks, was clear: Serve the Navy honorably and you will always be a member of the family.

• Day 7: Return to home port, NAS North Island, San Diego

The final day at sea concluded with a moving final hour while entering San Diego Harbor with a large escort of local ships and all of the USS Ronald Reagan's sailors "manning the rail" in a show of white uniforms. The Santa Barbara Navy League Tigers were honored to be a small part of a major US warship returning to port after a 10-month wartime deployment.

Home pier was crowded with family and friends. After a ship docks, the crew disembark in an order prescribed by Navy tradition. One tradition: Fathers of children born during the deployment are allowed to disembark first. As expected, this attracts the attention of local news media.

All of the Santa Barbara Navy League Tigers disembarked the USS Ronald Reagan profoundly impressed with the ship and crew.

In addition to coming away with a sense that the excellence of the Navy is based on the excellence of its crews, on its experience operating in remote, hostile environments and in the superiority of American military technology.

Through the 2009 Tiger Cruise, we saw that the Navy's family values -- competence, respect, responsibility and teamwork -- are the forces that shape the USS Ronald Reagan and crew into a formidable, mobile component of United States military power.

YOU SHOULD KNOW

The Santa Barbara Navy League educates the nation and its leaders in the need for a strong sea service (Navy, Marines and Coast Guard), and supports the men and women of the sea service and their families in tangible ways. To learn more about the Navy League, and to view a slide show depicting the 2009 USS Ronald Reagan Tiger Cruise, go to the Santa Barbara Navy League Web site, www.sbnl.org.

Rick Reeves is a software developer in Santa Barbara and member of the Santa Barbara Navy League's board of directors.