Cloud 9

Well well well. We meet again. Finally got time to sit down and do some writing since i have soooo much time off meow. AKA i had my first day at C school today. BUT lets not rush in to things, got a lot of catching up to do. BIG things to talk about here- we'll start with going flying last weekend, then how i became a Plane Captain, then third class petty officer of the navy, to Thanksgiving weekend, to black friday, to c school. But everything is coming out better than i hoped for. Everything has fallen into place, and I;m extremely happy with the outcome. So lets proceed. I went back to work after the 96 hour liberty, back on day check, boy has it felt good to be on dry land. Just had an easy 4 day week that week working, hanging out. Been spending a lot of time with clay lately, and weve actually become pretty close. Were basically the same age/rank, and we got to this command at the same time. and were both ready to become PC. So as we still were trainees hanging out in the cage, it didnt bother us at alls because we were having a lot of fun- seemed like too much fun at work for what it was worth. Oh well, whatever makes you happy, and as long as everything that needs to get done gets done, safely. Which, after a week of Plane Captain board hoaxes, we decided to both launch some jets, so we didnt forget how to do it, since we were in limbo at that time. Just so happened that our jets were right next to each other. So we got our jets ready, and had our PC's with us, watching over us, so we decided to make things interesting, and see who could launch their jet the fastest, taking all precautions and safety protocols first of course. So it was a friendly bet, i mean everyone is always trying to be the first one off the line, it just so happen that our jets were next to each other. his pilots got to his jet first, and mine came late behind, it was already looking somewhat dim to my advantage. Anyway, he start up his engines, then it was my turn like 2 minutes later. Went through the motions, except his needed to be serviced with hydraulic fluid, which could take anywhere from like 30 seconds to 3 minutes. I ended up pulling ahead at this point, and all up until the final checkers were looking over the jet, they noticed something a little off on the tail hook, so they just tightened it up a little bit, but it took a good (what i thought 5 minutes) but it was like a minute, making clay catch up to me. Luckily everything went smooth for me after that, and clays pilot barely looked at him the whole time. Then, after you know it, my chalks were out, and the jet pulled out of its parking spot. Right after mine pulled out, clays jet was ready to go. Solid win on my part. Not to mention, my hand movements were crisp, and everything i did was perfect. It was probably my best launch ever, everyhting went very well. And when i was talking to a higher up on the boat, something really clicked in my brain. The job of a PC is to ensure that everything on the ground is safe and clear so the pilots can do their job properly. I am the eyes and ears making this jet go do its mission it needs to do- so these officers(pilots) HAVE to listen to what i say, and if i think something is unsafe, they HAVE to listen to me, and it feels good to have that power. Even if i think the smallest thing is unsafe, i need to stop the process and have it checked out, that is my responsibility as a plane captain, and if the pilots complain, so be it, but worst comes to worst i could have saved someones life, or even theirs. By knowing i hold all this power, its like ihave full control of the jet and everyone around it, and people have to listen to me. Gives me more confidence, and able to do my job better when i know what im doing, and that i can wave off a launch at any point if i deem necessary. Next.