Sea will wait for new crew

ABOARD THE USS ABRAHAM LINCOLN — They’re the new kids on the block. And then the block moved.

Navy Airman Davy Nugent and Airman Apprentice Adam Metelski stood on the flight deck of America’s largest warship, watching the shrinking Seattle skyline.

The two sailors, some of the freshest faces on the USS Abraham Lincoln, were taking a break from their new jobs on the flight deck to watch the scenery slip by as the carrier made its way to Bremerton for repairs. Nugent came aboard the Lincoln June 13, and Metelski May 15, the week after the aircraft carrier came home to Everett and a jubilant homecoming from the war in Iraq.

For both sailors, it was their first assignment after boot camp and Navy job training. The Navy’s "newbies" to the Lincoln, however, have plenty of company.

All told, 298 sailors have joined the Lincoln crew since it finished a 290-day deployment that included trips to the Persian Gulf for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Getting under way this week was the first time Metelski and Nugent had been out to sea, although the four-hour trip across Puget Sound was hardly enough time to develop "sea legs."

Metelski said he was still getting lost on the ship. And there were so many other things to learn about; co-workers, ship operations, a new chain of command.

"It’s pretty big. It’s a little intimidating at first," said Metelski, who hails from Phoenix, Ariz.

"It takes you all the way back to your freshman year in high school; all the new people, everybody’s over you," added Nugent, a native of DeWitt, Ark.

Even so, they said they were excited to help get the ship under way Tuesday — both had duty handling lines — instead of just watching as the ship left Everett in its wide wake. Their regular job is to maintain the catapults that help launch aircraft off the flattop’s 4 1/2-acre flight deck.

Seaman Michael Cook started working on the Lincoln May 6, the day the ship came home. Cook said he was adjusting to the ship but will have to start over learning the lay of the land in Bremerton. The Lincoln will be at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard for 10 1/2months for $300 million worth of repairs.

"I was just starting to get used to Everett. I was just figuring out the bus system … where things are in town," he said.

Originally from South Bend, Ind., Cook joined the Navy after his third year in college at Ball State University. But with job prospects looking dim near the time he was due to graduate, he left college early to do what he’d been studying, broadcasting.

When the Lincoln got under way, Cook was able to take to the air and play disc jockey during the journey. The ship’s radio station, KRUZ, operates only when the Lincoln is at sea.

"It was a big deal for me," Cook said.

With a veteran Navy broadcaster seated to his left, Cook took listener calls for requests, queued tunes and chatted up his new ship and shipmates. A supervisor later chided Cook about his sign-off, in which Cook used part of Popeye’s theme song, as being a bit "zany."

Still, his inaugural broadcast found appreciative ears.

"I was impressed. He’s sitting there live, and he wasn’t intimidated at all," said Seaman David Poe, one of the Lincoln’s KRUZ broadcasters. "He made some mistakes, but he recovered.

"It took me three weeks to have the courage to jump in the driver’s seat," Poe added. "It took him 20 minutes."

The seasoned salts on board have made Cook feel at home on the Nimitz-class carrier, he said.

"Coming out to the ship, moving on, I was in awe. It’s enormous," he said. "I felt like Alice in Wonderland. I kept getting lost.

"I feel like I’m one of the crew," Cook quickly added. "Sailors here just came off an extended deployment, and they’ve been more than helpful to a fresh squid like me."

Cook will have to savor his two hours on the KRUZ airwaves for a while. The scheduling for the carrier’s next deployment is still evolving.

Reporter Brian Kelly: 425-339-3422 or kelly@heraldnet.com.

Navy Airman Davy Nugent (left) and Airman Apprentice Adam Metelski watch the tugboat Lindsey Foss as it follows the Abraham Lincoln on Tuesday. The carrier, with Seattle in the background, was making its way to Bremerton.