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ON BOARD THE USS HARRY S.TRUMAN – Nuclear-powered and carrying up to 4,500 sailors and airmen, the USS Harry S. Truman is one of the U.S. Navy's largest aircraft carriers.
Recently, I get a rare tour with a few others of the inner workings of this floating city from its Commanding Officer Capt. Clarkson, Executive Officer Capt. John Meier and Reactor Officer Capt. Kevin Hill.
On a typical day, there are at least 3,000 sailors who keep the ship humming, according to Clarkson. They operate the reactor plant, run the hotel, cook the meals, run the airport and do maintenance on all the critical equipment that allows planes to take off and land on the ship. In addition, there are about 1,500 airmen who do the maintenance on the planes and, of course, the flying.Â
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| Donald R. White Jr. / U.S. Navy |
| An MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter prepares to land on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman on Nov.8. |
"The ship is a neat machine. It has a lot of cool stuff, like the propulsion plant and all the stuff on the flight deck," said Clarkson. "But really, what makes this ship really special is the people."
Hill and Lt. Cmdr. Ray Glenn shepherded me around as I met many of the sailors onboard. Every role has a very specific and fitting title.Â
The "air boss" controls just about everything flight deck related, 4.5 acres of space in the middle of the ocean. The air traffic control room "keeps track of every airplane that is airborne, that is going to launch, inbound and on the approach – all on one screen," according to one its operators. One pilot called it the "one-stop shop" for the status of every airplane.
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| Lulu Chiang / NBC News |
| On the flight deck of the USS Harry S. Truman on Nov.5. |
Taking off and landing planes on the aircraft carrier is an art and a science. Just, imagine flying a 50,000 pound jet and trying to land it on a space of approximately 250 feet wide and 1,000 feet long – all tossing about in the middle of the ocean.
In order to help get the landing right, pilots are trained to perform a "hook-landing" using a cable laid across the landing area that is designed to catch the aircraft's tail hook. On a carrier the size of the USS Harry S. Truman, the arresting gear has to be at the correct tensions for five different types of planes with different airspeeds and gross weight to land.
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| Lulu Chiang / NBC News |
| On the flight deck of the USS Harry S. Truman on Nov. 5. |
"You can imagine it's pretty important we get the right weight setting set for the next airplane that's going to land," said the air boss.
Bad weather can add to the degree of difficulty. Apart from bad visibility, waves can move the deck15 to 20 feet up and down. And often, pilots are landing after five to six hour combat missions during which they may have flown for up to 1,000 miles. One pilot summed it all up quite simply: "It's hard, it's hard."
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| Kilho Park / U.S. Navy |
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Sailors and Marines scrub jet and helicopter oil from the hangar bay of the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman on Sept.21, 2009. |
To keep the sailors and airmen fed and ready to go, a huge team of cooks pump out about 18,000 meals a day. The sailors can then go work off their meals at the "Seaside Gym" replete with a gorgeous view of the ocean.
The carrier really is like a small city and there are sailors who fill every role you'd find in any community. They operate medical and dental offices, a gift shop, a bake shop, a chapel, library and a media center.
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| Kilho Park / U.S. Navy |
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Sailors aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman participate in a three-on-three basketball tournament in the ship's hangar bay on Nov.9. |
To all the veterans and current officers serving in the U.S. military, Happy Veteran's Day!
Lulu Chiang is a CNBC senior producer on "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo." She usually spends her time reporting on battles inside the boardrooms of corporate America.