Our first deployment ended up being a short one, no complaining here. The CURTIS WILBUR's mission was to be a moving target for attack helicopters. This was part of their certification process and intended to keep the pilots sharp. There were some additional safety precautions added to the daily routine.
The helicopters would be using lasers to simulate the firing of anti-ship missiles. If the laser reflected back off a radar dish positioned on the flight deck then they scored a hit. These lasers are quite powerful though, so all none essential personnel were ordered to stay inside the ship. Anyone looking directly into the laser would be blinded. The watch standers on the bridge were handed special glasses, all other portals were covered.
The weather ended up taking a turn for the worse with eight foot waves at one point. As I was informed, this is fairly typical weather for this time of year in Japan. I started to feel sea sick again after a few days. With the weather conditions continuing to worsen, the mission was called off. On a brighter note I got the chance to observe operations in Command and Control (CIC). I am thinking hard about qualifying to stand watches in CIC since I am no longer medically qualified to be the Helicopter Control Officer.
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