had no desire to date one of them. Still, she was becoming slightly jealous of the attention Shane, the friggin’
intel weenie, was receiving from her peer group. Macho made a mental note to have a talk with Shane after she got back and explain how to act on the ship.
The launch was about to begin and the yellow shirt motioned Macho ahead. She released the parking brake and, against her better judgment, looked up. Shane smiled proudly down upon her and clapped her open palms together as if she were watching a small child in a school play. One of the smug Raiders also waved with his fingers, as if to say “Bye-bye!” Compartmentalize! Compartmentalize! Macho scolded herself. She kept her eyes locked on the director, refusing to look at Vultures’ Row.
The E-2 and tanker aircraft ahead of Macho were shot into the moist tropical air to take their places overhead, and a director led her to the catapult. On signal, she spread her wings and locked them in place. Once over the shuttle, she lifted her hands above the canopy rail while the ordnancemen “armed” the captive Sidewinder practice missile on Station 9. Unable to resist, she slowly turned her visor-covered eyes to the right, moving her head as little as possible, and caught a glimpse of Shane. With the two Raiders still by her side, Shane’s attention appeared to be elsewhere on the flight deck. She nodded as one of the men pointed at something on the bow. Just my luck, Macho thought, to get “Miss Idaho” as a roommate.
Macho was led forward and the catapult petty officer directed her to “take tension.” Shoving both throttles to military power, she felt the airplane tense up underneath her. She then “wiped out the cockpit” by moving the stick to the four corners of travel and pushed the rudder pedals to their full extent. Ready, she popped a sharp salute to the catapult officer. When he returned it, she placed her head back in the headrest and grabbed the canopy bow “towel rack” and locked both arms in place.
From the island catwalk, a thrilled Shane watched the scene. That’s my roommate in that big and powerful airplane! She squealed with delight as Macho suddenly roared down the track and went airborne with a boom as the catapult shuttle slammed into the water brake. Shane watched Macho fly away until she could follow her no longer. She was thrilled.
I am so proud, so amazed, and so fortunate to be here!
(USS Coral Sea, underway, Central Caribbean)
Mongo was shot off the bow a moment later and sucked the gear and flaps up. Leveling at 500 feet, he then energized his radar and Forward Looking Infrared sensor, or FLIR.