Touring The Nassau Part 1

Being a part of this tour was a humbling experience to say the least. Being aboard the Nassau was one of the pinnacles of that humility.

These men and women - most of whom are younger than I - have been out since Jan 18. And they recently tied the record for "Most number of days at sea without a port stop." That number? 159 days. They have passed over the equator and officially become Shellbacks; they've passed through the Suez Canal; they've first-hand dealt with pirates at sea who had mistakenly fired upon another US Navy ship (Ooops. That was a BAD day for those pirates); and within their first two weeks at sea, they were already answering their call of duty by providing relief for Haiti.

The most amazing part of it all - when you talk to these Sailors and Marines, and you ask them "How do you do it?" or discuss the sacrifices they are making... one thing remains the same. They are all unanimously so thankful and passionate at the opportunity to serve their country, that they are not only ok with, but welcome the sacrifices they need to make. It's so incredible. It's so inspiring. And it makes me so proud to be an American.

Now. Our Tour of the Nassau.
We arrived on board the ship sometime after noon. The show was at 4, so there wasn't a whole lot of time in between. But we squeezed every moment in for the ship tour!

First we headed up to the bridge where I could have listened to the Captain talk ALLLLL day. He invited me to sit in the Captain's Chair which ain't no little thing. I mean... NO ONE but the Captain sits in the Captain's Chair!


He gave us an overview of the ship's responsibilities and told us about how incredible his crew is. He is really proud of his Sailors! Aside from getting to ask questions about pirates, and getting to watch an Osprey land (just 30 minutes after we had landed in one)...


...my favorite moment was one that was a bit confusing. Doug (the lead singer from Safety Suit) was asking questions about take offs and landings on the ship because we could see a bit of a run-way. Captain Reis was explaining how they do short take-offs... but we didn't quite understand. There was an Osprey and 3 Harrier Jets facing us which contradicted some of his explanations about how they take-off.

Suddenly, he paused and began laughing to himself. He said, "Oh. I see your confusion. They ARE facing the wrong direction. We did that for YOU. We wanted you to have a nice back drop to look at while you are performing, so we arranged them to look nice for your show."

Ok. We all just looked at each other with that "be cool" look. Are you kidding me??? They arranged the planes on the ship to LOOK COOL FOR US??? My mind = blown.

Only the most expensive and epic backdrop we've ever had.


Heading out to see our backdrop...


Meeting the pilots:


I'm all smiles up close to the Harriers :)



Panther is such a stud!



The medical capabilities on the Nassau are only 2nd to the Navy's dedicated hospital ships. And they had some incredible stories as well!


The most incredible story came about during their relief efforts in Haiti. They were at full capacity and supplies were constantly coming in and out. Someone noticed a box that had made it all the way down to medical that was simply labeled "Baby in a box." It was a 2 day old baby girl!!! The doctor said that when word got out about the baby, all of a sudden gifts and things that you wouldn't think you'd find on a Navy ship started appearing out of nowhere.
The most amazing part was that they found the mother on the USNS Comfort! She had gotten separated from her child in the chaos, but miraculously they were reunited! What a blessing to be a part of that story for the Nassau!

Tomorrow... I'll tell you about the Marines showing me how to shoot a grenade launcher. :)

Peace. Love. Fiddle.
~natalie