Sunday at sea — the non-routine

[Woodmonkey]

Sunday at sea — the non-routine

In the civilian world, Sunday is a day of rest. Underway on the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk, it’s a workday, with a little twist.

For six days of each week at sea, life is a routine — everything happens at the same time each day, including meals, ship’s store hours, barber shops and watches to name a few. So it’s not hard to loose track of the day of the week onboard a carrier or any other ship for that matter.

But come Sunday, you get your bearings again as it’s hard to miss the difference.

Instead of serving breakfast and lunch, the galley is open all morning, serving brunch, shutting down at 1300 (1pm for you landlubbers) and opening again at 1600 (4pm) for a dinner of steak and crab legs. In the wardroom it’s even more noticable as the lights are turned down low during brunch to give it some atmosphere — something that’s not done on the enlisted mess decks or chief’s mess probably for safety reasons — but who knows.

But if for some reason you weren’t eating today there’s other ways to figure out it’s Sunday as it is also team ballcap day. Though most don’t wear ballcaps at sea, on Sunday’s it’s considered kosher to wear your favorite team’s cap — but get ready to put up with crap from those around you if they disagree with your choice. Though technically it’s only authorized to wear team caps, I have seen others — I believe I caught a glimpse of an “It’s better in the Bahamas’ ball cap on a sailor complete with a painted island scene as the backdrop.

But for pilots it gets a little crazier — for them it’s colored flight suit day, or as they call it, “****-hot flight suit day.” In this, you will see bright red flight suits worn by the Musashi’s of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (light) 51 (my favorite) — they stick out more than anyone when coming down the passageway. Second in my book are the jet black suits worn by Strike Fighter Squadron 27 “Royal Maces” they’re pretty sharp, too. Strike Fighter Squadron 192, “The Golden Dragons” wear a blue suit that makes you think the Blue Angels have landed onboard.

In all, it’s a colorful day, with lots of food and color to break up your routine’s routine.

the Source