Tiger Cruise,  USS John C Stennis,  Feb 19, 2012 - Feb 27, 2012     page 6 / 166

We spent the late afternoon in the shade next to the beach at Hale Koa. We enjoyed a few drinks, then had a tasty dinner in town. Then we returned to the hotel, we picked up our bags, and took a cab to Pearl City to board the ship. We arrived around 8:00pm.

Sign-in was a breeze. Our names were checked, our electrical appliances (chargers and such) were checked, and we were given a bag full of Stennis bling... a T-shirt, a cap, a ship coin, some patches, a schedule, and a 30-page worksheet. This worksheet, the Personnel Qualification Standard (or PQS) provided us with questions to answer and tasks to complete during the week. Many of these tasks required us to visit different parts of the ship. Upon completion, we would be awarded a certificate and pin.

That evening we simply got settled in Steve's stateroom. The touring would begin in the morning.

Tuesday morning (and most mornings) began at 6:00am. We rose, shaved, dressed and headed upstairs to the Officer's Wardroom for breakfast. You name it, they had it there for breakfast. And if you wanted something you didn't see, you could special order it. This was the first of many special privileges available to the officers of the ship, Kevin and I would discover.

After breakfast, we headed up to the flight deck. Most of the aircraft were positioned there, with just a few still below, in the hangar.