Last week I had the honor of spending 3 days with the U.S. Navy on CVN 69 (US Air Craft Carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower). During my visit to the Ike I had the opportunity to live among the sailors that protect the freedoms that we all enjoy. This was an incredible experience of a lifetime. We sleep, eat and observed our service men and women at work. It was an honor and a pleasure to spend time with my dear friend and best friend IS1 Jason Morton.

I got to experience the living conditions our service men and women go through each and everyday. I slept in the top rack of our berthing. Just above my head was the flight deck. Throughout the night the ships crew would start the jets every couple of hours to keep the jet engines warmed up in case they had to take off in a hurry. This was quite an experience. Jason kept telling me the food would not be as good as I experienced last year when my wife and I took a cruise to the Bahamas.

Jason and his fellow co-workers got a big laugh when I asked them directions to the pool and chase lounges. I was very glad Jason and his fellow soldiers got so much entertainment out of my adventures on the ship. CVN 69 is huge and very easy to get lost in. It was explained many times it is 4.5 acres of US Territory that can go anywhere in the world. During this deployment the Ike spent most of its time in the middle east performing missions in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

The second day we were on the ship I got to watch a private air show from the flight deck. WOW! That was pretty cool. I could nearly reach out and touch the jets as they took off in front of us. On the last day we went up on the 9th floor of the island and watched the remaining jets take off and head for home. That was awesome as well.

In addition to myself Jason's dad Bob attended this special trip with me. Prior to leaving Bob kept telling me his co-workers did not believe we were going to spend 3 days out in the Atlantic on a US Aircraft Carrier while it was under deployment. Well, to all who did not believe, we hope you enjoyed the photos.

It was amazing to see our service men and women doing their jobs with the pride and skills they demonstrated. I am so proud of our men and women out there and proud to be a citizen of the United States. What these folks do is real and not something we would watch on the movie screen. I would not want to be on the receiving end of the efforts of our military. It is incredible to see what our military is capable of doing. There were a lot of things that we were not allowed to see. I can only imagine what other things our men and woman can do to protect our freedoms.

All I can say to our military is Thank You, Thank You, Thank You! You guys are Great and Keep It Up!