OTHER TECH

The Navy WayArriving at the base in Norfolk, Virginia, photographer Jim Raycroft and I learned that Truman was miles off the North Carolina coast and that we'd be delivered to the ship via a plane that's mainly used for carrying mail and supplies. Passenger comfort is a low priority.

Landing on the carrier was amazing. As the plane came in at over 120 mph, a tail hook grabbed one of four arresting cables on the ship, bringing us to a complete stop in about two seconds. Stepping onto Truman 's flight deck, we were surrounded by nothing but blue water and the ear-splitting shriek of jets coming in for a landing.

From top: John's guide on his tour of Truman , Petty Officer 3rd Class Dale Eng, with the SITE system; "Fun Boss" Jane Clark; and Petty Officer 3rd Class Timothy Carr with the ship's satellite-TV receivers.

From the flight deck, we were led to our escort, Petty Officer 3rd Class Dale Eng. Besides working with the SITE system, Dale's a Sound & Vision subscriber, so he was the perfect guide.

The first stop was to drop off our gear. Our Distinguished Visitor status provided us with officer-rank privileges, meaning that our quarters had two bunks plus a writing desk, lots of locker storage, a sink, and a TV (ironically, it was on the fritz). Enlisted quarters can hold from 10 to 200 people, and while personal space is extremely limited, no one has to share a bed (or "hot bunk") the way they do on a submarine.

Cinema at Sea Dale took us on a tour of the ship's A/V nerve center. One compartment houses 40 DirecTV satellite receivers, with 10 more receivers onboard to receive programming from other satellites when the ship sails into South American waters. Each receiver is tuned to a specific channel, and the programs are distributed for viewing on the thousand-plus TVs aboard the ship. Petty Officer 1st Class Jennifer Harris, who makes sure that the satellite systems are up and running, told us that "reception is pretty good, unless someone does something like park a helo [helicopter] in front of the dish."

Truman also has its own video facilities, which are used to produce four channels. Two provide information on things like movie schedules, weather forecasts, and safety notes, and two show movies provided by the Navy Motion Picture Service. A weekly 10-minute news program called Synergy is shown on all four channels. Each day's lineup is printed in the ship's daily paper, the Give 'Em Hell Herald .

Dale says war movies are always popular - Enemy at the Gates seemed to be on every TV that we passed - but the Navy tries to offer a diverse selection. The ship receives 16 new movies each month and maintains a library of 750 to 800 titles. And with regular mail service provided anywhere in the world, sailors like Petty Officer 2nd Class Chris Johnson can satisfy their personal film cravings by renting DVDs from services like Netflix and playing them on portable gear or on DVD players in the ship's library.

The daunting task of keeping the sailors happy while at sea for seven months falls to civilian Jane Clark, who's in charge of Morale, Welfare, and Recreation. Known as the "Fun Boss," she oversees the lending of movies, videogames, musical instruments, and exercise gear. While the ship is underway, she also organizes a monthly event called Hangar Bay Cinema. Jets are cleared out of the hangars, and 300 to 500 sailors get together to watch a movie. (We missed the showing of The Return of the King by two weeks.) Clark also uses the onboard video system to hold Bingo games that anyone on the ship can participate in by simply turning on a TV.

Once a month, jets are moved aside for the Hangar Bay Cinema, where as many as 500 sailors gather to watch movies like The Return of the King on a front-projection system. (Photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class John L. Beeman.)