OTHER TECH

Rank Has Its PrivilegesFor "serious" viewing, the Officers' Wardroom Lounge has a decent home theater setup with a 60-inch RCA high-definition rear-projection TV (RPTV). Five in-ceiling speakers and a JBL sub handle the audio, and a Sony receiver/VCR combo and a Zenith DVD player provide the video. But the best rig was in the Chief Petty Officers Mess Lounge, which has theater-style seating, a 60-inch Mitsubishi RPTV flanked by carefully positioned NHT speakers, and two 8-inch Energy subwoofers. A Sony receiver, fed by a Denon DVD player and Toshiba VCR, drives the system.

Home theater setups in the Officers Wardroom Lounge (left) and the Chief Petty Officers Mess Lounge.

The ship's library includes a 40-inch Sony TV.

The largest TV available for viewing by enlisted men and women, a 40-inch direct-view Sony tube model, is in the ship's library, which also has 12 computers that can be used for sending and receiving e-mail. Noticing a hole in the library's magazine section, we arranged for a complimentary S&V subscription. And since the enlisted-rank sailors were missing out on surround sound, Definitive Technology, Denon, and Monster Cable are donating a system that should make life more enjoyable. The new system includes a Denon surround receiver and progressive-scan DVD player with a 5.1-channel Definitive Technology ProCinema 200 speaker system, all connected with Monster Cable wiring and a Monster Power surge protector.

When we visited Truman 's commanding officer, Capt. Michael Groothousen, on the bridge, he confessed to being an HDTV buff. (At home he has an LCD HDTV and a high-definition satellite receiver.) Capt. Groothousen said the entertainment systems aboard the ship were phenomenal for morale - especially because, given the ship's 24-hour schedule, the entertainment is continuously available.

This Is Only a Drill . . .The next morning began at 0600 to calls of "Reveille, reveille!" from the speaker in our room. After breakfast, we geared up and were led onto the flight deck. No home theater system could possibly re-cre-ate the visceral experience of standing 15 feet from F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 Hornets as they're catapulted from 0 to 150 mph in under two seconds. Bass drivers would shred and tweeters would melt trying to reproduce the 140+ dB of jet engines winding up to full power - no subwoofer could ever rattle your organs that hard!

John Sciacca and Petty Officer Eng join Captain - and HDTV buff - Michael Groothousen on Truman 's bridge.

After witnessing the jets shooting off the deck, I felt some trepidation when it came time for us to board the delivery plane for our own catapult launch home. A roller coaster doesn't come close to the amazing rush and acceleration as you're hurled forward into your seat and then . . . nothing - you're flying.

Visiting USS Harry S. Truman was an incredible experience, and everyone we met was friendly, professional, and extremely proud of the roles they play. While these brave men and women sacrifice their personal freedoms to defend the freedom of others, it's nice to know that modern technology can keep them entertained and in touch during their down time.