A couple of years ago we had the opportunity to go to Norfolk, Virginia and take an organized tour of my husband’s ship, the USS Normandy, when he was in the US Navy in the 90s.
The USS Normandy (CG-60) is a Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser in the service of the United States Navy. Many former crew members of the ship and their families were invited for the tour.
I had a lot fun and really enjoyed walking through the aisles and learning about this massive ship.
The cruiser was the first US warship since 1945 to go to war on her maiden cruise and in 1998 she was awarded the title “Most Tomahawks shot by a U.S. Navy Cruiser”. She is named for the World War II Battle of Normandy, France, on and following D-Day. (source)
We were allowed in the Combat Information Center but we weren’t allowed to take any pictures. That is where my husband used to “live”. He was an Operations Specialist.
My hubby used to yell “Hot soup! Hot Soup!” and everyone would clear the passage way.
They rang the plank owners when they departed. We had a Plank Owner CMC in the group.
A plank owner is the very first command master chief of the ship.
_underway.jpg)
A New Life Wandering 
_underway.jpg){kind=link}
What an amazing experience!! Lucky you 😀
LikeLike
Actually, a Plankowner isn’t just the CMC. Anyone who is a crewmember the day of the ship’s commissioning qualifies as a Plankowner, from the Commanding Officer down to the lowest ranked Seaman Recruit.
Craig
Plankowner, USS MONTEREY (CG-61) and USS COLE (DDG-67)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plankowner
LikeLike
Thanks for that clarification Craig 🙂
LikeLike