Every once in a while, you get to do something that is just an incredible experience. Yesterday was one of those days. My cousin and close friend Capt. Andrew J. Loiselle, took command of the Bush yesterday. I had been to a few change of command ceremonies in the Marine Corps, but they were nothing like this! The history and ceremony of a carrier change of command is something to behold. We were in the VIP section, and there were 4 Admirals, including a 4 star, and two rows of Captains. He even read a letter from President and Barbra Bush stating that naming the ship after him was the greatest accomplishment in his life. President bushes pictures and memoirs are all over the boat. My cousin and his wife got to fly up to Kennebunkport Maine and spend a day with them last week in prep of taking command. I was amazed at how huge a Nimitz class carrier truly is…1100’ long, 90,000 tons, 900,000 horse power, 98 aircraft and over 5000 crew! here is an article from our hometown newspaper.
and some pics from yesterday. http://www.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/content/20130620-rhode-island-native-to-command-navys-aircraft-carrier-george-h.w.-bush.ece
Andy is definetly in special group…3500 hours in fighters (F-14C / FA-18 super hornets), over 800 carrier landings, top gun, flight instructor, Combat in Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan. 46 years old and a full bird, with the newest carrier!
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NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
Wow Paul, that is a BIG DEAL! Some that don’t know a lot about the Military won’t know how BIGGA DEAL , that is! There were maybe 5 at the most, guys that were even considered for that Command! Your cousin is the Best of the Best. My Congratulations to him. I know there are 4 guys in the Navy, wondering what they did wrong to not get that job:frowning_face: The one picture you posted standing with your cousin is nice. Looking at it, I noticed a guy over your right shoulder that looks like a small pissed off YOU! That’s not your Evil Twin is it?
That is Capt. Andy’s uncle Earl…that was a good one Easy! We are still beaming about the whole experience. I told Andy that I could see a weed line 5 miles away from the bridge, He said you can see one 20 miles away with the cameras on top of the mast. This is the last steam cat launch carrier, the next one Gerald Ford will have electro mag catapults.
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NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
What kind of Fish Finder/Chart Plotter does it have? Humminbird or Garmin? Can’t tell looking at the console:smiley: Navy must go through a lot of bleach and oxyclean!
Wow Paul that is awesome. Seeing those pics brings back memories. My Dad was a Naval aviator and had over 900 carrier landings. As kids, we got to go all over the ships when they were in port. I thought that was the coolest thing in the world. Your cousin is obviously the cream of the crop. What an honor to command such a ship.
“Apathy is the Glove in Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”.
That’s really fantastic, Paul! Congratulations to your cousin!
When I was on the Roosevelt, our captain was really into fishing and would occasionally stop to bottom fish when we had all of our birds out on missions (into Afghanistan). I was always too busy working or sleeping to do all of that, but I really wish I had found time for it. I bet the bottom finders are pretty spectacular.
Semper Fi
18’ Sterling
115 Yamaha
Big Ugly Homemade Blue Push Pole
I wanted to share this with you, since this brought back a lot of proud memories for me.
This is a ceremony we held on the Roosevelt as we were headed back to Norfolk after bombing the snot out of the Taliban and their terrorist buddies. Pictured is Captain O’Hanlon and the firefighters who raised the flag at ground zero. We flew the flag over our ship as we launched missions against the enemy. We turned the flag back over to these firefighters as we returned home. It was a pretty emotional moment for everyone involved. The guy in the middle behind the firefighters in camouflage is me. The XO came over to our formation, said he needed a tall Marine, and pointed at me. I felt honored to stand behind those guys.
Same guys:
If you don’t know the story, apparently the flag we were flying wasn’t the real one, but it was still motivating to go out on the flight deck and look at it since we didn’t know that at the time:
