Normally, these are all quiet places manned by a small staff working in shifts. But when an operation or exercise is under way, they resemble a darkened beehive without the buzz, everyone working around the clock until the exercise is finished. By the way, it's really cold there, due to the vast amounts of air-conditioning and chill water needed to keep all the electronics and computers from literally melting down. Even in the dog days of August, you often find console operators and other watch-standers wearing wind-breakers and pullover sweaters to keep the chill out of their bones.
Forward of the command spaces are the flag quarters, where the battle group commander and his staff live. If any place on a carrier can be called luxurious, this is it. There is fine furniture and wood paneling, a large mess and briefing area, a private galley, and the admiral's stateroom, office, and head. Comfortable and functional, all of these spaces are within a few seconds walk of the TFCC. Its comfort notwithstanding, nobody I know likes working in the flag quarters. That is because the flag spaces are directly under the launch shuttle and JBD for Catapult Number 1. The noise during deck operations is deafening, and living and working here during round-the-clock flight operations is downright unpleasant. Such things in fact rarely bother the admiral and staff personnel, however, since they don't get that much sleep anyway. The demands of running a battle group mean that if they are getting more than six hours of sleep every day, they are probably not working hard enough! By a strange irony, the nicer the quarters, the less time an occupant gets to spend in them. While rank and responsibility bring physical rewards, most senior officers rarely have the free time while aboard to enjoy them.
Moving forward again, we find more ready rooms, as well as dozens of staterooms for the air wing personnel and ship's officers. Most of these are two-man units, and are actually quite pleasant to live in (as I did for several days). The racks are doubled-decked, and somewhat larger than those of the enlisted personnel. There is a fair amount of personal stowage space, as well as a small fold-down desk. Each officer has a safe for classified materials and personal items, as well as a small sink and mirror. Though a few staterooms have shared heads and shower facilities, most officers use one of the many community head/shower spaces around the ship. Roommates also usually go in together on electronic items like a "boom box" stereo, television, and VCR; and there is a box for plugging these into the ship's cable television and radio network, as well as the commercial feeds from the Challenge Athena system.
Forward of the living spaces, there is a truly wonderful place, called the "Dirty Shirt" galley and wardroom area. This is the only officers' wardroom aboard where wearing flight suits and flight deck work gear is "acceptable." While the other wardrooms belong to the ship, the "Dirty Shirt" wardroom "belongs" to the air wing, which means that aviator traditions apply here. "Dirty Shirt" menus tend to be more informal, and talking "shop" is allowable. Each squadron has its own table, and etiquette dictates that you ask permission to join anyone who is already there. Still, more often than not, you will find a warm smile and an invitation to join the conversation. In the "Dirty Shirt" mess there is also is a neat, little-known secret: the "dog" machine-the nickname for the soft-serve ice cream dispenser, which is kept going around the clock.[41] It is a wonderful diversion from the sometimes-spartan life aboard ship; and the "Dirty Shirt's" dog machine is usually the best on the ship.
Heading aft, about two-thirds of the way back, we come to a cross-corridor intersection with what looks like a small store on each corner. These are the various squadron "shops" for the flying units of the air wing, with one such space for every squadron in the air wing. Here all the data on the readiness, flying and maintenance status, and ordinance/stores loadouts of every squadron's aircraft is managed. Here also is where the Command Master Chief (CMC) for each squadron works. The CMC is the senior enlisted sailor in each squadron, and functions as the shop foreman who keeps the aircraft ready to fly and fight. The CMC also functions as an advisor and advocate for the enlisted personnel of the squadron to the unit's officers. Along with the entire corps of petty officers, the CMCs are the institutional "glue" of the Navy, and a good officer rapidly learns this fact. Finally, they are the keepers of the "Squadron Store." This sells coffee mugs, T-shirts, patches, and stickers of the squadron logo (called "zaps"). If you get aboard a carrier, be sure to pick up a few of these, since the money always goes into the squadron relief fund. I always do.
Returning aft to the island ladder well, we head down four more levels to the Second Deck (deck levels above the hangar or main deck have numbers-01, 02, etc.-while decks below are spelled out). Here most of the crew (officers and enlisted personnel) take their meals. Both have galley and eating facilities here, and something like fifteen thousand meals a day are served on this deck alone. The enlisted personnel eat cafeteria-style in three large spaces amidships that can hold about five hundred personnel at a time. The officers' wardroom (called "Number Three") is farther aft, and is essentially a sit-down-style restaurant, though there's a buffet line if you desire. Always open, Wardroom Three is the social center of the ship. Here the officers can come together for a few minutes and share news of the day with their shipmates. Coffee, "bug juice" (the Navy version of "Kool Aid"), and nacho machines are always powered up, and you can usually beg a meal from the mess stewards if you look as though you've worked hard enough. There even is what is jokingly known as the "nuclear-powered cappuccino machine," which dispenses a passable cup of that delicious brew.
Surrounding the officers' wardroom on the Second Deck are the state-rooms for most of the ship's senior officers and department heads. Like the flag quarters on the 02 level, these are very pleasant, with private offices and head/shower facilities. Also like flag quarters, they are used very little since there is very little time for sleep and relaxation while aboard a nuclear supercarrier. Aft of the wardroom are more enlisted quarters. These are much like the ones we've already visited, except that flight deck sounds are muffled by the mass of the ship; and you'll probably hear and feel instead the ship's engineering plant. At high speeds (over twenty-five knots), when the hull begins to resonate, the background buzz can be annoying. Another annoyance is the heat on the lower decks when the ship passes through warm water like the Gulf Stream or Persian Gulf. Things can get downright steamy under some conditions.
Dropping down another ladder, you come upon the machinery spaces on the Third Deck, where most of the systems that keep the ship "alive" are contained. Here and on the deck below are machine shops, electrical switchboards and emergency diesel generators, the ship's laundry, medical and dental facilities, and the air-conditioning plant. Also on the Third Deck is the ship's store, the post office (a surprisingly large facility), and the newly installed banks of satellite phones. These allow sailors to call home from anywhere in the world for about a dollar a minute, and make a real difference in the lives of the crew.