GW Celebrates 100,000 Traps
Navy Newsstand
Story Number: NNS031120-07
Release Date: 11/19/2003 3:58:00 PM
By Journalist 3rd Class Matthew Liddell, USS George Washington Public Affairs
USS GEORGE WASHINGTON (NNS) -- USS George Washington (CVN 73) hit an historic landmark with the success of its 100,000th trap on the flight deck Nov. 19. A late-night ceremony was held in Air Department's (V-2) arresting gear room, where a cake and plaque were presented to the aviator who landed the plane.
The pilot, Lt. Cmdr. Gerry "Sticky" Murphy of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 136, said he knew that the big 100,000 was coming up, but there was no telling which pilot would hit the lucky number.
"After I landed, I was in the ready room, and I heard the ship's executive officer wanted to see me. I had no idea what it was going to be about," said the Knighthawk pilot.
Murphy was glad to find out he had been the lucky one, and considers it a major milestone in his career, which has covered about 372 aircraft carrier landings, or "traps" as they are called in the fleet.
Murphy's other career milestones include landing on every aircraft carrier in the fleet except USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74) and USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76).
He said he was honored to be presented the award by GW's Commanding Officer, Capt. Martin J. Erdossy, but he wants everyone to know that a lot more goes into getting a plane up in the air and back down again than just the pilot's actions.
"It's tremendous to think that there are so many people on the ship dedicated to helping so few do their jobs. When you think about the number of pilots compared to the people who work on the planes and help recover them, it's staggering. I really consider myself proud to be a part of this team."
The team that helped catch Murphy's plane was V-2 Division. They have a unique job on the ship, because most of their work is done preparing for an event that lasts just a few seconds.
V-2 performs maintenance on industrial cables, which catch the planes, as well as the hydraulic machinery that assists in stopping them. Bringing something moving as fast a jet to a complete stop in a matter of seconds is a very specific science, and the machinery designed to disperse the impact of a plane landing on the ship has to be calibrated precisely.
Aviation Boatswain's Mate Equipment 2nd Class Andrew Mudd, the arresting gear work center supervisor, was the sole man operating the arresting gear machine at the time of landing. He said, like Murphy, he knew the 100,000th trap was coming soon, but it was still a mystery as to which wire the plane would snag when it landed. The ship has four retaining wires manned by four different operators, so there was no guarantee that Mudd would get to make the historic catch.
"I was really glad to find out he caught my wire," Mudd said. "We do a lot of work to prepare for this, and I'm glad we have something to celebrate." Mudd said he also wanted to thank his shipmates and other members of V-2 who assisted in helping to land the speeding plane.
Airman July Strickland, the ship damper operator, who assists in the initial landing by using machinery to disperse the shock, said it feels great to be part of something like this.
"It feels wonderful to be a part of this team," Strickland said. "I'm just looking forward to more things like this in the future."
The maintenance to get the job done is overseen by Chief Warrant Officer Rickey Roach, V-2 maintenance officer. He, like his shipmates, is hoping this is just one of many more things to celebrate in the near future.
"This is some great training and a great sign of things to come on the deployment."
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