FOD Royalty 'Reigns' on Kitty Hawk Flight Deck
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS061103-04
Release Date: 11/3/2006 11:32:00 AM
By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Matthew Reinhardt, USS Kitty Hawk Public Affairs
USS KITTY HAWK, At Sea (NNS) -- USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) is ensuring the safety of the ship’s flight deck with the “FOD royal family.”
Foreign Object Debris (FOD) is any item or substance on the ground, which doesn’t belong. The FOD royalty consists of a king and two princes.
“The whole purpose of the FOD team is to save lives and money,” said Aviation Support Equipment Technician Airman Bobby Molina of Gallup, N.M., the FOD prince for day shift. “If one loose bolt is overlooked and gets into an engine, it would damage the engine, and it could explode and kill the pilot,” he said.
The FOD royalty also help organize and conduct FOD walk downs, which include all flight deck personnel, and oversees the nightly scrubbing of sections of the flight deck, said Molina.
A prince is always on the flight deck with his team, watching and leading them through their daily tasks. The two princes work on separate shifts, one days, the other nights. The FOD team is comprised of one member from every squadron and from several departments on Kitty Hawk who deal directly with the flight deck, said Molina.
“The FOD team’s responsibilities are always changing because the flight deck is always changing; it’s never predictable,” said Molina.
“King” and “prince” aren’t official titles, but nicknames given to the three, said Chief Storekeeper (AW) Felix Rojo, the current FOD king. The FOD king “presides” over the entire FOD team, ensuring they complete the tasks on their daily routine.
During FOD walk downs, the FOD king answers to the “FOD gods,” said Rojo. The gods are squadron junior officers or chiefs who run the flight deck and hangar bay FOD walk downs.
“I’ve only been in this position for a week, but I’ve [already] gotten ... [recognition] for the work my team does,” said Rojo.
Rojo isn’t the only king on the ship. Engineering department has similar royalty, with a water king, oil king and lube-oil king.
Rojo, however, said for as long as he can remember, there’s been a FOD king on the flight deck.
“Other ships might have titles similar to ours, but as far as I know, we’re the only ship with gods, kings, and princes,” said Rojo.
The Kitty Hawk Strike Group is the largest carrier strike group in the Navy. It includes the Kitty Hawk, the aircraft squadrons and staff of Carrier Air Wing 5, the guided-missile cruisers USS Cowpens (CG 63), USS Shiloh (CG 67) and Destroyer Squadron 15 staff. The group’s ships and destroyer squadron staff are based at Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan, and the air wing and staff are based at Naval Air Facility Atsugi, Japan.
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