Shakey still couldn’t believe this was happening. He reached up to rub the tension out of his neck. The pain felt like an ice pick digging into the base of his skull. When the phone rang, which was barely audible over the wind and the roar of the Rhino engines up forward, one of the LSOs answered and turned to Shakey. “It’s CAG.”
Shakey walked over toward the console and took the receiver. “Lieutenant Commander McDevitt, sir.”
“Paddles, CAG. Can we get this guy aboard?”
Shakey looked at the dozens of sailors swarming into the landing area to rig the barricade, their shouts audible above the din of the flight deck. “Yes, sir, but I would prefer, and even recommend, a normal arrest. When is that tanker gonna get launched?”
“They’re workin’ on it,” CAG said, and then added, “Paddles, the Captain made the call. It’s going to be a barricade, but if Jasper is not where you want him, pickle him and try again. If he’s not there the next pass, don’t take him out of parameters. If he flames out, he ejects, and we’ll pick him up. Don’t think you have to save the world here.”
“Yes, sir, thanks CAG,” Shakey said.
“You can do it, Paddles!” CAG said as he hung up.
Shakey took a few steps to the LSO console and picked up the radio transceiver. He felt the eyes of every LSO on the team focus on him as he moved toward the platform wind barricade. As he pressed his back against it to minimize his exposure to the elements, he opened his gouge book, his LSO platform “Cliff Notes,” and quickly scanned the barricade brief.
I must convey confidence. Smile, he thought, and keyed the mike. “Four-zero-six, Paddles!”
“Go ahead,” Sponge replied.
“Hey, Sponge, we’re going to rig the barricade for this next pass. I know you’ve been workin’ hard out there. You flew some solid approaches, but the deck just didn’ cooperate. I’m going to go over the brief with you… Ah, let’s see… What’s yer configuration, approach speed and gross weight?”
“I’m slick. Just punched off the tanks… estimating one-thirty knots and twenty-seven K.”
“Roger that,” Shakey said as he proceeded with the brief. “Deck’s movin’ a little, and I’ll be givin’ ya calls to back up what I’m showin’ ya on the MOVLAS. Don’t chase the deck. We’re workin’ thirty-five knots right now. Line-up is going to be real important, so keep that in your scan. We don’t want any drift at touchdown.”
He took a breath and continued with the checklist.
“Fly it on speed, and fly the ball I’m showing ya. Now, I’ll be talking to you the whole way — advisory calls early, imperative calls in close.” Shakey took another breath. “You can’t execute your own wave-off in close. Jus’ follow my calls, and, at the proper point, I’m going to give you a
