Hendrix, let me see if I can't simplify things a little...
When you first get to a carrier, you'll live in a berthing with relatively a lot of room. You'll probably have what's called a coffin locker, which is a space about 8 inches tall, 2 ft deep, and a hair over 6 feet long, which you access by lifting up your mattress and the metal sheet it sits upon. You'll be in a room with a lot of other guys.. Generally you sleep stacked in 3's, so you'll have either a lower, middle, or top rack. The berthing compartment will have at least 80 to 120 people in it, but it's still roomy compared to subs. I toured the tridant Henry Jackson when she was at Port Canaveral in 86, and the lack of room made my mind up quickly to go surface. There's a chance if reactor berthing is full that you'll go to the 03 level, which is berthing right below the flight deck. Catapults and aircraft slamming down to the background of afterburners and arresting cables feeding out make for some rough sleeping conditions. You'll want to get down to reactor berthing as quickly as possible, cause it's down around the waterline, or under it, and is much quieter. Sometimes these berthings are in the very back of the carrier, and then on heavy bells (going fast) things vibrate a bit.
Sea sickness was never a problem, even in the roughest seas, and I'm prone to it. The rocking is barely perceptible.
You'll start in a division called BNEQ, or Basic Nuclear Engineering Qualifications, which is a general introduction to all the nuclear systems onboard. Typical time in BNEQ is 8 weeks or so, and then you go to your real division, RC (Reactor Controls) for ETs, RE (Reactor Electrical) or EE(Engineering Electrical) for EMs, and RM or M-div, (Reactor Mechanical or Mechanical Div) for MM's. While in BNEQ, your job will be to go to classes, and get checkouts on systems at a basic level. You'll be in 4 to 6 section duty. Duty days... Everyone, except Master Chiefs, stand duty onboard carriers. While on duty, you are restricted to the ship for 24 hours. You stand watch, or clean, or sleep/eat, or participate in fire drills... But you have to stay onboard. No going home for supper. However, you can have your wife/girlfriend come visit you for dinner on the mess decks, if you arrange it with your duty section leader. They cannot go to your berthing area, however. So, you can see where your duty rotation (which is how often you stand duty) makes a big difference. 3 section means every 3 days. 6 section is every 6 days. Weekends and holidays are included. If you happen to have duty on Christmas day, then around 0600 on Christmas morning, you'll be turning over with the off going suty section, so they can go home. Carriers have more people, so generally stand duty less frequently.
Working hours on non-duty days are like 6-2, or 7-3... Depends upon the ship. If you're doing a great job, ahead of the curve on quals (which is the rate they want you to finish up) then your leading petty officer (LPO) can say at noon, hey..Take off, see you tomorrow! If you're a dirtball... Then expect to stay the full day, or later, every day. Liberty (quittin time) is one of the few rewards that can be given, and when you're out to sea, liberty doesn't mean much, except going back to reactor berthing. So, you want to make the most of your time while in port.
I hope that helps a little as to your day to day schedule on carriers....
Bill
