Carrier

Sunday, April 27 at 8 p.m.: All Hands; On a bright May morning, 5,000 sailors and Marines bid farewell to their loved ones before the mammoth USS Nimitz pulls out of Coronado, Calif., setting a course for Hawaii and beyond.
Sunday, April 27 at 9 p.m.: Controlled Chaos; The men and women of the USS Nimitz live beneath the runway of a major airport. They sleep on the roof of a nuclear power plant. It’s a perilous environment. Their only bulwark against danger and chaos is to bond with their units on board the ship.
Monday April 28 at 8:00 p.m.: Super Secrets; The ship’s location and itinerary are classified. Details of how the nuclear reactor works are top secret. Many aspects of life on a nuclear aircraft carrier are hush-hush. Dating aboard the ship is strictly forbidden, but according to one sailor, with 5,000 people on board, relationships are “inevitable,” resulting in a “hush-hush” policy that applies to relationships.
Sunday April 27 at 8 p.m.: All Hands; On a bright May morning, 5,000 sailors and Marines bid farewell to their loved ones before the mammoth USS Nimitz pulls out of Coronado, Calif., setting a course for Hawaii and beyond.
Sunday April 27 at 9 p.m.: Controlled Chaos; The men and women of the USS Nimitz live beneath the runway of a major airport. They sleep on the roof of a nuclear power plant. It’s a perilous environment. Their only bulwark against danger and chaos is to bond with their units on board the ship.
Monday April 28 at 8:00 p.m.: Super Secrets; The ship’s location and itinerary are classified. Details of how the nuclear reactor works are top secret. Many aspects of life on a nuclear aircraft carrier are hush-hush. Dating aboard the ship is strictly forbidden, but according to one sailor, with 5,000 people on board, relationships are “inevitable,” resulting in a “hush-hush” policy that applies to relationships.
Monday April 28 at 9 p.m.: Squared Away; Mentoring and camaraderie are what hold the ship together. But life on deployment is stressful for everyone aboard and there can be considerable friction between enlisted personnel and their superiors. Port calls allow sailors to blow off steam, but they don’t relieve all the pressure.
Tuesday April 29 at 8:00 p.m.: Show of Force; The mission really kicks off when the Nimitz arrives in the Gulf. The conditions are extreme: flight deck personnel endure temperatures hovering around 120 degrees, while the pilots undertake grueling six-hour missions over Iraq.
Tuesday April 29 at 9 p.m.: Groundhog Day; After two months in the Gulf, one day starts to become indistinguishable from the next. The airwing still hasn’t dropped a single bomb, which is frustrating for everyone on board. The only relief comes from a port call in Bahrain, where some sailors relax by the pool, while others visit a mosque and learn about Muslim culture.
Wednesday April 30 at 8:00 p.m.: Rites of Passage; The last day in the Gulf is the last chance to drop bombs before the Nimitz heads home. The jets take off, laden with ordinance and return hours later, still carrying the same bombs. As the Nimitz crosses the equator, the entire ship takes part in the Crossing the Line Ceremony, an ancient maritime ritual. In the middle of flight operations, a storm arises in the South Indian Ocean.
Wednesday April 30 at 9:00 p.m.: True Believers; This episode explores the many expressions of faith onboard the USS Nimitz: faith in self, faith in one’s shipmates, faith in the mission of the ship and the president’s call to arms. The major religious groups on board are Catholic and Protestant, but there also is a coven of Wiccans, as well as a Pentecostal group whose newest member is challenged by the duality of his beliefs and the temptations of liberty as the ship drops anchor in Perth, Australia.
Thursday May 1 at 8:00 p.m.: Get Home-itis; A six-month absence places a heavy burden on relationships. The Navy holds seminars to counsel sailors on what to expect when they return home — and how to make the transition smooth. The “Tiger Cruise” ritual allows sailors to invite their family members aboard for the last leg of the deployment.
Thursday May 1 at 9 p.m.: Full Circle; As the Nimitz makes its final transit from Hawaii to California, the sailors and Marines on board prepare to return to their homes and families. For those still on board, the “Tiger Cruise” provides a buffer, but there’s no such transition for those who fly home early from Hawaii. As the Nimitz returns to her home port of San Diego, sailors and Marines reflect on the deployment and take stock of what they’ve achieved. Was the mission accomplished?