Carrier

I loved the way the series followed several of the crew members through the challenges of the deployment and how they handled it. The series also linked well to the loved ones at home. That was somewhat limited in that the film crew was on the ship and not with those at home except towards the end. I thought the "featured" crewmembers were an excellent cross-section of the different jobs on the ship. There was what I thought was honest closure on job and relationship mistakes made (there were a number of unhappy endings, but that's real life). Although made in 2005, for anyone who cares about our service members, this is a great insight into the stress and cost of their service.

I'm starting out by saying that even though I had some problems with this show, I'm giving it 5 stars. I'm actually giving it 6 stars, it's so good, and then subtracting 1.I've always been interested in the Navy. I come from a Navy town and several members of my family were either in the Navy or were civilians working building ships in the Navy Yard. I didn't really know what went on board an aircraft carrier until I saw this program. I found the stories of the regular crewman pretty interesting. They work 16-18 hours a day, then try to sleep in a tiny bunk separated from the corridor with a little curtain, all while planes are landing overhead every couple of minutes. And if you work on the flight deck in the Middle East, it's 130 degrees while you're wearing a long-sleeve turtleneck and a nylon vest. I didn't find the stories of the pilots to be as interesting and think too much time was spent on their frat-house antics.I think the Navy is to be commended for the frankness of this program. Even something shocking like the sexual assault prevention officer being suspected of rape wasn't whitewashed at all. Those interviewed gave their opinion, good and bad, of their mission. Even on the topic of 'don't ask, don't tell', I was surprised how near some sailors came to admitting being gay. And for those who complained about the swearing: they are SAILORS. Have you ever heard the expression 'swear like a sailor'?On the downside, there was too much time spent on one particular sailor whose pregnant girlfriend was obviously giving him the brushoff for the entire 10 episodes. I felt bad for the guy, but by the 3rd episode, I was yelling at the TV for him to get a clue. The other thing that got a little tiresome were the little 'music videos' interspersed. Most of the music was good, but they just went on too long and there were too many of them.

I had seen this on PBS years ago but this set contains episodes that I missed.

I have been in the Navy for 17 1/2 years. I have been on six deployments in that time. Two of those deployments on USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71). So when I say this is a acurate look at what a deployment is like...I think I am a person who knows what they are talking about.If you want a bunch of pompus officers sitting there spitting out the same talking points you can hear again and again then this isn't the documentary for you. However, if you want an honest uncensored look at what is like on a deployment then this is what you want to watch.You see the good and the bad. The Sailors drawing strength from each other as days turn into weeks and then months. You see how crap really does roll down hill as far as things not being the way they should be.Now, I have read that some who have said, "I can't believe these young Sailors and the way they are acting in this video."Well here is a honest look at those who are young, those who are in the middle and those who are older.Many of those younger folks in the military do as little as possible and get mad when they are told to do something right.You see it all here.The one sraw back of this video is that it spends too much of its time in Air Department. I really wish it had taken more time with other departments.This video is as real as it gets...and I hope everyone who has a family member serving on a carrier watches this!

There are approx. 10 hours looking at military life on an aircraft carrier around 2006, when Bush had us over in the Persian Gulf....does it ever end? Anyways, the first disc says most of it and ends on a high note of pride and goosebumps. I can see why some ex-military don't like the series which includes some service personnel less than perfect in attitude and maturity but that's some of the younger generation isn't it? I'm a college teacher and see it too.At the same time, probably too much time spent on individuals and redundancy concerning pilots flying off and on the ship. Balanced commentary on how individuals see their mission....some express doubt that a carrier is even needed in our kind of war today; others just say they trust the higher ups to make decisions and it's their duty to carry it out without skepticism. The downtime at various ports are interesting. I liked one of the final discs dealing with a session on adjusting back to civilian life. Again, the ideal version would include disc one and the others strongly edited into one more disc. That's enough.