June 7, 2012 – German-American Abroad

Fleet Week in New York has been over for a good week now already. Time to get this post on before it will be entirely forgotten in the fogginess of my brain.

As in last year (read more here), thousands of navy guys, marines, and coast guard folks came ~~swimming~~ sailing full winds into the City. An average of 6,000 people in uniforms roamed the streets of the Big Apple this year. In 2011 I had been working closer to their ships, so 8th Avenue had been populated with them fairly soon. This year I got to see these three exotics walking past the Empire State Building on 5th Ave towards the Flatiron District.

Air shows over New Jersey and Coney Island, community and park events in Staten Island and Brooklyn, scheduled parades all over the city and state of New York – there has been a fair amount going on in those sweet six days of Fleet Weekishness. All of which I had missed out on, due to work and other beach plans.

Never mind, though, as Sunday was the day I decided to regain responsibility and finally take on Fleet Week 2012. While last year I had strolled Times Square and been part of the music-eager crowd listening to random navy pals giving mediocre but fun concerts, this year I headed towards the Hudson River. Pier 90, right on 55th St and 12th Avenue, is the spot at which you will walk past the Intrepid and see many of the fleet week boats in harbor – ready to be boarded by the average New Yorkers and other tourists. It was about 3 o’clock in the afternoon. I didn’t have much of a choice so I just rowed myself into a random never-ending line, which closed down shortly after (lucky me). As I found out, it belonged to the queue leading to the popular USS Wasp: The ninth one to date and proudly commemorating its eight battle stars earned in WWII.

I usually wouldn’t recommend anyone standing in line for a full 1 ½ hours in the May heat just to get a peak of what’s happening onboard the Navy liner. But in this case it was worth it. I had always been excited to check out what exactly can be found on those boats and after 90 mins of standing, waiting, and drinking tons of water, I was reimbursed for my hard efforts.

We were first seen over a bridge towards the inside belly of the ship. Past the tanks built up in the body and past a wonderfully selected buffet meant for Navy officers and guest list attendees. Up a steep, steep hill (could be dangerous when walking down again) to the events hosted outside under the blue sky. Colorful flags everywhere. Groups of Navy guys and pilots waiting to tell you more about their job. Helicopters you could climb on and get to know the story behind. All of this conveyed with the beautiful Manhattan skyline in the background.

First I just took pictures. Then I went forward and climbed a helicopter. The pilot told me how it had taken him three years to complete the training until he was able to fly this toy. After looking at all the switches and knobs, I wouldn’t doubt the fact that it could take up to a year to understand only the technical part. After entering a small airplane and putting on the seatbelts that wrapped around my entire upper body, I was impressed. A private event must have been hosted later-on in the evening, as a hundred white chairs were neatly arrayed at the far end of the ship and a guy in a white uniform was desperately trying to get the microphone to shut off.

After the stint outside, I managed to ~~crawl~~ get down the steep hill without incident and to check out what was going on downstairs. I stopped to ask a Navy girl if they really had to march down like this every day and she said, yes, unfortunately, but running was prohibited. Good for them, I can see how accidents might happen!

Different sorts of tanks and guns were built up in the body of the ship. Young Marines were explaining how the ball got inside the machine and was catapulted out again. The technical talk on how to kill an enemy might have seemed heartless or shocking to bystanders listening, but then they never grew up with the military and got to see the other facets of this type of life.

Everyone was friendly and eager to help us out if we had questions regarding certain machines or tasks. Especially the Navy officers on the USS Wasp were very forthcoming and seemed to enjoy their day with the normal crowds that had come to the city to see how our wars are fought.

Fleet Week 2012: It always brings this special vibe and national pride to New York – quite astonishing to see how it unravels. One short week of uniformed sailors marching through the streets, and I wish I had done more with it this time. Oh well, I guess I just have to wait it out until next year when it is once again Fleet Week in NYC!