Forrestal (CVA 59) - Naval Cruise Book

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A Day in the Life of the C. O. Flight ops to flight ops, sun up to sun down. You will find him in his chair: watching, waiting and commanding. On USS FORRESTAL (CV-59), Captain John A. Pieno commands his ship in one of the most de- manding jobs afloat. During flight operations, he must be present on the bridge. Since the mission of an aircraft carrier is to launch and recover aircraft, he ' s up there a lot. After that, there ' s award ceremonies, briefs with the admiral and the department heads, an occasional maintenance spot-check, and once and a while, write a letter home and maybe catch a few hours of sleep. Being the skipper of an aircraft carrier can be very demanding and stress can build up. Cap- tain Pieno deals with that everyday stress by working out for at least an hour a day. Not only does it keep him in shape, but it eases the tension. When it comes to sleep. Captain Pieno has his patented power nap which he uses on days he gets little sleep. Between flight ops, he lays down and just sleeps for about half-an-hour. It helps him through the long days and endless nights. Captain Pieno still enjoys the chance once in a while to fly again. While on BENO Station in the North Arabian Sea, Captain Pieno com- pleted his 1,300th carrier arrested landing with VS-28 in an S-3 Viking.

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Executive Officer CAPTAIN CHARLES A. COOK It ' s field day on the FORREST AL, and a famil iar face inspecting spaces is Captain Charles A. Cook Executive Officer. If the Commanding Officer, Cap tain John A. Pieno, could be compared to the mayo of a small city, Captain Cook would be the chief o police. He is the skipper ' s right-hand man and secon( in command. A true-blue Razorback from the stat( of Arkansas, Captain Cook is well-known and popula with the crew for his friendliness and down-to-eartl good humor, both in person and in his frequent appear ances on the ship ' s television channels. Capt. Cook received his wings through the Avia tion Officer Candidate Program in 1967 after gradu ating from University of Arkansas in 1965. Initia tours included Attack Squadron ONE SEVENTH FOUR, Cecil Field; Attack Squadron EIGHTY TWC deployed in USS AMERICA and USS CORAI SEA; and instructor pilot duty with Attack Squadroi ONE SEVENTY FOUR. Returning to sea duty in August 1 972, Lieutenan Cook reported to Carrier Air Wing SEVEN staff a: Landing Signal Officer. In March 1 975, Lieutenant Commander Cook re ported to Training Airwing ONE Staff at NAS Me ridian, Mississippi as Staff Operations Officer. Re turning to sea duty in December 1977, Lieutenan Commander Cook reported to Attack Squadron ONI HUNDRED SEVENTY-FOUR for A-7E refreshe: training and joined Attack Squadron EIGHTY-ONI in August 1978 while deployed aboard USS FOR ' RESTAL. 14