George Washington (CVN 73) - Naval Cruise Book

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George Washington Sailors perform a variety of jobs at sea. Whether working in the galley or sending as members of the at-sea fire party, they strive for common goals — to become a close-knit team aiul to ensure the ship meets its mission in the most effective and safest way possible. They are goals that manifest themselves in as many ways as there are jobs. GW CVW-7 Team 247

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Hometown radio interviews make being in the Gulf the next A . A At 9 p.m. on October 22. a new Navy record was set aboard GW. Crew members had talked, while at sea in the Red Sea and Arabian Gulf, with radio stations in all 50 states -- something never before done. The final, record setting, call was made by AZ3 Richard Dye, from VF-142, to WICY-FM in Nome, Alaska. Up until that afternoon, it was thought reaching the goal of all 50 states was impossible, as the search for a crew member from Alaska or having relatives living in Alaska had proved unsuccessful. Commanding Officer CAPT Robert G. Sprigg, w'hilc addressing the crew, made a pica for anyone from Alaska to contact the Public Affairs Office. Minutes later. Dye was in PAO. Ironically, Dye’s mother and father-in-law are managers at WICY radio in Nome. At 9 p.m., the 50-statc goal was realized when Dye connected with Chatlottc Bavcrsjo of WICY-FM. where he recorded a message to his inlaw's. The idea of conducting radio hometowners was at first, just a test. Because GW was responding to a real-world crisis in Iraq, and dominated the front page of every new spaper in America, the timing for such a venture had never been better. The first interviews were conducted the night of October 10 via POTS (Plain Old Telephone System), following the ship's passage through the Suez Canal cn route to the Red Sea. The radio station DJs were amazed, and perhaps a little cynical, at w'here we were calling from and that we were offering up an interview w'ith a Sailor aboard a Navy ship some 7.000 miles away. Nonetheless, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Once GW rounded the comer into the Arabian Gulf, and began flying missions over Iraq, stateside interest increased. This meant a more streamlined approach was needed to takv advantage of the moment. The first inten iews had been conducted in the Flag Admn; office using whatever POTS line was fiv -- anything but a consistent approach. Thanks to Chief EnL.eerCDR Ed Gardner, and ICC(SW A Kirk Rosa of E-Division. Public Affairs as provideda dedicated, uninterrupted. P( ;TS line for five hours per night, for a t cal of five nights. All totalled, 131 interv iews were conducted in eight nights. Si me of them recorded, some of them live All were appreciated and yielded inci -lible exposure for the Navy, GW, and aose Sailors who placed calls to their ho; .towns. In some instances, rad DJs added their own personal touch to ike the calls even more successful. When CDR Jim Stavi dis. Commanding Officer of USS Bar . was talking with John Trout and. mifer Le d of Z104 in Norfolk, he was t; ted to a 248 GW CVW-7 Team