The jet engine turns to full power and drowns out all other noise. The shooter signals ready to launch to the deck edge operator by touching their fingers to the deck and pointing down the bow. The deck edge receives the signal, hits the firing button, and launches a T-45C Goshawk from the flight deck of an aircraft carrier.

This is the ritual repeated hundreds of times of day by Sailors working in the bow catapults aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) (Ike), as they launch as many aircraft required for the day while maintaining the catapults to be ready at any time.

Working with the bow catapults requires aviation boatswain's mates (equipment) (ABEs) to put in a lot of hours of work, whether it is above or below the flight deck.

"Our primary mission of launching and recovering aircraft really depends on ABEs and the catapults," said Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Equipment) Airman Quay Salter. "We have to have our minds focused on the operation every second, and be ready for anything that needs to be done."

The catapults need to be properly maintained and repaired on a regular basis to ensure aircraft can be launched smoothly without injuring any personnel aboard or damaging the jets.

"Maintenance checks are weekly and done nearly every day or every other day," Salter said. "There is a lot of preventive maintenance and corrective maintenance that is performed on the catapults."

Knowing how to maintain the catapults below decks is only one aspect of the job. Working topside on the flight deck is completely different and brings a new set of inherent dangers to the table.

"The most important thing to remember while on the flight deck is safety," Salter said. "You have to be aware of your surroundings and mindful of where the jets are turning so you aren't caught off guard by a jet blast when it's turning."

It also takes the combined efforts of everyone working the bow catapults to ensure safety and success, a concept Bow Catapults Group Supervisor, Chief Aviation Boatswain's Mate (Equipment) Eleazor Rojas, said his Sailors personify every day.

"Working up here requires a lot of teamwork," Rojas said. "What we do is a crucial part of the mission, because without us Ike couldn't receive the jets to continue to support forces on the ground. Everyone working here knows that, and these Sailors work hard under serious pressure and sometimes tough environmental conditions to get the job done without complaint."

To be as good as they are takes more than just believing in the mission, though. It takes time, training, and patience, especially to be a topside operator. It requires learning every aspect of helping launch aircraft while maintaining personal safety standards on the flight deck itself.

"It takes time to learn all the positions for a topside qualification, but all of the training runs together so you can keep learning and learning," Salter said. "It takes roughly 2-3 months of training to become topside qualified."

Deck edge operators are the final safety check before the aircraft launches. When everything mechanical has been verified, they make one last visual sweep of the flight deck to make sure no one is in harm's way before hitting the firing button.

"As a deck edge operator, you are the final check before the bird leaves the deck," said Aviation Boatswains Mate (Equipment) 3rd Class Baby Usumbura. "You have to visually check everything and make sure everyone is safe one last time before launching the aircraft."

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