Twelve humanoid shapes shambled across the dark concrete in a line, other than the occasional mutter nothing is heard…

Footsteps sound on a metal ladder as one of the shapes climbs into darkness, and with a clank a darker spot appears in the early morning darkness…

Mumbled cursing can be faintly heard, followed by a dim light occasionally escaping from what appear to be windows…

A sibilant whine sounds momentarily, then a clicking like small sticks being broken, closely followed by a rising whine destroying the peace of the early morning…

Finally with a chunk and a coughing sound the whine stabilizes to s shrill scream…

A light suddenly glows dimly in the darkness, closely followed by bright red and green lights.

The other eleven shapes now climb the metal ladder, one by one entering the darkness until the last one disappears…

The interior lights come on and resolve the shapes into twelve aviators burdened by flight gear, helmets, and the ancillary paraphernalia accompanying a twelve hour flight…

And another day starts, which won’t end until fourteen hours later…

Just another day in Naval Aviation…