>>20792606
ohn Mooney
·
Follow
Upvoted by
Richard Ashmore
, former Engineer in USS John F. Kennedy for 38 Months. at United States Navy (1977-1980) and
David Wetherill
, former Electronics Technician 2nd Class at United States Navy (1982-1988)3y
Every door, hatch, valve and other fitting on the ship is labeled with an X, Y, or Z. Anything with an X label is always closed. This is called Condition X-ray. When the ship leaves port, the ship will set Condition Yoke, and all doors, hatches and other fittings with a Y label are closed, not to be opened until we again set Condition X-ray. If we have a fire or go into combat condition (General Quarters), we can set Condition Zebra, and all doors, hatches and other fittings with a Z label will be closed. They will stay closed until we again set Condition Yoke, which will be after we stand down from General Quarters. When Condition Zebra is set, the whole ship becomes a whole bunch of separate compartments, filled with air. In other words, even though the ship is made of steel, it can not sink. If there is damage in one part of the ship, even in the compartment next to where you are, you can not open those doors or hatches. The fire or flooding or smoke and gas can not move to other compartments, and endanger the rest of the ship. It may seem horrible to those who have not seen it work, but every compartment has sprinklers and other fire fighting and damage control equipment. At worst, a few may die to save the rest. This is why it is called Damage Control; the damage can not expand to the rest of the ship. Generally, when a ship goes to General Quarters, the bridge will ring the alarm bell and announce it: General Quarters, General Quarters! All Hands Man Your Battle Station! You now have 3 minutes to get to your battle station, no matter where you are in the ship. After that 3 minutes have passed, the bridge will announce: Now Set Condition Zebra, and wherever you are, you will stay there. Hopefully, you got to your battle station. Now, how does everyone get to where they are going without running over each other and blocking the passageways? There is a rule known as FUSSPAD. It means we all travel Forward and Up on the Starboard Side, and Port is Aft and Down. —We are all going the same direction. If not, then get to the other side of the ship. Yes, it is confusing the first time you go through it, but you will learn it quick, even if you are new to the ship. You should always practice your route so you will know it in an emergency.