French Navy sees action!

[viper37]

There are like 4000 crew on a carrier. Surely there can be a couple of them whose only job is to coordinate and inform the screen what the CV is doing???

There are, but in the USN they are all aviators and they don't know what it is that the screen needs to know.  Or they communicate but don't understand what their signals actually mean.  The Kennedy/Belknap collision occurred because the aviators on the birdfarm didn't understand that, by having two "execute to follow" signals out there (meaning, "get ready to do this and I will tell you when to do it"), they were ordering both to be executed when they signaled "execute."  Rotating the screen and changing course by ninety degrees at the same time (especially at night) puts the screening ships in a real bind - especially when the carrier itself does NOT execute the ordered turn.

Since it's a problem, why don't they use sailors for this specific job?

[grumbler]

Since it's a problem, why don't they use sailors for this specific job?

The question every surface warfare guy has asked since the dawn of carriers! 

The reason is that carriers must be commanded by aviators (for no clear reason), and so you have to get aviators some surface ship experience on the carriers (plus the fact that half the officers in the USN are aviators and you have to stick hem somewhere when there are not enough planes for everyone to fly).  You end up with the birdfarms being officered by aviators except in the engineering, supply, and specialist departments.

It's not like carriers have a monopoly on collisions at sea.

[viper37]

Since it's a problem, why don't they use sailors for this specific job?

The question every surface warfare guy has asked since the dawn of carriers! 

The reason is that carriers must be commanded by aviators (for no clear reason), and so you have to get aviators some surface ship experience on the carriers (plus the fact that half the officers in the USN are aviators and you have to stick hem somewhere when there are not enough planes for everyone to fly).  You end up with the birdfarms being officered by aviators except in the engineering, supply, and specialist departments.

I was mistakenly under the impression the CAG was the top aviation specialist on board, with the captain and XO usually being naval experts, as in, surface warfare (save for some exceptions, of course).

Thank you for the clarification.  To the best of your knowledge, is this situation unique to the US Navy or do other navies with birdfarms (JAG did a pretty bad job on teaching me naval slang! ) also operate that way?

It's not like carriers have a monopoly on collisions at sea.

oh, I don't doubt it.