Pukin' Dogs Earn Second Top Hook Award

USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, AT SEA

05.07.2010

Courtesy Story

USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69)   

By Petty Officer 3rd Class Chad Erdmann

USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, At Sea - The "Pukin Dogs" of Strike Fighter Squadron 143 were awarded the overall "Top Hook" award, April 29, for having the best landing grades among all squadrons in Carrier Air Wing 7 aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower.

This is the second consecutive Top Hook award the squadron has earned.

"Winning the award is a source of pride, not only for the pilots, but for the entire maintenance crew, admin crew and everyone else who works on these aircraft and keeps them functioning," said Cmdr. Jake Ellzey, VFA-143's commanding officer. "Every squadron aspires to be the 'Top Hook' squadron, so when you win it you are humble, and when you don't win it, you want it."

To win the award, a squadron competes with other fixed-wing aircraft to recover aboard an aircraft carrier in the best manner possible. Many factors go into the competition, such as how often the aircraft's tail hook "bolters," or misses any of the four arresting wires strung across the flight deck designed to bring aircraft to a stop.

Every arrested landing a naval aviator makes aboard a carrier is watched and graded by a Landing Signal Officer. The grades are a source of much pride and competition among the air wing's pilots.

"It's a lot like a college grade point average," explained Lt. j.g. Dustin Detrick, a VFA-143 pilot. "It is based on a 4.0 scale. You get a 4.0 if it was a really nice landing. You get a 3.0 if it was OK, and you get a 2.0 if it was just average."

The award is given for every line period, which consists of the days between port calls.

"It takes an all-hands effort. Everyone in the ready room has to be flying good all the time," said Ellzey. "It just shows to the rest of the air wing that we are a group of professionals at all times, and to win it twice in a row, it isn't just a fluke."

When landing aboard an aircraft carrier, aviators are landing within one of the most confined spaces in the world, explained Ellzey.

"It is a very dangerous endeavor we are undertaking. It is truly a game of inches in the cockpit, and a game of feet on the flight deck," he said. "A quarter inch on the throttle is the difference between catching the number 3 wire and hitting the back of the boat."

Having recently passed the halfway point in deployment, Ellzey said the squadrons must continue to do their best.

"We have to keep the press on. It is not over yet, and we do look forward to a homecoming where we bring everyone home with nobody hurt," said Ellzey. "I am very proud of the job the Pukin Dogs have done. We have always been persistent, quiet professionals."

Eisenhower is underway as part of a regularly scheduled deployment to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. Operations in the 5th Fleet AOR are focused on reassuring regional partners of the coalition's commitment to help set conditions for security and stability. U.S. forces maintain a naval and air presence in the region that deters destabilizing activities while safeguarding the region's vital links to the global economy.

• Date Taken: 05.07.2010
• Date Posted: 05.07.2010 18:03
• Story ID: 49300
• Location: USS DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER, AT SEA