# Naval Warfare (modern): Do people off duty during a battle just lie in their bunks or does everyone have something to do? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 7, 2026, 9:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464 "2026-02-07T09:32:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2026, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/41 "2026-02-09T15:03:56Z")
The movie in question is old and I’m pretty old now myself. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2026, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/42 "2026-02-09T15:09:51Z")
It sneaks up on us. I left DoD … hmm … 37 years ago (!). Not too much I can reasonably say about now; too much has changed since then. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2026, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/43 "2026-02-09T22:38:34Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But I bet that for about the last 15 years and also going forward here from 2026, any carrier footage is shot on a nuclear ship. Nowadays, it’s probably easier to generate the set in CGI. Especially if there’s less than full enthusiastic cooperation from the Navy. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/44 "2026-02-10T00:14:34Z")
Speaking of _Nimitz_, she has returned from her final deployment and is currently in Bremerton. From there she will sail to Norfolk to begin the year-long Ship Terminal Off-load Program (STOP) process where she will be defueled and deactivated. > **[USS Nimitz Decommissioning in Sight as HII Awarded Contract Modification](https://theaviationist.com/2025/12/24/uss-nimitz-decommissioning-in-sight/)** > > The 50 year old nuclear-powered aircraft carrier returned to Bremerton, Washington on Dec. 16, 2025 after its final scheduled deployment. USS Nimitz ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/45 "2026-02-10T00:58:13Z")
Possibly interesting anecdote. Here’s a wiki snip about the fate of the JFK CV-67: > In late 2017, the Navy revoked _John F. Kennedy_ 's “donation hold” status and designated her for dismantling. There were still several groups, from Florida, Maine and Rhode Island, with the assistance of the USS _John F. Kennedy_ Veterans Association, hoping to persuade the Navy to reinstate the “donation hold” status, while they pursued the goal of obtaining her as a museum.[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_John_F._Kennedy_(CV-67)#cite_note-fate-5) > > On 6 October 2021, _John F. Kennedy_ and [_Kitty Hawk_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Kitty_Hawk_(CV-63)) were sold for [one cent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_(United_States_coin)) each to International Shipbreaking Limited.[[41]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_John_F._Kennedy_(CV-67)#cite_note-41)[[42]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_John_F._Kennedy_(CV-67)#cite_note-42) > > On 16 January 2025, _John F. Kennedy_ started the voyage to Brownsville, Texas where it will be scrapped.[[43]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_John_F._Kennedy_(CV-67)#cite_note-43) The carrier arrived on 2 February.[[44]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_John_F._Kennedy_(CV-67)#cite_note-44) As mentioned here and there on the Dope, I live in the greater Miami 3-county metroblob in a highrise near the beach. With a good view of the ocean. One morning last year I get up, look out, and spot an odd looking sight a mile, maybe two, offshore. It’s an ocean-going tug proceeding south with a slack cable trailing off it. And following 1/2 mile behind is a strange looking ship that has the general outline of an aircraft carrier, but with almost nothing on deck and about half of it is painted pink. Yep, Pepto-Bismol pink. Whip out my binocs. Yep. It’s a (former) US aircraft carrier. Island well aft, so late Kitty Hawk or subsequent. There’s a big tracked crane sitting on the forward part of the flight deck, no aircraft, and yep, it’s got big blotches of pink paint scattered here and there sorta at random. Not camo, looks like primer or something. It’s hard to make out, but I think I see part of a 67 on the side of the island. Some Googling tells me it was the JFK making its final voyage. It’s unclear to me whether it was steaming under its own power w the tug hooked up just in case, or it was being towed. I’d sure assume it was towed; getting any of that old powerplant running would be a bear. The ship had last been used back in 2007. But the cable was very definitely slack. And I don’t mean catenary-under-load slack, I mean dribbling off the back of the tug right into the water and similarly coming up out of the water steeply to meet the JFK’s bow area. It was only really visible with a good viewing angle for about 5 minutes. What’re the odds I managed to look out there just in time to see it go by? That was roughly a year ago. I wonder what, if anything, is left of the ship today? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/46 "2026-02-10T01:00:02Z")
So this time, the countdown really is final? And given that the ship obviously predates the movie, what was its theme song before that? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/47 "2026-02-10T01:07:03Z")
That’s sad the Nimitz’s mission is at an end. My poor Ranger got towed to Texas and made into scrap. She came kind of close to being a museum in the Portland area. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/48 "2026-02-10T13:53:41Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But the cable was very definitely slack. And I don’t mean catenary-under-load slack, I mean dribbling off the back of the tug right into the water and similarly coming up out of the water steeply to meet the JFK’s bow area. There are a few videos of it. The one here is rather well done, if a little sad. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/DTO0M9JY3Sk/maxresdefault.jpg "USS John F Kennedy Aircraft Carrier Passing Under the Commodore Barry Bridge (Snowy Drone Footage)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTO0M9JY3Sk) The slack cable may well be truly a catenary. Once the carrier is moving it only needs enough force to keep it moving, and I bet the cable is seriously heavy duty. The big tug is quite some distance in front, so the cable droop will be significant. No doubt from the video that the carrier was not providing and propulsion. The tug has a huge turbulent wake, whilst the carrier has the merest vestige of a stern wake. Two tugs in attendance at the stern were no doubt needed to ensure it tracked where wanted. Which suggests no rudder control either. I doubt there was any power aboard at all. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/49 "2026-02-10T14:06:04Z")
Great cite; thank you. I hadn’t thought to check YouTube then or now. Those are much closer views than I was able to get from home. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/50 "2026-02-10T15:19:58Z")
…well, they do seem to usually avoid running into bridges …usually … ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/51 "2026-02-10T16:08:04Z")
For want of an electrician … a bridge was lost. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/52 "2026-02-10T22:53:53Z")
And the fronts almost never fall off. That’s not supposed to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/53 "2026-02-10T22:56:13Z")
I get that reference. Love it! ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2026, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/54 "2026-02-10T23:31:46Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > On the submarine: During battlestations, everyone is awake and has a place to be. It may be “stand by this valve and be ready to open it in an emergency”, or “stand here and be a messenger in case it’s needed”, or “stand here in firefighting gear and be ready to fight a fire”, or it may be an actual watch station, like helm or radio or the torpedo room. There’s no resting for anyone during battlestations. Great answers here. On submarines, there is also a modified form of battle stations called “Section Tracking Party.” It basically consists of battle stations for everyone in the control room responsible for tracking targets. It’s a much higher form of readiness than the normal control room watch. If a target were to be actually engaged, full battle stations would be set. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2026, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/55 "2026-02-11T16:37:36Z")
If a person could sleep through an ‘all hands on deck’ siren and wanted too that particular person has bigger problems. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/56 "2026-02-12T18:19:26Z")
If subs have to run quiet, how do they “sound the alarm?” ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2026, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/57 "2026-02-12T21:53:35Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > If subs have to run quiet, how do they “sound the alarm?” Noise in the interior air space of a submerged submarine—like an alarm or loudspeaker or even yelling—doesn’t generally travel outside the hull. What does travel is a percussion noise directly on the hull, like the proverbial dropping a wrench into the bilge. “Rigging for quiet” for normal ops doesn’t preclude alarms or announcements. It does prohibit making noise with metal tools, especially in contact with the hull. But when a submarine “rigs for ultra-quiet” even the alarms and announcements are silenced. (And all personnel not on watch head for their racks and go to sleep.) But this condition requires that a person in every space and compartment on the sub be continuously wearing sound-powered headphones so that messages can be instantly communicated in lieu of the alarms and all-hands loudspeakers (referred to as the 1MC). ---
**Author:** ![TheTyrant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thetyrant/32/19111_2.png) [@TheTyrant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheTyrant)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/58 "2026-02-13T04:19:20Z")
> [@robby](#): > > But when a submarine “rigs for ultra-quiet” even the alarms and announcements are silenced. Don’t forget the baloney sandwiches on paper plates because the galley got secured! ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/59 "2026-02-13T13:51:37Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > JFK’s bow area. > > There are a few videos of it. I have some pics of her when she was still at the Philly Navy Yard, including some of commercial jets flying _across_ her on their way to land, maybe a mile away. One could get fairly close, maybe 20-30 yards on the other side of a chain-link fence. I _really_ wanted to get top side photos of her but the Navy Yard is in the glide path for PHL. It’s one thing to put up a drone in a place that isn’t 100% legal, which I may or may not have done, at some point, but that I can neither confirm nor deny. It’s a total 'nother to put it up where large commercial jets are flying. Neither my ‘nads or my bank account (for the surely massive fines & legal bills if caught) are that big. To sum up, slightly less than legal? Possibly, perhaps. Dangerous? No frickin’ way! There was also an open multi-story ‘building’/shed (as in no ends, just two side walls & a roof) across the road. Even though you weren’t supposed to, people would go in it to use the Porta-johns. There were stairs & catwalks but the Naval PD would drive around every so often. If I could manage to get up two stories I would have been invisible to anyone driving by as I continued to climb higher & then onto the catwalks & would have been able to get some _amazing_ shots looking across the flight deck, especially if I zoomed in, but again, it was “I’ll get the cojones _next_ year when I’m in the neighborhood for that event again.” Damn, I shoulda had brassier ones! 😥 ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2026, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464/60 "2026-02-13T17:02:24Z")
It was fun zooming into PHL over the top of whatever ships were parked right there w their sterns under us. JFK was right there for a long time and became sort of part of the background. For a long time there were sort of tent-like slab-sided temporary buildings scattered across the flight deck. Presumably full of tools & whatever for whatever interior disassembly they were doing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/naval-warfare-modern-do-people-off-duty-during-a-battle-just-lie-in-their-bunks-or-does-everyone-have-something-to-do/1027464.md?page=4)