Search for Missing Kitty Hawk Sailor Concludes

U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs ^ | 7/12/2006 12:00:00 PM | U.S. 7th Fleet Public Affairs

[PerConPat]

USS KITTY HAWK, At Sea (NNS) -- The search for Airman Jason J. Doyle, a Sailor assigned to Electronic Attack Squadron (VAQ) 136, was concluded at midnight, July 11, after search efforts failed to locate him and exceeded any reasonable expectation that he would be found...

[PerConPat]

All of our wonderful Armed Forces personnel are especially in my thoughts tonight, wherever they may be. May God comfort Airman Doyle's family and friends.

[Westlander]

'fell from the flight deck of Kitty Hawk into the water'

Any navy persons out there to tell me how many feet that would be?

[garyhope]

I've been across the Atlantic and Pacific by ship and they are very large and lonely places.

[Newbomb Turk]

Airman Jason J. Doyle was from Omaha Nebraska.

Lord, as I stand on the rolling deck To view the restless sea With its wide expanse of darkened sky, You seem so far from me. Intrepid youth should feel no fear, But I have a load of care For the safety of our ship and men. Lord, hear my earnest prayer: That I be true to every task; May no fault lie with me. Whatever danger may arise, As we sail the raging sea. May I be calm and know that You Can still the wind and wave, And be assured in perfect trust That You have the power to save. When the moon sheds beams from a starlit sky, I feel near to You again, For the same moon shines on my loved ones, too, And I thank You, Lord......Amen.

[scan58]

Not sure if it mentions how far the deck is above water, but here is a good source.

[SandRat]

Prayers for the family of the missing sailor. May he rest now and never have to again scrub the deck with the Holy-Stone.

[PerConPat]

Any navy persons out there to tell me how many feet that would be?

About 85 feet...

[Wristpin]

At least 90 feet...I heard the Navy was working on a salt water activated GPS beacon for this very reason.

[Palladin]

Thanks for that prayer. I will copy it and say it for my grandson and his shipmates every day. He is aboard the USS Jimmy Carter (nuclear submarine).

My prayers go out to the family of Jason Doyle.

[PerConPat]

...For the same moon shines on my loved ones, too, And I thank You, Lord......Amen.

My screen's gettin' blurry. Thanks for a great prayer.

[PerConPat]

And may God bless your grandson too.

[scan58]

My son will soon be on the USS George Washington (Nimitz Class - nuke powered) which is to take the place of the KH after it is decommissioned.

[PerConPat]

Thanks for your son's service. The closest carrier in the last photo on my profile page is the George Washington.

[NavyCanDo]

I'm an old Saratoga CV 60 sailor myself and I can tell you this is pretty common. We had at least one or two were blown or fell off each deployment. In the day time their chances were good of being picked up, but during Night Ops, forget it. I don't remember any successful night time rescues. And then their are the sharks. We had an orange dummy called Oscar they would toss over for man-overbord drills. One time the helicopter picked a well chewed Oscar out of the water.

[dandelion]

Alive or dead, our God is with him. May the family of Jason Doyle know now, more than ever, that the God of wind and wave is also strong to save.

Father, in this dark hour, send Your Comforter...

[scan58]

Awesome picture! Thanks.

[RDTF]

You must be so proud! Many thanks to your son and your family.

The USS George Washington is equipped with TLAMS (Tomahawks) isn't it?

[PerConPat]

I'm an old Saratoga CV 60 sailor myself and I can tell you this is pretty common.

Yeah, it was too common in my day as well. Hearing the man overboard "OSCAR" sends a chill down the crew's backs, especially when you have the deck.

[sneakers]

I heard it said 60 feet. Another report says 120, though I think that probably includes the number of feet under water.
My son is on the destroyer, USS Lassen, one of the ships helping in the search.

My heart is breaking for Airman Doyle's family.

[scan58]

Tomahawks? Maybe. I know it's a badass vessel.
My son is a Machinist Mate. He is still in A School in Chicago right now. He'll go to Norfolk when he's finished there.
He is very anxious to do some real Navy stuff and it may be quite sometime before he gets on the ship. They don't have real instructors in A School anymore...it's all taught on computers.