If you haven’t already, you might want to check out the documentary series airing on KPBS called “Carrier” about the USS Nimitz, which operates out of San Diego.
Seventeen filmmakers tagged along on a six-month deployment to Iraq in 2005. Unlike many military documentaries, this one seems to have an edge to it that will interest the casual viewer as well as hardcore military/maritime buffs. Consider this description of an episode focusing on the stresses the come with living in such tight quarters:
Mentoring and camaraderie are what hold the ship together. But life on deployment is stressful for everyone aboard, and there can be considerable friction between enlisted personnel and their superiors. Port calls allow sailors to blow off steam, but they don’t relieve all the pressure. In Guam, a young sailor coming to terms with his upbringing can’t play by the rules and is forced out of the Navy. From Guam, the Nimitz sails through the Straits of Malacca, past Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, the last liberty call before the long haul to the Persian Gulf.
Let me know what you think.