ABOARD USS AMERICA – The flight deck aboard a US Navy aircraft carrier is a pageant of organized chaos, orchestrated by a crew sporting jerseys that are as colorful as they are important.
Here’s a brief explanation of what all the colored jerseys mean.
White
Personnel wearing white jerseys are responsible for overseeing safety on the flight deck. They also greet and escort visitors that come onboard along with a yellow jersey.
These were the first two people I saw upon arriving on the flight deck of USS America.
Yellow
In the yellow jerseys are aircraft handlers who are responsible for taxiing planes around the chaotic flight deck. Catapult and arresting gear officers and plane directors also wear yellow.
Purple
Purple-jerseyed personnel take care of all the fuel on the flight deck.
Red
Everyone wearing a red jersey is an ordnancemen, which means they handle the aircraft's bullets, bombs, missiles, and rockets on the flight deck.
Crash and salvage crews also wear red jerseys and work alongside those wearing silver protective suits.
Green
Those wearing green jerseys are either cargo-handlers, air wing maintainers, or are responsible for maintaining the catapult and arresting gear machinery.
Blue
Those wearing blue jerseys help move aircraft around the flight and hangar decks. These personnel are plane handlers, aircraft elevator operators, and flight deck low tractor drivers.
Silver
Silver protective suits are worn by rescue personnel who save trapped aircrew from crashed aircraft.
Brown
Brown-jerseyed flight deck personnel are air wing captains or air wing line leading petty officers who oversee the maintenance of individual aircraft.