As I started to reply to this post feeling that the memories of my HSL
deployment were still fresh in my head, I realized that almost 21 years
have passed since then. So while I feel I can speak with authority on
how it was in the mid-80's, I have no way of knowing how they handle
things now. But the U.S. Navy is an institution that embraces change in
some arenas and refuses to step out of the past in others. With that
being said I feel I can confirm some generalities:

Life on anything-but-a-CV is much better than life on a CV. The food is
better, berthing spaces are better (quieter), fresh water tends to be
more plentiful (no water hours), and a whole host of other things that
are practically impossible on a ship with 6,000 people. Which includes
a close-knit small-town know-everybody atmosphere.

Ask anybody who has sailed on both which one they'd rather stick with
and I'm sure the majority with say "small-boy".

Michael E. Fenyes
HSL-33 '83-'86