The scariest moment of my life

It began like any other night before. I woke up and got ready for work, then I went and got breakfast in the Galley; Forward Galley so that I would not be late for work. Then I headed to my shop below the Flight Deck. I am a Plane Captain, an important role in every Squadron. I worked Night Shift, which usually meant I prepared every EA-6B Prowler for the next day's Flight Operations.

While I was sitting in my shop writing an email to my parents telling them I am safe, my LPO told us that our plane on the Finger needed six more chains. My shipmate said he would go, and since I had nothing else to do, decided I will go with him. I decided to bring the flashlight since it was night time. I grabbed three chains from our chain rack and waited for my shipmate in the passageway. Once he got his chains and met me, we headed up to the Flight Deck.

Once we got on the Flight Deck, we noticed that Flight Ops were still going on, so we would have to be really careful and make our way to the Finger. Since our shop was below the Point, we had a long way to go. We waited for an F-18 Hornet to launch, then we make our way through the street. We had to dodge two F-18s and wait for an F-18 to land and move to the Corral. Finally getting to the Junkyard, we took a moment to rest as another F-18 came in for landing. After it landed, I signaled to my shipmate to follow me to the far side of Elevator 3, right before the Patio. I went to signal with my flashlight wand to cross the landing area; however, noticed an F-18 about to land, so I simply stood there waiting until it landed. Once I turned my head to see where my shipmate was, all hell broke loose.

The only thing I remember happening was a big explosion occurring behind me, a blast pushing me onto my side, and a heat I've never felt. I rolled over to see what had happened, and what I saw was unbelievable. The F-18 was now engulfed in flames, moving toward the Crotch. What seemed like minutes was merely seconds, and as I watched the jet fall into overboard and into the Ocean, a loud voice interrupted the silence. "Crash, Crash upon the Flight Deck, all hands man your stations." Like a switch within me flipped on, I jumped up and did as I was trained to do. I went to my shop, told my LPO that we were safe, and went back up to the Flight Deck to conduct a FOD walkdown to recover plane parts. After an hour of this, I went back to my shop to wait until the OK was given and we were able to go back to our normal duties. With all the adrenaline running through my veins, and my focus on the task at hand, I missed the shrapnel stuck in my back. When I felt my back with my hand, I noticed a lot of blood on my hand, and realized what had happened an hour ago.

A piece of the plane flew into my back, a mere one inch from my spine. The hot metal burnt the nerve endings, making it so I did not feel it, or the pain from the blow. I went straight to Medical, mostly on orders by my LPO. They stitched me up and said I was extremely lucky that it did not strike my spine, it would have paralyzed me for life. The piece of metal is about three inches long, and the scar is approximately the same size. The rest of the night was uneventful, but what happened is engraved into my memory forever.

So many factors that night saved my life. If the jet had been carrying fuel pods, I would not be here. If the jet had been just a few feet toward me, I would not be here. If the piece of metal that struck me had been an inch to the right, I would be paralyzed. Too many things could have happened to end my life that night. I am only lucky to be alive today because it was not my time, God did not want my life to be over.