Donald J. Trump

What's the purpose of having a surface warfare combatant right in back of the carrier?

Well, they actually do a combination.

They'll have a helo off what they call the starboard delta, and they stand off kind of in the wake.

In the absence of that helo, they'll put a destroyer in what they call two S and X position, which is anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500 yards astern of the carrier.

IF SOMEONE WERE TO BE BLOWN OVERBOARD OR THERE WOULD BE AN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT OF SOME SORT, THE DESTROYER WOULD RENDER THAT FIRST RESPONSE TO EITHER PICK UP AN INDIVIDUAL WHO HAS FALLEN OVERBOARD OR TO GO ALONGSIDE TO GRAB A PILOT THAT MAY BE PART OF A PLANE THAT WENT INTO THE WATER.

You know, very, very demanding.

You know, you've got to be at the top of your game.

You've got to be paying attention, all hands on deck, watching and making sure because you just don't have that much time to respond to any sort of emergency.

There's a commander in chief right there getting fully briefed.

Now overhead is the E-2D Hawkeye.

The Hawkeye is the Navy's all-weather carrier-based tactical battle management airborne early warning command and control aircraft.

The E-2D is a twin-engine, five-crew member, high-wing turboprop aircraft with a 24-foot diameter ray dome attached to the upper fuselage.

The Hawkeye is our eye in the sky.

The pilots will manage this aircraft to touchdown in the landing area or LA.

A small piece of steel roughly 100 feet wide and with a wingspan of nearly 80 feet, there is not much room for error.

Here the E-2D pilot would demonstrate the power of the E-2D's engines and look to take back off again in only a few hundred feet.

Paul Morgan, that's what people have to realize.

When these planes come in, they go to full power, right, in case the arresting gear, they miss the arresting gear or something breaks.

They've got to be ready to launch instantaneously, sir?

Well, absolutely.