Of all the jobs on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, Catapult Safety is arguably the best, and it’s definitely the most fun. The star of the show, the Catapult Safety Observer is the flight deck supervisor for all launches off of his catapult. Their job is to ensure all personnel are safely and expeditiously made ready for flight operations, to ensure all personnel run their watch stations efficiently, ensure a clear deck forward, and get the final signal from the pilot that they are ready for launch (the salute). Though this job was previously performed by Officers (and still is when the catapults are operating in “Deckedge Mode” instead of “ICCS Mode”), this job is more commonly performed by an enlisted ABE, fully qualed in all flight deck qualifications.
