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Arts & Culture

Carrier: Super Secrets

A lone sailor stands facing the horizon aboard the "USS Nimitz" in the Persian Gulf, 2005.
Alejandro de Onis/Carrier Project
A lone sailor stands facing the horizon aboard the "USS Nimitz" in the Persian Gulf, 2005.

Airs Tuesday, July 20, 2010 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV

"Carrier" is a character-driven, edge-of-your-seat, nonfiction drama and a once-in-a-lifetime total immersion in the high-stakes world of a nuclear aircraft carrier. "Carrier" follows a core group of film participants aboard the "USS Nimitz," from the admiral of the strike group to the fighter pilots to the youngest sailors, as they navigate personal conflicts around their jobs, families, faith, patriotism, love, the rites of passage and the war on terror.

The "USS Nimitz" is 24 stories high, three football fields long and carries more than 5,000 Navy personnel and 85 military aircraft. Filmed from May to November 2005, nearly 2,000 hours of high-definition video were captured aboard the ship during a full six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf, of which three months were spent in combat in support of the ground troops. For the first time, a television series takes a raw and personal look at the Navy’s role in this controversial war.

Making of Carrier

Seven members of the documentary crew that helped bring a very intimate and revealing look at life in the Navy share their personal moments from their time aboard the "Nimitz."

"Super Secrets"

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The ship's location and itinerary are classified. Details of how the nuclear reactor works are top secret. Many aspects of life on a nuclear aircraft carrier are hush-hush. Dating and sex aboard ship are strictly forbidden, but according to one sailor, with 5,000 people on board, relationships are "inevitable," resulting in a "don't ask, don't tell" policy that applies to relationships as well as sexual orientation. When the Nimitz pulls into Hong Kong for a four-day port call, a scandal dramatically alters the lives of two sailors. As the ship departs, the crew learns their itinerary has changed. The captain announces that they are heading for Korea, but the crew can't share this information with their families back home .. . because it's a secret. Full episodes of "Carrier" are available for online viewing.

Upcoming Episode:

"Squared Away' will air on Tuesday, July 27, 2010 at 9 p.m. on KPBS TV

Watch the entire episode "Super Secrets"