How did this trip begin?  "The USS George Washington is currently located about 200 miles off the coast of Norfolk, Virginia," Paul began.
"I flew from Minneapolis to Norfolk, and the next day we received a briefing at the Norfolk Air Base, and we were given a packet of information.  Then we climbed onboard a 24-seater C2 plane to fly out to the carrier.  We had to wear headgear and face backwards on the plane because of the force in takeoff and landing at the aircraft carrier.  You need the backrest for support."
Takeoff from the Norfolk land base was not unusual, however, except for the backwards seating, but landing on the aircraft carrier was something else.
"Landing was an amazing experi-ence," said the young man who felt like a young kid.  "We went from 150 mph to 0 mph in two seconds.  It was very intense, but it was over so quickly.  Maybe if the landing had taken five or seven seconds, it would have been more uncomfortable.  One of my best friends, Paul Dooley, was a crewman on a C2 plane and he had forewarned me about what to expect."
Landings at such a high speed in such a short distance are made possible, said Paul, by the four "arresting wires."  These cables are stretched across the flight deck and attached to hydraulic cylinders below deck.  When a plane's tailhook snags an arresting wire, it pulls the wire out and the hydraulic cylinder system absorbs the energy to bring the plane to a stop.
"I saw younger pilots miss the wire with their tailhook and they had to keep going and get back into the sky to circle and try again," said Paul.
Area of the flight deck is 4.5 acres.  It is 257 feet wide and 1,092 feet long.  But it has only a runway length of 750 feet.  Runways at the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport range in length from 8,000 to 11,000 feet.
"I was standing only fifteen feet from a wingtip when a plane was taking off," said Paul.  "That's how tight the space is.  That's how close we were to things." 
Paul explained that the carrier has a steam-driven catapult system that rockets a plane on takeoff from 0 mph to 150 mph in two seconds, just the opposite of a landing.  When the crew is in full swing, it can launch or land a plane every 37 seconds in daylight and every 60 seconds at night.
"I saw all of the ship except the nuclear generator," he said.  The nuclear generator is housed in a heavily armored, heavily restricted area in the middle of the ship.  It generates high pressure steam which ultimately rotates giant propellers that push the ship forward. 
The steam turbines also generate enough electricity to power the ship's electric systems, including a desalination plant that can turn 400,000 gallons of saltwater into drinkable freshwater every day.  That's enough for 2,000 homes … or 5,500 people.
"My trip was originally scheduled for last fall," said Paul, "but it was postponed when Hurricane Katrina hit.  The George Washington was sent to the Gulf, because it could desalinate water for the people."
This home on the high seas includes many other systems to support its 5,500 population.  For example, it has "small city" operations to handle trash, mail, and sewage.  It has a small fire truck and fire extinguishing material.
The carrier also has a workforce that includes everything from dishwashers to maintainers of the nuclear reactor.  It has multiple kitchens and mess halls where 18,000 meals are served each day.  It has laundry facilities, dentists, doctors, stores, phones, televisions, barbershops, chaplains, and a hospital ward.
Oh, yes, it also has built-in weapons, missile launchers, and other defense systems.
Paul said there are approximately 2,000 sailors in the "air wing."  This in-cludes men and women who actually fly and maintain the aircraft.  Another 3,500 sailors are in the "ship's company."  These people keep all parts of the carrier running smoothly - washing dishes, preparing meals, handling weaponry, maintaining the nuclear reactors.
Construction cost of the USS George Washington was about $4.5 billion.  There are nine such carriers on the high seas with other names like the USS Nimitz, USS John F. Kennedy, USS Theodore Roosevelt, USS Harry S. Truman, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, and USS Ronald Reagan.  They are recognized as sovereign territories in almost all of the high seas.
"I got to watch a jet fuel replenish-ment at sea," said Paul.  "It's a unique experience.  Most civilians don't get to see that.  Replenishment doesn't happen very often because the carriers are large enough to store weeks worth of fuel for the planes."
Paul watched as the merchant marine ship pulled up within about 200 feet and shot hoses across the water to the George Washington.  Jet fuel was then pumped through the hoses to the carrier in less than two hours.
And then, almost as fast as it began, the experience of a lifetime was over.  Paul had to head home to Victoria, Minnesota.  He and the other distinguished visitors returned to the C2 plane positioned on the flight deck.  Once again they faced backwards on the plane, but this time they prepared to hit 150 mph in two seconds. 
Paul said his prayers.  "I prayed for myself and I prayed for the pilots," he stated.  "I felt I had a great insurance policy:  The pilots also wanted to get home to their families."

Paul was born at Elmhurst, Illinois, and his parents, Ron and Sheila Kohls, moved the family to Minnesota when Paul was only three.  Paul's father is an accountant.  His mother is a paralegal.  His younger brother is Mark.
Paul attended Meadow Lake Elemen-ary School in New Hope and graduated from Robbinsdale Cooper High School in 1992.  He graduated from the University of St. Thomas in 1996 with a degree in Political Science and received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Minne-sota Law School in 1999.
During his first weekend at St. Thomas, Paul met Kelly Yetzer of Waconia. 
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