When Harm hears that Chegwidden is coming on board and that he may be headed for being CNO, Harm says that lawyers don't become CNO. He is told that Chegwidden started as a seal. It should be noted that there have been cases where line officers become lawyers and go back to line and then back to being a lawyer. One is RADM Leo McCuddin who was a fighter pilot in WWII, became an ace, later became a lawyer and then went back to line officer and commanded the aircraft carrier USS Ranger, and then went back to JAG, again.
Admiral Chegwidden says Commander Rabb's record looks like a cross between Top Gun (1986) and A Few Good Men (1992). John M. Jackson, who plays Chegwidden, played Captain West, a Navy JAG officer in A Few Good Men.
Los Banos, the name of the field where all this takes place, is Spanish for The Bathrooms.
Lightning strikes on aircraft are a common occurrence, around the world a daily one. According to the National Weather Service a commercial aircraft is hit by a bolt of lightning an average of twice per year. The electrical systems on commercial aircraft are shielded against the electrical discharges from lightning and military aircraft are especially shielded against it. However not all lightning bolts have the same amount of energy, it is possible for an especially strong lightning strike to damage systems that rely on electricity like fuel valves, generators, power distribution systems and navigation systems like radar and GPS. Modern shielding, shielding developed after 1990, is especially effective, at the time of this writing (July 2022) there hasn't been a known airplane crash due to lightning since 1989, and even before 1990 they were not common. According to the NTSB (National Transportation and Safety Board) between 1963 and 1989 there were 40 lightning-related aircraft crashes, 10 of those were commercial planes, 4 of which had casualties for a total of 260 fatalities and 28 serious injuries.
The worst of those incidents was the crash of Pan Am Flight 214, on December 8, 1963. The Boeing 707 took off from Isla Verde International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico at 4:10 PM EST, heading to Philadelphia International Airport in Pennsylvania via a stop at Friendship Airport in Baltimore, Maryland at 7:10 PM. The plane disembarked 67 passengers and took off without incident, at 8:42 PM the pilot radioed air traffic control at Philadelphia International reporting contact with a severe thunderstorm that included numerous lightning strikes, high winds and turbulence. The captain deemed conditions unsafe for landing, mainly due to the wind, so the plane descended to 5,000 feet and circled the airport in a holding pattern until the storm passed. While circling the airports outer perimeter marker the plane was being subjected to wind gusts of 50 MPH and multiple lightning strikes. At 8:58 PM one of the planes engines was struck by lightning and exploded, air traffic controllers received a final message from the cockpit stating: "MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY. Clipper 214 out of control. Here we go." Seconds later a message from National Airlines Flight 16, who was also in a holding pattern at 6,000 feet, was received saying: "Clipper 214 is going down in flames". The aircraft crashed at 8:59 PM in a corn field east of Elkton, Maryland, the aircraft was completely destroyed and all 81 occupants were killed on impact.
The worst of those incidents was the crash of Pan Am Flight 214, on December 8, 1963. The Boeing 707 took off from Isla Verde International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico at 4:10 PM EST, heading to Philadelphia International Airport in Pennsylvania via a stop at Friendship Airport in Baltimore, Maryland at 7:10 PM. The plane disembarked 67 passengers and took off without incident, at 8:42 PM the pilot radioed air traffic control at Philadelphia International reporting contact with a severe thunderstorm that included numerous lightning strikes, high winds and turbulence. The captain deemed conditions unsafe for landing, mainly due to the wind, so the plane descended to 5,000 feet and circled the airport in a holding pattern until the storm passed. While circling the airports outer perimeter marker the plane was being subjected to wind gusts of 50 MPH and multiple lightning strikes. At 8:58 PM one of the planes engines was struck by lightning and exploded, air traffic controllers received a final message from the cockpit stating: "MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY. Clipper 214 out of control. Here we go." Seconds later a message from National Airlines Flight 16, who was also in a holding pattern at 6,000 feet, was received saying: "Clipper 214 is going down in flames". The aircraft crashed at 8:59 PM in a corn field east of Elkton, Maryland, the aircraft was completely destroyed and all 81 occupants were killed on impact.
Admiral Arleigh Burke is mentioned, as stated he is one of the most famous naval officers from World War II, he was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, decorated four times with the Legion of Merit with a combat V, decorated three times with the Navy Distinguished Service Medal and decorated with the Navy Cross, the second highest military decoration in the U.S. Admiral Burke was also honored by being the namesake for the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer.
The lead boat of the fleet, the U.S.S. Arleigh Burke, was launched on September 16, 1989, as of July 2022 the Navy has 70 destroyers of this class active, with 7 under construction and 12 more planned in the future, and has plans to upgrade the existing ships with the latest electronic warfare systems. The Arleigh Burke-class is considered to be the most powerful and advanced warship in the world, their design being so effective that the Navy has extended the Arleigh Burke program until at least 2041, making it the longest production run for any class of warship since World War II. A versatile warship the Arleigh Burke is equally suited for both defensive and offensive action, they are capable of sinking surface warships with their Harpoon missiles; taking out any kind of aircraft with SeaSparrow missiles and point defense weapons like a 20mm Phalanx CIWS gun & two 25mm Bushmaster chain-guns, as well as six crew manned M2 .50 caliber machine guns; the destroyer is also used for anti-submarine warfare and carries two triple MK-32 torpedo tubes and the ships carry MK-46 & MK-50 torpedoes as well as MK-56 lightweight torpedoes; the destroyer is also highly capable of taking out land based targets with her bow mounted 5 inch (127mm) naval gun and a complement of 56 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles. The other main role of the Arleigh Burke is missile defense, the destroyer has a 96 cell vertical launch system for its missiles allowing it to fire Harpoon, SeaSparrow, RIM-161 and Tomahawk missiles simultaneously. With her SeaSparrow and RIM-161 surface-to-air missiles the destroyer is capable of intercepting and shooting down any kind of missile, including nuclear ballistic missiles.
The lead boat of the fleet, the U.S.S. Arleigh Burke, was launched on September 16, 1989, as of July 2022 the Navy has 70 destroyers of this class active, with 7 under construction and 12 more planned in the future, and has plans to upgrade the existing ships with the latest electronic warfare systems. The Arleigh Burke-class is considered to be the most powerful and advanced warship in the world, their design being so effective that the Navy has extended the Arleigh Burke program until at least 2041, making it the longest production run for any class of warship since World War II. A versatile warship the Arleigh Burke is equally suited for both defensive and offensive action, they are capable of sinking surface warships with their Harpoon missiles; taking out any kind of aircraft with SeaSparrow missiles and point defense weapons like a 20mm Phalanx CIWS gun & two 25mm Bushmaster chain-guns, as well as six crew manned M2 .50 caliber machine guns; the destroyer is also used for anti-submarine warfare and carries two triple MK-32 torpedo tubes and the ships carry MK-46 & MK-50 torpedoes as well as MK-56 lightweight torpedoes; the destroyer is also highly capable of taking out land based targets with her bow mounted 5 inch (127mm) naval gun and a complement of 56 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles. The other main role of the Arleigh Burke is missile defense, the destroyer has a 96 cell vertical launch system for its missiles allowing it to fire Harpoon, SeaSparrow, RIM-161 and Tomahawk missiles simultaneously. With her SeaSparrow and RIM-161 surface-to-air missiles the destroyer is capable of intercepting and shooting down any kind of missile, including nuclear ballistic missiles.