February 22, 2026
Cat shots & comment wars
Rhythms the Compendium: Life aboard an aircraft carrier (2021)
Navy pilot’s epic day-at-sea saga ignites tears, fights, and toilet paper memes
TLDR: A beloved Navy pilot’s serialized look at life on an aircraft carrier was reposted, sparking a flood of emotional tributes, technical nitpicks, and memes—especially a toilet paper tangent. The community is split between praising raw realism and accusing it of glamorizing danger, making it a must‑read culture flashpoint.
Carroll “Lex” LeFon’s 54-part carrier-life “blogvel” resurfaced and the comments caught fire. Veterans called it the most real they’ve read, newbies said they could smell jet fuel through the screen, and skeptics accused it of glamorizing danger. The biggest debate: is this fiction, memoir, or a cleverly disguised combo? Old salts defended the Constellation’s conventional (non-nuclear) quirks, nitpicking refueling, rules of engagement, and the E-2 radar crew’s constant watch. Acronyms got explained on the fly—CAS means close air support, JDAM is a guided bomb—and readers swapped sweaty-palms tales after the single‑engine landing chapters.
Then came the comedy. A 2021 toilet paper tangent detonated memes: “From JDAMs to Charmin,” “Pri‑Fly (the control tower) vs my Wi‑Fi,” and “Iron Maiden” (the refueling rig) jokes everywhere. Commenters clashed over tone: one side says raw honesty honors service; the other calls it “war diary cosplay.” The strongest opinions hailed Lex’s prose as a masterclass in pacing and dread—“you feel the night launch in your bones”—while detractors rolled their eyes at Top Gun vibes. Mods dropped More here and a Best of link as the crowd split into heartfelt tributes, technical flexes, and meme chaos. It’s part history lesson, part adrenaline, all comment‑section theater.
Key Points
- •The article re-posts Carroll F. “Lex” LeFon’s multi-part compendium portraying daily life on a US Navy aircraft carrier.
- •LeFon served on the conventionally powered USS Constellation, providing context for at-sea refueling operations.
- •Chapters cover flight operations including E-2 launches, alert fighter intercepts, rules of engagement, and close air support.
- •Operational challenges include emergency breakaways, single-engine approaches and landings, tanker rendezvous, and night missions.
- •Supplementary links and a “Best of” index are provided to explore more of LeFon’s naval aviation writings.