Cmdr. Dennis Metz’s boots wait to be launched from the flight deck during a boot shoot.
US Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Bill M. Sanders
The US Navy is full of time-honored traditions.A personal one for naval aviators is known as a “boot shoot.”Catapult officers, known as shooters, launch their boots off a flight deck in a final sendoff.
The US Navy has many unique traditions, such as painting sailors’ noses blue when operating in the Arctic Circle or putting “pollywog” sailors through a series of disgusting initiation rites while crossing the equator.
Among the peculiar practices is launching a pair of boots off the flight deck of an aircraft carrier in a special ceremony known as a “boot shoot.”
Read the original article on Business Insider