Officers ate their meals here in the Wardroom, except for the Captain who ate in his cabin. The Executive Officer, or XO, presided over meal time from the head table at the other end of the room. The XO’s cabin is the compartment you first walked through when coming up the ladder, on the forward side of the room with the blue carpet. Did you notice that his berthing space was much nicer than where the enlisted sailors slept? The XO is in charge of the ship’s crew, both doling out punishment as needed and crew morale as well.

Notice that there are other staterooms for officers near the Wardroom. These were senior officers such as the medical officer and the engineering officer.

What makes someone an officer? Officers have some sort of formal education before coming into the navy. This might be the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, or an ROTC program at a university, or Officer Candidate School after college graduation. Regardless of how precisely they become an officer, they are responsible for the enlisted sailors and direct the daily affairs on board the ship.

During formal meals everyone sat down at the same time. Officers stood by their chairs waiting for the signal from the Executive Officer, who is second in command of the ship. Meals were served on china and silver, with linen tablecloths. While the meals were not so different from what the enlisted sailors ate, the officers paid for their own meals while on board. This tradition dates back to before there was refrigeration on ships and the food quality was poor. Officers wanted a higher quality of food so they paid for their own and the tradition continues today.

Sometimes movies were shown here after dinner. Above that table in the front is a movie screen that pulls down.

On one wall, you’ll see a large blue flag. That flag was flown behind President Ronald Reagan when the ship was recommissioned for the final time in 1982. This was the only time that a battleship was recommissioned by a sitting president. The smaller pennant beneath it is called a commissioning pennant and was flown that day as well.