 AV-8B Harriers with Marine Attack Squadron 214, part of the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, execute nighttime training and shipboard carrier landings on the USS Essex at sea. Using night vision goggles to guide the aircraft in complete darkness adds a degree of difficulty to an already complicated maneuver. I'm going to say it's scary. It's like when the deck has the NVD lighting and it's like blacked out pretty much and you raise your head a little bit to look underneath the MVGs and you don't see anything and then you put your head back down and you can see the ship again, that's pretty scary. Unlike jets landing on aircraft carriers, carrier pilots use a visual flight pattern, their eyes more than their instruments, to land the aircraft safely. The training keeps them ready to respond to any contingency at any time. Marine Sergeant Paul Robbins Jr. USS Essex at sea.