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Nuclear aircraft carrier USS Nimitz deploys to Persian Gulf. Crew faces job challenges, family separation, and war on terror. Follows fighter pilots and young sailors over 6-month mission.

Created from footage captured during the filming of the PBS series Carrier, explores the struggle waged by three men in various stages of fatherhood to serve their country while living and working in the harsh environment of an aircraft carrier, and constantly thinking of the loved ones they left behind. Doug Booher, Randy Brock, and Chris Altice are three of 5,000 sailors living onboard the USS Nimitz. Summoned from their families for a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf, these men may perform disparate tasks yet they all have one thing in common -- they're all either parents, or expecting a child. By delving deep into the personal lives of all three, the filmmakers raise numerous questions about their work onboard the Nimitz, and the role of the Navy in times of war. A fighter pilot in the famed "Black Aces" squadron, Lt. Booher is attempting to balance his life and military career, no simple task for a man with a newborn back home. Meanwhile, tough-talking Gunnery Sergeant Brock repairs planes for the Marine squadron "The Red Devils" while pondering what kind of father he will be to the son who is born during his deployment. Abandoned at age three by his own parents, a pair of carnival workers, Sergeant Brock doesn't want to be an absent father. And while 21-year-old ordnance man Altice would rather be partying in a frat house than arming military jets for war, his responsibilities back home are about to take a giant leap; just before he left for the Persian Gulf, his new girlfriend revealed that she was pregnant.

Mitchell Block's and Sara's SARA is the very personal, evocative and powerful story of a young woman, Sara, who was sexually and physically assaulted six years ago in Los Angeles.

Looks at the burden of spending six months away from friends and family.

After two months in the Gulf, one day starts to become indistinguishable from the next.

The last day in the Gulf before the Nimitz heads home.

The Nimitz arrives in the Gulf and conditions are extreme.

Deployment is stressful for everyone aboard, and there can be friction between enlisted personnel and their superiors.

The ship's location and itinerary are classified. Details of how the nuclear reactor works are top secret. Many aspects of life on a nuclear aircraft carrier are hush-hush. Dating and sex aboard ship are strictly forbidden, but according to one sailor, with 5,000 people on board, relationships are "inevitable," resulting in a "don't ask, don't tell" policy that applies to relationships as well as sexual orientation. When the Nimitz pulls into Hong Kong for a four-day port call, a scandal dramatically alters the lives of two sailors. As the ship departs, the crew learns their itinerary has changed. The captain announces that they are heading for Korea, but the crew can't share this information with their families back home... because it's a secret.

Explores expressions of faith, such as Christian and Wiccan on the ship.

Five-thousand sailors and Marines bid farewell to their loved ones before the mammoth USS Nimitz pulls out of California.

An aircraft carrier is a perilous environment.

As the Nimitz makes its final transit from Hawaii to California, the sailors and Marines on board prepare to return to their homes and families. For those still on board, the "Tiger Cruise" provides a buffer, but there's no such transition for those who fly home early from Hawaii. As the Nimitz returns to her home port of San Diego, sailors and Marines reflect on the deployment and take stock of what they've achieved. Was the mission accomplished? There are tearful, joyful reunions at the pier.