A Soviet Union nuclear reactor in Chernobyl just exploded. Mike Tyson is the youngest heavyweight champion in the history of American boxing. Smoking sees a ban on public transportation. The original Nintendo Entertainment System is selling for about 90 bucks. The movie Platoon is in theaters all across the United States. Robert Palmer is singing about love and addiction on MTV. Cheers and Growing Pains and Magnum, P.I. are on network television. The New York Mets win the World Series. Ronald Reagan is POTUS.

It’s 1986.

It’s the same year the following video was filmed — on the USS John F. Kennedy, a U.S. Navy Kitty Hawk-class carrier built for the military in the 1950s. While most of her time was spent in the Mediterranean (where she was in the footage below) she now sits in Philadelphia’s harbor after being decommissioned in 2007.

Anyway, the stunt these naval personnel pulled — as you’ll see — is pretty ridiculous, and as Tyler Rogoway for Foxtrot Alpha wisely put it, probably would never happen in these modern military times:

It is nearly unthinkable pulling off such a stunt today. Not only would the Navy conduct a months-long investigation, after which heads would probably roll, but PETA would also not be to happy. All this adds up to attention that the Navy will clearly tell you they don’t need.

Times have really changed in the Navy. It is a far more “corporate force” than it was in its past. The Tailhook scandal and other embarrassing events have diluted the Navy’s frat-boy culture …

Here’s the setup to what went down …

A helicopter was sent to touch down on Big John’s deck to drop off urgent paperwork. When they landed on the giant warship, they unleashed three little “greased” pigs painted red, white and blue — and set them free to oink all over the carrier’s big top.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APX_uXXQvCc