I often wondered why we were the only two that saw the UFO on such a large ship.I have been reluctant to tell this story over the years due to disbelief to the listeners. This happened at around 23:00-23:30 on the flight deck in 1996 when I was stationed aboard the USS Coral Sea CV-43, an American aircraft carrier. The first aircraft to leave the ship before a launch is the rescue helicopter and is the last to land. I worked as an aircraft refueler (purple shirt) and was in charge of quanity and quality control of aviation fuel operations. After rescue helicopter landed,I was doing "mop up operations" (Making sure that all fod materail (trash and equipment) was removed so that we could get ready for the morning launch. I was walking aft of the ship alongside a shipmate (Aviation Ordnance, red shirt)when I saw an assortment of blinking lights directly behind the ship. I walked cautiously to investigate and was simply amazed at what I saw. The UFO was round and circular in shape and about 20-30 was just hovering (or floating) behind the ship with the blinking lights. In about 2-3 minutes, it simply disappeared as if it sank in the deep waters behind the ship. I realized that my shipmate had a grip on my arm with his mouth wide open and states, "Wow, did you see that!" I said , "Yes, did you see it?" I left the scene, and my ship mate still standing there in disbelief. I told a couple of fellows about it and they simply state, "Why don't you give me some of what you been smoking" and they simply laugh it off. I rarely tell anyone of the incident unless they initiate reports seeing UFO's. I have never seen anything since that incident, but I often watch the skies. This incident has not shaken my faith, I still believe in God and I am a Christian, I just know that we are not alone in this vast universe.((NUFORC Note: Date of incident is approximate. PD))