My boy wants to be a Submarine Sonar Operator

[Wilko]

So you he is 13 going on 14, he is in year 9 here in Aus and what I would like to know is what does he want to concentrate on in school, needless to say I am very happy with this while his mother is some what worried LOL and just want to be able to guide him while this lasts which I hope is all the way as he is a very good down to earth boy that has always had strong moral convictions and I honestly think he will go through with it as he seems very determined and is not at all easily distracted.

Anyone got any advice please, thanks guys/gals :up:

[TarJak]

This site gives you a good overview of what is needed:

http://www.defencejobs.gov.au/navy/jobs/AcousticWarfareAnalyst/

http://www.defencejobs.gov.au/navy/jobs/AcousticWarfareAnalyst/EducationRequirements/

English and Maths are a must, but to be honest an aptitude for IT and computing would help. Make sure that his hearing is 100% as for this speciality his ears are all important.

I hope he gets in and enjoys it.

Aside from basic seamanship he'll get training in the following:

Initial Collins Class Course (ICCC)

Duration: 5 weeks

Consists of a series of Computer based and instructor based modules that introduces the students to the construction, systems and inter-relationships that make up the submarine. The students also undertake Submarine Fire-fighting and Submarine Escape during this 5 week period.


AWASM Training


Basic Acoustic Warfare Analyst course (AWA 1)

Duration: 15 WEEKS

The course covers those aspects of passive sonar design, construction and operation that are essential to maintaining acoustic awareness and is designed to give the student the requisite knowledge to undertake their job as part of the submarine technical and tactical departments.


The course covers:

Basic theory of acoustics and under water sound, sonar theory, construction of a sonar, theory on propulsion, power plants and auxiliary power plants, active sonar theory, oceanography and weather, aural classification, narrowband analysis and introduction to brief preparation & presentation.

[Kapitan_Phillips]

Maybe you should get him playing multi-platform Dangerous Waters with some of us guys. No better training tool than a game developed for the military! :up:

(Besides, I cant make heads or tails out of it most of the time)

[sonar732]

Tell him that he's among friends and when his boat attends training with the U.S. Navy that he better train himself. Start listening to different levels of sounds in the environment regarding frequencies. Recognize the doppler effect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doppler_effect#Underwater_acoustics) and what it can do in terms of sound propagation in the water.

Lastly, buy him either Dangerous Waters or Sub Command to learn the basics of sonar ops. He'll get a heads up when he reports to the trainers as the 'general' application of marking targets, obtaining a DEMON classification, and recognizing narrowband signatures on a FRAZ display.

[Ishmael]

Teach him electronics so he can maintain and repair the equipment as well. That way he'll have skills to be able to find a job after his discharge.

[geetrue]

Go for it ... your boy must have a calling on his life to confess his desire to become a submarine sonar operator (STS).

I answered that calling in 1963 when I reported aboard my first submarine USS Salmon SS-573 Ballast Point/Point Loma Submarine Base, San Diego.

I had volunteered for submarine duty as a seaman radar operator on the USS Helena CA 75, but after a year onboard they put her into mothballs.

My first job on the Salmon was mess cook for like 6 weeks, before the next young submarine recruit came aboard and replaced me.

I was planesman, look out, helmsman, and had to switch to sonar from radar. I learned by the seat of my pants by just being thrown on watch after only a little instruction from the one other sonarman first class onboard. The corpsman was the only other sonar watch we had.

Sonar was in the bow in those days in the rear of the torpedo room. You had to step down into what they reffered to as the black hole of Calcutta.

We never pinged of course or it would give our position away ... we just listened and reported anything we heard and where it was in relationship to our enviorment.

It didn't take long to tell the difference between an old cargo ship and a galloping destroyer, nor did it take long to identify the thousands of other sounds under the ocean.

So I would encourage him to hang in there, stay the couse, stay loose, up tight is not fit for submarine service and good luck.

A lot of good advice from the others too I might agree ... :yep:

[Wilko]

Thanks all for the great tips :) much appreciated.

[Blacklight]

Get this boy on Dangerous Waters PRONTO !!!:up:

[TarJak]

DW will help give him some basic grounding. Stick a set of earphones on him when he plays to let him know how much of his working life will feel.:lol:

[Blacklight]

DW will help give him some basic grounding. Stick a set of earphones on him when he plays to let him know how much of his working life will feel.:lol:

If you want to go all the way, stuff three computers with monitors and three uncomfortable stools into a closet, then stuff him in there with three of his friends so they can barely move an elbow, and have them stare at the sonar screens for 12 hours.:D

That's pretty much what the sonar room of the 688i USS San Juan that my friend worked on was like. They sat in a row so if you were the first guy in there away from the door, and you had to go to the bathroom, the only way to get you out would be to crawl over the other two guys sitting between you and the door. At least that's what it looked like to me. :D

[sonar732]

DW will help give him some basic grounding. Stick a set of earphones on him when he plays to let him know how much of his working life will feel.:lol:
If you want to go all the way, stuff three computers with monitors and three uncomfortable stools into a closet, then stuff him in there with three of his friends so they can barely move an elbow, and have them stare at the sonar screens for 12 hours.:D

That's pretty much what the sonar room of the 688i USS San Juan that my friend worked on was like. They sat in a row so if you were the first guy in there away from the door, and you had to go to the bathroom, the only way to get you out would be to crawl over the other two guys sitting between you and the door. At least that's what it looked like to me. :D

Don't forget the sonar officer peeking his head in periodically. On the Alaska, we had a small machinery room just forward. During our battlestations drills, we had 6 guys in the shack and another one in the machinery room "observing".

[geetrue]

Don't forget to feed him real good, but he has to drink powdered milk for three months at a time.

Then let him have the real thing to get him use to the cycles submarine sailors have to get use to.

Purchase a pair of ear plugs for him too to save those ears ... although the US Navy has been reported to have cataloged every sound under the ocean. Then they fed it to a computer matching sound for sound.

Just push the right button and wham the designated target has been identified ...

[sonar732]

Use some bug juice to clean the stainless steel around your house. :rotfl::rotfl:

[Kapitan]

If he doesnt like the idea of collins class and wants to serve on nuc's he is always able to join the royal navy we accept applicants from Aus NZ USA Canada and Fiji, im about to hopefully join the submarines this year as well im really hoping i get it.

[bookworm_020]

Don't let it be known that he wants to be in subs, as the RAN would try their hardest to get him in now!:lol: They are short staffed at the moment, and if your son has the skill they'll do their best to land him.:yep:

[Blacklight]

To add more to your son's "Sub Experience", take his bed and position another matress about one foot above it so that laying on his side or rolling over is virtually impossible. Then have someone sleeping in his bed all day until it's time for him to go to bed. Make sure the guy you pick to lay in the bed sweats a lot.

Then, occasionally pour water on the floor near where he steps out of the bed and then blast an air horn into the room while he's sleeping for emergency drills. :rotfl:

[Sailor Steve]

In what other profession can "setting your sights low" be something to strive for?