RL Submariners

[timmyg00]

I can only echo what BN and Rip have said, except that on my boat, most of the time, coners had 4-section duty unless we were in drydock or some other special in-port period. That's because the duty sections had to supply fire and saftey watches for the shipyard-type work that was going on. Nukes more often than not had 3-section duty.

Additionally, while we did have "day-after-duty" (go home early after your duty day), it was totally up to your LCPO as to whether you got to enjoy it or not... if you had work to do, you weren't going anywhere... nobody else was going to do it for you!

TG

[ASWnut101]

Originally Posted by Bubblehead Nuke

Oh the stories some of us could tell you.......

But we ain't called the silent service for nothing...

Ahh, that sucks. Thakns anyway.

[Snowman999]

For example, I've heard that USN SSBN have two entirely different crews...

Boomers have THREE crews: the Gold, the Blue, and the Other. The Other crew breaks everything . . .

what does the 2nd crew do during six whole months of shore time?

Patrol cycles are about 105 days, so it's three months, not six. As others have said it's moslty training, schools, paperwork, and PT, but I found enough time to take $10 USAF space-A flights to Europe.

[sonar732]

Originally Posted by timmyg00

I can only echo what BN and Rip have said, except that on my boat, most of the time, coners had 4-section duty unless we were in drydock or some other special in-port period. That's because the duty sections had to supply fire and saftey watches for the shipyard-type work that was going on. Nukes more often than not had 3-section duty.

TG

Nothing like sitting fire watch during the mid-watch trying to stay awake holding a fire extinguisher. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::dam n:

[OptimusX]

Sorry for straying OT...but I've been gone a long time myself...but holy crap, heya TG! Been lurking for like a year now...finally decided to post when i saw a familiar face from the old matchup days.

[Molon Labe]

Why lurk when we've finally got a decent setup now? DW's back!

Good to see you around again.

[LoBlo]

Good stuff, good stuff. Okiedokie. Next Question for the RLB (Real-Life-Bubbleheads)

When your on patrol... do you get to updates on non-military world news? Like the sorta stuff that would show up on ABC or CNN, but isn't directly related to military happenings.

Say for instance... the contaminated lettuce stories that was so big a few months ago, or who won the Oscars or Britney Spears having a baby or the latest UN resolution etc. If so, is it from a network news broadcast like ABC, NBC, CNN? I'm just wondering how uptodate submarines are on what's happening in the outside world whenever they are away from it all.

[Rip]

Originally Posted by LoBlo

Good stuff, good stuff. Okiedokie. Next Question for the RLB (Real-Life-Bubbleheads)

When your on patrol... do you get to updates on non-military world news? Like the sorta stuff that would show up on ABC or CNN, but isn't directly related to military happenings.

Say for instance... the contaminated lettuce stories that was so big a few months ago, or who won the Oscars or Britney Spears having a baby or the latest UN resolution etc. If so, is it from a network news broadcast like ABC, NBC, CNN? I'm just wondering how uptodate submarines are on what's happening in the outside world whenever they are away from it all.

Hopefully things have improved in this regard. In my day (mid 80s) we copied wire news off the satellite if we happened to be up and operations allowed it. Often we would only get some of it as operational tasks often interferred, and like family grams they were of little priority. It was nice working in the radio room on long patrols though and getting alook at the scores and news first as it was printing out. We would also use the gear to listen in on radio broadcasts on some of the EW gear if we happened to be somewhere we could pick something up that was in a language you could understand.

Another good time for this type stuff is if you did some type of personel or equip transfer. Often they would come lugging mail/newspapers.

[timmyg00]

Originally Posted by OptimusX

Sorry for straying OT...but I've been gone a long time myself...but holy crap, heya TG! Been lurking for like a year now...finally decided to post when i saw a familiar face from the old matchup days.

Good to see you again Op...

Originally Posted by sonar732

Nothing like sitting fire watch during the mid-watch trying to stay awake holding a fire extinguisher. :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::dam n:

That did suck...

TG

[XabbaRus]

what were punishments for screwing up while at sea? I don't mean dropping the ball during an exercises where you didn't hear the OPFOR sub but for something like putting a piece of kit in the wrong place or something like that.

[ASWnut101]

They lock you inside a torpedo tube for three hours.

[Rip]

Originally Posted by XabbaRus

what were punishments for screwing up while at sea? I don't mean dropping the ball during an exercises where you didn't hear the OPFOR sub but for something like putting a piece of kit in the wrong place or something like that.

Being restricted to the boat is often an effective punishment. Always serveed during port time. Nothing worse than having to spend 30 extra days onboard after returning from a 90+ day deployment. Well maybe having to crank twice but that is usually viewed as cruel and unusual punishment.

[Bubblehead Nuke]

Originally Posted by Rip

Being restricted to the boat is often an effective punishment. Always serveed during port time. Nothing worse than having to spend 30 extra days onboard after returning from a 90+ day deployment. Well maybe having to crank twice but that is usually viewed as cruel and unusual punishment.

I cranked not once, not twice, but THREE times.

1st time - I was the first nuke on the boat to crank. We did not have any new coners to crank so I was picked. EDEA and COB about had a WAR over it. C.O stepped in and made the final call. New C.O. as well and he wanted to re-enforce the 'one boat, one crew, one shaft, one screw' policy

2nd time - never dink again... never dink again... never dink again... 'nuff said

3rd time - one of 3 nukes foreward cranking for a TRE exam. We were the initial casuality response team. Senior TRE member was seen calling the CO a sneaky S.O.B when we found out that he had 3 sub qual'd nukes working the mess decks.

[sonar732]

I was lucky enough that our sonar division was very short and even grabbed a few other division personel to obtain their BSO designations. So, with that being said, I didn't have to crank at all during first patrol...helped that we were heavy in non-division personell too...seaman apprentices and the like.

[XabbaRus]

What is to crank?

I'm lost with that one.

Seriously, you ever lock anyone or hear of anyone being locked in a torp tube?