# Ask a nuclear submariner. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 24, 2007, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819 "2007-10-24T14:47:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/21 "2007-10-24T20:43:10Z")
What kind of medical facilities and staff does a sub carry? If someone dies onboard where do you store them, or are they buried at sea? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/22 "2007-10-24T20:44:47Z")
So … which boats have you guys served on - mrAru was on the Spadefish, Miami and San Juan … a 637, and 2 variants of 688. He reports that he got his magellan [round the world] and bluenose on the same trip, pretty much under the ice pack. I think we still have a presentation vial of arctic water somewhere … and I know that the boat was down to peanut butter so did sort of an impromptu resupply from an arctic station \ On IIRC the Spadefish they had a chief go crackers and be taken off in a hug me coat on thorazine, and another guy got airlifted off with a broken leg. It takes some doing to fall down a ladder into machinery. Do tell people about the 700 pound club \ and _how_ one gets awarded the bluenose [mrAru might still have a few pictures of it somewhere] ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/23 "2007-10-24T21:18:18Z")
[QUOTE=alphaboi867] What kind of medical facilities and staff does a sub carry? If someone dies onboard where do you store them, or are they buried at sea? [/QUOTE] Subs bring one Independent Duty Corpsman (IDC), who is a Petty Officer 1st Class or Chief Petty Officer. They have a fair amount of medical gear, and even though they’re not a physician, they can issue prescription meds and even (theoretically) perform surgery. I believe that all IDCs are trained to perform emergency appendectomies (meaning they’ve assisted once), and the like. If a patient can be stabilized and transferred to shore, they will do that instead. The officer’s wardroom is the designated sickbay on a sub, if such a large space is needed. It would also be used for the surgical suite if necessary. IDCs have sedatives and even straitjackets for anyone who needs to be restrained. If someone dies on board, they get stored in a body bag in the freezer for later autopsy. No, I’m not kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/24 "2007-10-24T21:26:21Z")
**1010011010** mentioned his favorite submarine movie, but I’m interested in submarine books (both fiction and non-fiction). What are your favorites? Do they have a lot submarine books in the libraries aboard? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/25 "2007-10-24T21:27:36Z")
I hate to bring up something from Crimson Tide, since it was roundly criticized in a thread by **robby** recently, but how much in the way of personal firearms do subs really carry? In the movie, they were able to arm 10 guys with M-16s, helmets, and body armor, and it looked like all the officers were carrying pistols. Do subs really have that kind of hardware on board, and if so, why? Also, did you meet Rickover? A friend of mine was all set to join the nuc program in 1985, and according to him you actually got interviewed by Rickover. He backed out before that point though, so he never found out if you actually met him, or just someone who worked for him. Seemed like an odd thing for an Admiral to do though. ETA: Oops, if the OPs on a sub now, I guess he’s too young to have met Rickover. How about you **robby**? ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/26 "2007-10-24T21:28:53Z")
[QUOTE=aruvqan] So … which boats have you guys served on - mrAru was on the Spadefish, Miami and San Juan .. a 637, and 2 variants of 688. He reports that he got his magellan [round the world] and bluenose on the same trip, pretty much under the ice pack. I think we still have a presentation vial of arctic water somewhere … and I know that the boat was down to peanut butter so did sort of an impromptu resupply from an arctic station \ On IIRC the Spadefish they had a chief go crackers and be taken off in a hug me coat on thorazine, and another guy got airlifted off with a broken leg. It takes some doing to fall down a ladder into machinery. Do tell people about the 700 pound club \ and _how_ one gets awarded the bluenose [mrAru might still have a few pictures of it somewhere] [/QUOTE] I think we discussed this before, **aruvqan**. I was on the _San Juan_ as well. Never heard of the 700 pound club. 😕 I’ve spent years trying to forget our bluenose ceremony. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/27 "2007-10-24T21:46:03Z")
[QUOTE=muldoonthief] I hate to bring up something from Crimson Tide, since it was roundly criticized in a thread by **robby** recently, but how much in the way of personal firearms do subs really carry? In the movie, they were able to arm 10 guys with M-16s, helmets, and body armor, and it looked like all the officers were carrying pistols. Do subs really have that kind of hardware on board, and if so, why? [/QUOTE] Yes, subs carry firearms on board. They are usually locked up in the small arms locker. Subs typically carry .45 caliber pistols, 12-gauge shotguns, and M-16s. We are in the military, after all, and you never know when some firearms might come in handy, you know? Seriously, the main purpose for the firearms is for the topside watch when tied up at the pier. We want to prevent unauthorized personnel from coming on board, and would like something to enforce this other than just asking them pretty-please. [QUOTE=muldoonthief] …Also, did you meet Rickover? A friend of mine was all set to join the nuc program in 1985, and according to him you actually got interviewed by Rickover. He backed out before that point though, so he never found out if you actually met him, or just someone who worked for him. Seemed like an odd thing for an Admiral to do though. ETA: Oops, if the OPs on a sub now, I guess he’s too young to have met Rickover. How about you **robby**? [/QUOTE] I never met Rickover. I did meet his successor, Admiral DeMars when I was a midshipman applying for the program. The reason he interviewed me is because, when Admiral Rickover (the first Director of Naval Nuclear Propulsion) first started the program, he promised Congress that he would personally interview all officers before they came into his program. This practice has continued to this day. My interview was not as bad as some of the Rickover interviews I’ve heard, but is was still pretty intense. Before you even meet the admiral, you have to make it through the technical interviews. Each interviewer votes you “up” or “down”. You need two “ups” and you get a maximum of three interviews. If you meet a third interviewer, you know you got a least one “down.” (I only had two interviews. 🙂 ) If you make it through the technical interviews, you go before the admiral, who interviews candidates for their ability to think on their feet, potential for leadership, or whatever else floats his boat. Admiral DeMars played mind games with me, but I made it through. I met him again a few years later when he rode our sub. I asked him if he remembered the interview (when he questioned if I was capable of making it through the program), but he evidently didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/28 "2007-10-24T22:15:06Z")
Are there mentors and/or facilities for people of faith on board? Are there a number of Christian gays? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/29 "2007-10-24T22:25:13Z")
I’ve heard tales of submarines sneaking up on other ships and taking pictures of their screws, for practice and for bragging rights. Does that actually happen? ---
**Author:** ![trupa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@trupa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trupa)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/30 "2007-10-24T22:33:31Z")
First of all, Gentlemen (I presume) of the silent service, thank you for your service to the free world. Is there a discernible difference in the “feel” of the environment when you are cruising at depth rather than, say, periscope depth? Does it get colder, does the hull creek and groan as it compresses, is there something you can observe with your senses, like different sounds, or is it just like being in an office with no windows all the time, except that the floor tilts occasionally? Do you get shore leave in foreign ports? How paranoid do you have to be, if you do, about not getting kidnapped and such? Are there any “lazy slackers” in sub crews, or is everyone a keener, studying all the time in your “spare time”? How much communication do you get with your family when you are at sea? Email? Phone? Any recreation activities, exercise facilities? Ever had to “rig for silent running” ? Do you have to whisper and make sure you don’t drop things, or does it mean just turning off the dishwasher and such? Any rivalries between any groups? How intense are they? How spit&polish / starched & creased are subs compared to other navy ships? What was your scariest moment? Your funniest? And thanks for doing this thread. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/31 "2007-10-24T22:37:09Z")
Have the recent difficulties tainted your career? Obviously this is pretty much a career-stopper for the captain and the chief engineer, but what about the rest of the crew? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2007, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/32 "2007-10-24T23:33:41Z")
Does it really smell like living in a men’s lockerroom? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![1010011010](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/ea666f/32.png) [@1010011010](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/1010011010)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/33 "2007-10-25T01:20:23Z")
[QUOTE=Flander] A friend at work here used to work on a sub with a nuclear payload. He told me all non-senior officers we not even allowed to _look_ at the nukes. When he was required to do some repair in the area of the nukes, he had to turn his back to the nuke and scuddle past them until he couldn’t see them anymore. Is this an actual regulation on your sub? Do you carry nuclear weapons at all? [/QUOTE] We are not currently certified to carry nuclear weapons. And yes, I have received “We will shoot you.” training in regards to being in the wrong place at the wrong time while loading missiles. Once they’re in the tubes, covers down, it shouldn’t matter. Sounds like someone was putting your friend on. [QUOTE=asterion] Do you ever play [688 Attack Sub](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/688_Attack_Sub) on your time off? [/QUOTE] No. [QUOTE=Bayard] Do you have a way of getting ashore _except_ at piers? Is there some kind of inflatable boat you can pop out and head off to the shore? Or do you run the sub aground and hope for the best? [/QUOTE] It’s possible to pull a small boat alongside and drop a brow between the two to transfer people or supplies back and forth. Did that recently when we were anchored outside Annapolis. And if we were going to abandon ship, we’d destroy as much of it as possible before sinking it in the deepest water we could find in the area. [QUOTE=Bayard] Are there Marines on board? Do you have any way of engaging land-based enemies except by nuke? [/QUOTE] Nuclear reactor… not nuclear weapons. 688i’s can have cruise missiles with a variety of payloads. [QUOTE=robby] My sub was the first 688 to break through the Arctic pack ice back in 1993. [/QUOTE] Officially, the first 688 to surface through arctic ice was the USS Scranton on June 5th 2001. [QUOTE=alphaboi867] What kind of medical facilities and staff does a sub carry? If someone dies onboard where do you store them, or are they buried at sea? [/QUOTE] We have a corpsman! If someone required major surgery, it would be done on the table in the wardroom (officer’s eating and meeting area). If we needed to hold on to the body, it would go in the freezer. If we did not need to keep the body, it would be thrown overboard or, if we couldn’t surface, loaded into a torpedo tube and fired. [QUOTE=muldoonthief] Do subs really have that kind of hardware on board, and if so, why? [/QUOTE] Most of it stays in the small-arms lockers and only comes out when we’re having anti-terrorism drills or elevated force protection measures. [QUOTE=muldoonthief] Also, did you meet Rickover? A friend of mine was all set to join the nuc program in 1985, and according to him you actually got interviewed by Rickover. He backed out before that point though, so he never found out if you actually met him, or just someone who worked for him. Seemed like an odd thing for an Admiral to do though. [/QUOTE] Rickover allegedly died before I joined. And nuke officers are still personally interviewed by the Admiral, last I heard. [QUOTE=Liberal] Are there mentors and/or facilities for people of faith on board? [/QUOTE] The wardroom is set aside for religious services on appropriate days. The program is run by volunteers from within the crew. [QUOTE=Liberal] Are there a number of Christian gays? [/QUOTE] Could be? I haven’t asked. They haven’t told me. [QUOTE=Robot Arm] I’ve heard tales of submarines sneaking up on other ships and taking pictures of their screws, for practice and for bragging rights. Does that actually happen? [/QUOTE] It’s more focused on recording their sonar signature than taking pictures. [QUOTE=trupa] Is there a discernible difference in the “feel” of the environment when you are cruising at depth rather than, say, periscope depth? Does it get colder, does the hull creek and groan as it compresses, is there something you can observe with your senses, like different sounds, or is it just like being in an office with no windows all the time, except that the floor tilts occasionally? [/QUOTE] PD can be pretty rough. Once you get below the weather, it’s smooth. There’s a lot of background noise from running equipment, usually, so I can’t say I’ve ever heard any noises as the hull accepts compression stresses. There’s a door jamb with scratches in the flashing representing how much it gets compressed for a given depth. [QUOTE=trupa] Do you get shore leave in foreign ports? How paranoid do you have to be, if you do, about not getting kidnapped and such? [/QUOTE] They’ll usually require “liberty groups” in foreign ports. Everybody keeps an eye on everybody else. [QUOTE=trupa] Are there any “lazy slackers” in sub crews, or is everyone a keener, studying all the time in your “spare time”? [/quote] What is this “spare time” of which you speak? [QUOTE=trupa] How much communication do you get with your family when you are at sea? Email? Phone? [/Quote] e-mail every few days, assuming it works. [QUOTE=trupa] Any recreation activities, exercise facilities? [/QUOTE] Officially, no. Unofficially, we’ll have exercise equipment various places. [QUOTE=trupa] Ever had to “rig for silent running” ? Do you have to whisper and make sure you don’t drop things, or does it mean just turning off the dishwasher and such? [/QUOTE] You don’t have to whisper, but, yes, dropping stuff is a Bad Thing. The quiet rigs run from as simple as calling up to get permission before running noisy equipment all the way up to requiring off-watch personnel to remain in their racks so they don’t make noise moving about the ship. [QUOTE=trupa] Any rivalries between any groups? How intense are they? [/QUOTE] There is a whole hierarchy of US/THEM rivalries. No one takes them that seriously. [QUOTE=trupa] How spit&polish / starched & creased are subs compared to other navy ships? [/QUOTE] Not very. Things like shoe polish, starch, and personal irons are classified as hazmat, fire hazards, and/or atmospheric contaminants. Not s’posed to have or use them on board. [QUOTE=trupa] What was your scariest moment? Your funniest? [/QUOTE] I don’t recall anything particularly scary. Finding a significant leak in a seawater system is pretty exciting for a couple of minutes. Funniest? Posted on another board as a “disgusting work related experience”: > [@1010011010](#): > > Any of the times that A-Gang has screwed their valve line-up and blown pressurized human waste backwards through the sanitary system would probably qualify. > > Though I wasn’t involved in the clean-up, the best one would probably be the time the garbage grinder got clogged, so they were going to back-blow it with 25# air. Basically, you put terrycloth over the drain hole, stack some weights on top of it, put the cover on its sink, and stack some more weights on that. We ran out of weights so they just told one of the cooks to sit on it. > > Then they fucked up the valves and used 125# air rather than 25#. They hit it with pressure pulses a half-dozen time a second or so apart… and each time a fountain of semi-liquid slightly decaying muck would come shooting up between the cook’s legs to splatter on the ceiling, ricochet, and rain down. > > I do admire that he just sat there and took it, as a four inch column of shit gyser from the grinder probably would have been the result if he had gotten up. The series of expressions on his face with each new shower of crap were also priceless. Shock-Anger-Outrage-Disgust-Resignation-Amusement. Everyone present to witness pretty much just skipped straight to Amusement and most of them ended up on Incapacitated With Laughter. > > But, yeah. [QUOTE=Quartz] Have the recent difficulties tainted your career? Obviously this is pretty much a career-stopper for the captain and the chief engineer, but what about the rest of the crew? [/QUOTE] I expect the entire nuclear community will be subjected to closer scrutiny and more internal monitoring as a result. Nothing will be done to actually identify or fix the root causes… it will be chalked up to a terrible failure of integrity of a half-dozen individuals and not a predictable outcome of trying to accomplish work under the bureaucratic detritus of decades of supervisors trying to cover their own asses. [QUOTE=alphaboi867] Does it really smell like living in a men’s lockerroom? :eek: [/QUOTE] Worse, actually. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/34 "2007-10-25T02:25:42Z")
[QUOTE=robby] I think we discussed this before, **aruvqan**. I was on the _San Juan_ as well. Never heard of the 700 pound club. 😕 I’ve spent years trying to forget our bluenose ceremony. :eek: [/QUOTE] 700 lb club … using the crapper when someone forgot to tag it out [or being very careless and not noticing] and flushing when a gang runs 700 lb air through the lines to push the sewage outboard. Not so much done on 688s, but extremely common evolution on the old 637s…pumping is no where near as exciting as the good old blowing of sanitaries. Of course there was that time when the CO forgot to check wind direction when he was topside and ordered them to blow san … everybody else ducked in time. Oops… AS to bluenose ceremony, [this webpage of our brave navy at work](http://www.ussjacksonville.org/photos.html) while making you nervious about our actual national security has pictures from the bluenose ceremony mostly near the bottom, although there are other spiffy pictures=) ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/35 "2007-10-25T02:25:51Z")
Do you feel a kinship with submariners of earlier times, or other countries? Are there heroes or iconic personalities that everyone in the underwater fraternity knows about? What percentage of the crew knows what _The Turtle_ was? ---
**Author:** ![Carson\_O\_Genic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Carson\_O\_Genic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carson_O_Genic)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/36 "2007-10-25T11:46:37Z")
Had a conversation with a WWII vet who served on a Gato boat.He said one thing all on board had in common was small stature-he was probably 5’4"- and that recruiters into the service barred anyone much above that. Is that still true? You mentioned marks in the flashing related to hull compression,and I’ve heard of a taut string at PD go slack after diving;I suppose the max. dive depth is classified,but could you give some idea of this movement as a % of hoop reduction? ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/37 "2007-10-25T12:19:29Z")
Do you think women crewmembers would be a positive development? What’s the general opinion on board re. women in submarines? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/38 "2007-10-25T12:30:06Z")
Wow. Just want to say you’ve done a Herculean job managing this thread, and thanks for answering my two questions. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/39 "2007-10-25T12:43:22Z")
Have you ever been up to Groton? Ever been on the Nautilus? My father was Lieutenant Commander when he retired, his favorite ship was the Seawolf 575…He’s got some great stories of hitting the sea bottom in the Mediterranean and other close calls. Ever hit the bottom or grease a an undersea mound? What are your close calls if you can talk about them? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2007, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819/40 "2007-10-25T13:37:14Z")
How do you deal with the lack of sunlight and your sense of time? Do you sort of lose your circadian rythm? Does the sub really switch to all red lighting like your developing film during a drill? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ask-a-nuclear-submariner/423819.md?page=3)