# What is life/culture shock like on submarines? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 27, 2010, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-life-culture-shock-like-on-submarines/555251 "2010-09-27T18:50:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cormac262](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@cormac262](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cormac262)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-life-culture-shock-like-on-submarines/555251/21 "2010-09-30T21:32:40Z")
Not sure if this applies to all, but from what I could tell everyone was in charge of their own laundry. There was a laundry room, and the one caveat was that you had to stay in/near the room when you ran the dryer (fire concerns). So it was like an apartment laundry room - you went down to do laundry, and if you couldn’t use a machine, you came back at another time. As to the sub moving - only in some conditions. I was surprized that (unlike portrayed in most movies) while diving and ascending, the sub usually remained horizontal so it was imperceptible - the only indication was watching the changes on the depth displays. Same with turning - we never really did any “hard banking”, which is possible, so for the most part turning was imperceptible (keep in mind, most of the turns were pretty wide/slow). They did do the “angles and dangles” drill to shake things loose, and then (intentionally) the sub tilted down, then up at increasingly severe angles. The most fun was doing a “push up” off the floor to “standing” (leaning). ---
**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 1, 2010, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-life-culture-shock-like-on-submarines/555251/22 "2010-10-01T13:06:38Z")
> [@Omi\_no\_Kami](#): > > Incidentally, how does socializing end up working out? I knew an intelligence analyst who went on a few deployments and told me that he ended up in a very tight clique with his fellow analysts and had very little to do with the rest of the crew. Does the same thing end up happening across the board, where you end up spending your free time with the same people you work with, or is it more like prison where your social group is different from your barracks/work group? I was a junior officer (JO), so I tended to hang out with the other JO’s. I also had housemates off the boat who were JO’s. (A group of us had a shared lease for a rental house.) Due to fraternization concerns, hanging out socially with enlisted guys was strongly discouraged. On watch, though, especially back in the engineroom, we used to shoot the shit to pass the time, but as the senior guy on watch, I was expected to remain a bit detached. > [@Omi\_no\_Kami](#): > > Also, my understanding is that a lot of recruiters try to lock smart guys into nuke school, but how are non-nuke enlisted personnel assigned to their specialty or department? Do they get a choice of advanced schools, or are they simply assigned to a specialty straight out of basic sub school based on their performance and the current needs of the fleet? In general, sailors get input for their assignments and specialty, but the needs of the Navy is the highest priority. > [@Omi\_no\_Kami](#): > > Also, this is more of a general Navy question, but I’ve heard the terms “A school” and “Q school” thrown around- what, if anything, is the difference? Are they both just different types of advanced programs? An “A” school is the first technical school an enlisted sailor attends (after boot camp). It’s where Electronics Technicians learn electronics, for example. Never heard of a “Q” school. > [@Disheavel](#): > > I can’t find answers to my questions in the previous thread so I’ll put them here: > > 1. How often are uniforms/bedding laundered? Is the laundry a special duty on board? In my experience, the most junior guy from each division is usually tasked with doing everyone’s laundry in the division. Each division usually has one assigned day per week that they are allowed to use the machines. The Mess Management Specialist (MS) assigned to the wardroom did the laundry for the officers, which I thought was more than a bit elitist–but I wasn’t given the option to do it myself. > [@Disheavel](#): > > 1. Can you feel the sub moving? Can you feel it turn? Does it tilt when turning? For ballistic missile submarines like the ones that **cormac262** rode on, plodding along at “3 knots to nowhere,” most motion is fairly imperceptible. Fast attack submarines tend to maneuver a bit more energetically. A turn at high speed creates a noticeable bank, as does accelerating to flank speed. You definitely feel motion on the surface, too. With a circular hull cross-section, submarines tend to roll on the surface. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-life-culture-shock-like-on-submarines/555251/23 "2010-10-01T13:49:11Z")
Do SSBNs just go somewhere and wait? I don’t see the point of moving about-especially since it is easier to detect a moving sub than a stationary one. Would it make sense to a SSBN to park itself on the bottom and concentrate on being quiet? Or do you damage a sub by doing this? ---
**Author:** ![Valgard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/7feea3/32.png) [@Valgard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Valgard)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2010, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-life-culture-shock-like-on-submarines/555251/24 "2010-10-01T15:32:55Z")
Response from my friend who served on a boomer: One of the characteristics of submarines is that everyone has multiple jobs. So the short answer is, no, you never stop learning outside your own specialization. This is even more so for officers, who will even tend to head up many different departments over the course of their submarine career. Essentially, you are expected to constantly work on new qualifications for additional duties. One example: rescue swimmer. There is no actual specialty for a rescue swimmer, however when we are maneuvering out of port we are required to have - I think it was 3 - rescue swimmers on station in case somebody goes overboard. So there was an additional course + qualification exam to become certified for that. I did that, so I was one of the people who could be assigned that duty. Another example: submarine safety inspector (i did this one too). All components in the submarine which have any relevance in keeping the ocean out (so-called pressure bearing parts) must fulfill much more stringent safety standards. So, in addition to the specialist who installs e.g. a replacement part, someone who has qualified as a “subsafe” QA inspector must double-check that everything was done correctly. That qualification involves an additional training course, obviously. It never stops. You’re always qualifying for and fulfilling additional duties because there are so many jobs on the submarine which are not covered by the full-time job-specialties. ---
**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 2, 2010, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-life-culture-shock-like-on-submarines/555251/25 "2010-10-02T16:44:26Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Do SSBNs just go somewhere and wait? More or less–but in a large assigned area. Nobody off the boat knows exactly where a submarine is–which is a good thing for security reasons. > [@ralph124c](#): > > I don’t see the point of moving about-especially since it is easier to detect a moving sub than a stationary one. A submarine moving very slowly makes no more perceptible noise than a stationary submarine. One reason that submarines want to keep moving is to maintain steerageway. The rudder and control planes don’t work if you’re stationary. > [@ralph124c](#): > > Would it make sense to a SSBN to park itself on the bottom and concentrate on being quiet? No. > [@ralph124c](#): > > Or do you damage a sub by doing this? Yes–you would clog the seawater intakes with sediment. Also, the average depth of the world’s oceans is about 12,500 feet, and from the U.S. Navy’s submarine [FAQs](http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/faq.html): > [@Chief of Naval Operations](#): > > U.S. Navy submarines can submerge deeper than 800 feet. The actual depth is classified, but it is less than the deep-diving U.S. Navy-supported civilian research submarines that explore the bottom of the oceans. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2010, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-life-culture-shock-like-on-submarines/555251/26 "2010-10-02T22:42:34Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Do SSBNs just go somewhere and wait? > I don’t see the point of moving about-especially since it is easier to detect a moving sub than a stationary one. Would it make sense to a SSBN to park itself on the bottom and concentrate on being quiet? > Or do you damage a sub by doing this? There are a few submarines designed to rest on the ocean floor in littoral regions, but they’re intended for ELINT missions or to support covert deployment of SpecOps forces. Modern SSBNs are quieter in normal operation than the surrounding acoustic environment, and follow a patrol pattern that keeps them in a launch range. If they rested on the floor, there are only limited places they could sit, and could be found by high resolution sonar mapping comparison or magnetic anomaly detection. As for the o.p., while modern subs (especially boomers) aren’t as cramped as German WWII-era U-boats, the film _Das Boot_ provides a good idea of the claustrophobic environment and insular life abort a submarine. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2010, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-life-culture-shock-like-on-submarines/555251/27 "2010-10-03T12:25:49Z")
I’ve sank many battleships in the game " You Sank My Battleship" so if I can help out in any way 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-life-culture-shock-like-on-submarines/555251.md?page=1)