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Submarines are a hazardous environment. The hazards alone may kill us, living among so many hazards can be stressful.
There are gases that may escape and kill us [ocean water going into the battery well will release Chlorine gas]. I have been in flooding incidents.
There are high voltages all around us. A friend was electrocuted while testing voltages on the reactor control breakers.
3600psi hydraulic systems that form leaks [the leaking fluids have enough force to slice you in half].
There are many systems exposed to full sea-pressure, leaks can be 'bad'.
I have been in fires underwater.
On my first boat 4 crewmen were killed when a civilian crane operator dropped a pallet of food on them, as they stood topside with their seabags in hand waiting to walk across the brow to go home.
American submarine hulls are flexible like spring steel, as we go deep our hulls compress. Decks can not be solid mounted, they must be hung from shock absorbers, to stay flexible.
One time I had to make repairs to the 'back-plain' of a mainframe computer. To access it, I had to climb into the framebays and come down between piping, into the back of the computer, suspended upside down. While I was soldering wires a soviet sub was detected and we had to go much deeper to avoid being detected. As we went deeper, our hull compressed and the pipes that I was fitted between pinned me. They cracked some of my ribs and prevented me from being able to expand my ribs to inhale. My coworkers were watching test signals and tried to get me to focus on finishing the solder job, but I had a difficult time with the pain and not being able to breathe. After a while the soviet sub left the area, we were able to return to a shallow depth and the pipes released me. That incident caused me some mental anguish over the image of being crushed.
On my last boat, I had reached my 'Planned Rotation Date' [PRD] and I had orders to shore duty, when my chief pulled strings to cancel my orders, intending to keep me on-board for another patrol. It is a trick they can use called 'involuntarily extending you onboard until further notice'. We had an argument that went on for a few weeks. I think he enjoyed taunting me over it. Eventually I assaulted him, the entire crew knew the backstory and the CO refused to mast me. I was given another set of orders to shore duty.
There are places where we can tie a taut string 'athwartships' from one side of the hull to the other side. When the boat is on the surface, the hull is relaxed. But as we submerge the hull compresses. So the string could be taut when we are on the surface, and at depth the string will be slack. That may freak-out newbies.
LOL there's even a movie scene where they do that -- I forget which movie it was.
Usually submariners love to pull pranks on each other.
Pseudo-weight gain is a good one. It starts when you tell a guy that he looks like he has put on some weight. Then spread the word around, soon everyone is telling him the same thing. When we go to sleep everyone hangs their coveralls by their rack, access it and trim the length of his belt by 1/4 inch. Repeat this part every day for a week. As his belt gets tighter and everyone keeps telling him that he is packing on the weight, at the end of a week the man will really increase his workout routine. Doc will usually step in right after the cooks put the guy on reduced rations.
But then again Doc has some of the best pranks. They stock pills that can turn your urine to any color of the rainbow, and the only reason they stock that stuff is to prank people. Doc can seriously mess with someone after their urine has gone from green to bright red.
How is the food? Is like buffet style? All you can eat? Snacks in between? If you catch a craving for a sandwich in the middle of the night, can you go to the mess hall (or whatever it's called) and grab a bite?
What about entertainment such as movies, internet, etc. during off-duty time?
I served on a fast attack sub and although our deployments were usually much longer than the boomers (sometimes we away from home port for 7-11 months), the longest I was ever submerged at one time was 27 days. The only time we were on the surface is when we were heading into or out of a port. Life on the boat was described pretty well above, we stood watch, performed maintenance, trained, ran drills and watched a few movies. When I served (1975-1981) movies consisted of reels and a projector (16 mm, I think) in the crews mess area (dining room). The fast attack boats are somewhat smaller than the boomers so there was no crew break room or 9 man bunk areas. We only had three bunk areas for the entire enlisted crew. I never witness anyone going crazy or the need to be locked up. For the most part, life underway was kinda boring so you would read a lot and as pointed out above, mess with the newbie's (new unqualified guys). Nothing serious or harmful, just a reminder they have a lot to learn in a short time before they become an active part of the crew.
My job was a reactor operator, which involved a few years of training before I was actually assigned to a boat. Once onboard I then spent several months training on the specifics of the boat's reactor plant and systems. Once qualified to stand watch, we continued to train and run drills to ensure we remained proficient in what we did. Food was GREAT and snacks were pretty much available anytime. Due to the close quarters and the intensity of life aboard a sub the friends you make are for life. I am still very close to those I served with and their wives 36 years later.
I have been on tours of old diesel boats and based on what I have seen would not be interested in that duty. However, I salute those who did, their life was much more dangerous and demanding.
Sub duty is voluntary and if I were to do it again, I wouldn't change a thing.
Lou
Last edited by sailor_lou; 12-10-2017 at 08:51 AM..
I've had a tour of an attack boat, courtesy of a fellow officer. That was in the 60s. It was interesting and the education, which never seems to stop, is from sub school on. Not for me, I preferred to be out on deck, close to the sea, not under it We once detected what we know was a nuke, by accident; boy was it fast. I was the ASW officer.
I'm an "Airedale". I worked on the Polris project in 1963. I flew photographers out to film the first ever launch of an A3 Polaris. Out in the Gulf Stream at noon, you can see the boat. You can see the hatch open. You can see the launch. As the bird leaps out of the water it just hesitates a moment before the rocket motor ignites. Man, does that exhaust STINK!
I got to go out on a day cruise on the Andy Jackson. (Don't remember the SSBN number.) I was impressed. Awesome ship. I also got to go on a day cruise on the Redfin. It was a WWII sub and ran on battery power only. She was an acoustical research sub and was very quiet. No Diesels. They recharged the boat at the pier at Port Canaveral.
How is the food? Is like buffet style? All you can eat? Snacks in between? If you catch a craving for a sandwich in the middle of the night, can you go to the mess hall (or whatever it's called) and grab a bite?
What about entertainment such as movies, internet, etc. during off-duty time?
Just form my experience eon the SSBN; there are four meals a day, food is generally good and is on a set rotation pretty much, pizza night on Saturdays, chicken nuggets, wednesdays, etc. It is not buffet style (as in help yourself), they have servers and you just pick what you want and they put it on the plate for you, so I guess I would say it is buffet style except you do not put it on the plate yourself, lol.
There is a center island that will have a salad bar, dessert plates, fruit, etc. Those are help your self.
In between meals, they usually have something out on the center island, packs of instant oatmeal, whatever. Drinks are always available. There is a soda machine, poweraide, and some diet fruit punch mix thing, and water of course.
Not all you can eat, but you can get seconds towards the end of the meal if they let you, priority is to ensure everyone is fed, also for the midnight meals, they may have planned for left over dinner to be part of it. You get enough though in one serving to be full.
The justice system is the same as throughout the Navy, nothing special because being on a submarine.
As for jail, never thought about it, never had any incident that would require someone to be physically confined. I am thinking they would use the wardroom as a jail cell though as it is easy to secure and guard and is the most non-essential room on board (for the Ohio class that is). Maybe the supply room, but that is more essential, even underway, than the wardroom.
They would be handcuffed to a permanent object. One case I know off to a torpedo rack.
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