15 JUNE 2012
1733
It's been a busy past few days since I've last blogged! On Wednesday the 13th, we mustered at 0900 to start our adventure to the submarine! There was a lot of hurry and wait, but we finally made it to the airport of North Island. My group got to fly half way and take the tug the remainder of the way.
I've only toured a fast attack, so I was expecting very limited space. However, the SSBN was HUGE! Once we boarded the sub and took our last breath of fresh air for the next 24 hours, we were divided into 4 groups and assigned to a group leader. My group leader was LT Dunn. He was awesome! I knew he'd be cool after I saw him in his American flag toms.
On the sub, it's a much more relaxed environment. We were regular tennis shoes (or in LT Dunn's case, Tom's) and one guy even wore his Sperry's. The guys aren't even forced to shave! Although they do normal keep a clean face. I did see lot's of mustaches though...
When we first arrived we were given Snickers, M&M's, candy, and trail mix. Little did we know this would be the first of the continuous food they would shower us with. LT Dunn gave us a tour of the boat and showed us where our berthing was and we were given free time to explore. Since we were only at PD (periscope depth) I went up to the bridge to take a look. It was quite the climb! I also looked out the periscope which is always cool too.
A couple hours after boarding we "Dive, Dive, Dive!" I was sitting in the officer's study, and watching the depth increase was crazy. It went from 65 to a few hundred feet deep VERY quickly. I always thought I would freak out being underwater in a sub, but it was honestly no different than being inside a ship except subs don't rock and roll and actually, being inside a sub is more like being inside a building with no windows. It's smooth, steady, and roomy.
Two groups had dinner in the wardroom while the other two ate in the mess deck with the enlisted. We had spaghetti and it was REALLY GOOD. In fact, the food was probably the best part. Only a couple hours after dinner we had angles and dangles where right after, we were given pizza and cake and grapes. I was so stuffed from dinner I didn't eat any pizza (ok, I had a bite) but I had some grapes!
The sub performed some maneuvering transients and engineering drills, but I hung out with my friends in our berthings. Right before pizza we also did angles and dangles. It's sooo fun! Since the sub was at such a steep angle, I could do a pushup and push myself up into a standing position. People were hanging from the ceiling too! So fun.
Going into sub week, we all thought for sure we'd stay up all 24 hours. But after watching Anchorman in the wardroom, we were all super tired. and to be honest, there really wasn't that much to do.... so I went to sleep. I had my alarm set for 0500 to wake up for breakfast, but I didn't make it... so we woke up at 0700 when the MC1 told us to get out of bed.
Then, it was "WAR TIME!" I went down to the torpedo room where we got to climb inside the tube and write our names. Crazy to think that a simple hatch separates me from being absolutely crushed under hundreds of feet of water. They shot water slugs for entertainment purposes and we had a DC Olympics. We were split into four groups to race against each other to "put out the fire." My team got 2nd place. I really enjoyed the DC Olympics. It was the most engaging activity we did. However, since we were in the presence of fighting a "fire" we had to wear those masks and (never do I ever) get claustrophobic, but those masks freak me out. Still, it was a lot of fun.
I got to have lunch in the wardroom with the CO. The lunch menu included:
Tomato soup and salad
spicy chicken fingers
shrimp scampi
brown rice
green beans
biscuits
apple sauce cake and vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup
I have probably gained at least a solid 5 lbs from CORTRAMID. They feed us so much.
After lunch, we got changed back into our boots, said our goodbyes, and waited on the tug to pick us up. I was and wasn't looking forward to the tug ride. It was 5 hours long. I mainly slept, but visited with some friends off and on as well. Finally had my feet back on solid ground and was pretty happy too.
Spending these two days are the sub were such an adventure. I have solidified my inkling that maybe subs aren't for me into subs definitely aren't for me. I go stir crazy much too easily when I have to stay in one place too long, and I was only on the sub for 24 hours and I was going crazy. However, their missions and objectives are some of the coolest and craziest and most admirable of them all. Submarine warfare is necessary and for those who want to go subs, I believe the experience will be truly enriching and everything they want to get out of being a Naval officer.
I'll keep my head above the ocean in the sunshine personally though :)
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