I did a few months aboard that boat back in 1971. it was a good boat with a great crew.

 

Once my boat was in dry dock up in Bremerton. The crew was staying in the barracks on the Bangor base. I wanted to see an Ohio class and got a tour on the USS Michigan.

It was huge inside ! It seemed so spacious. I couldn't believe I was on a submarine. Not just the missile compartment, but everywhere. The crew's mess, the control room, everything seemed supersized.

Seriously, if you thought a boomer was small and cramped, you should see the inside of a fast attack sub. When I was qualifying, I banged my head so many times it's not funny. My department head had less personal space than the lowest enlisted member on a boomer crew. You get a small bunk locker under your rack. That's it. My first Westpac, I had to hot rack.

The Trident bases's facilities were so nice too. The galley was like eating at a restaurant. And the Trident Refit Facility shops were world class. The IMA on our base was nonexistent by comparison. Fast attack crews have to do almost all of their own maintenance work.
You can tell where the Navy puts its priorities.

No doubt, SSBNs are the lap of luxury compared to a fast attack sub.

I remember the COB saying it's better to do an SSN tour first. The boomer guys that transferred to our boat were hating life. But we had an expression. No slack in a fast attack. No pride in a Trident ride. At least that's what we told ourselves to feel better about getting screwed.

SSN = Saturdays, Sundays, and Nights. Although I think our missions were more interesting than deterrent patrols.

 

Nice article by Pounder! How about finding the rest of the bubbleheads. Bill's career is a tough act to follow but my enlistment was started in Key West on the USS Grenadier (SS 525). You think the fast attack was cramped??? Try a WW11 diesel boat. That was Feb. 1964 to Sep. 1965. From there I spent the remaining two years on the USS John C. Calhoun (SSBN 630), Charleston, SC. Four years and out.

 

YEP,,,, NUKES and Forward Pukes, or better known as CONERS "as in the pointy end of the ship! I was a CONER.

Most Nukes get PRO PAY,, Extra money for just being a Nuke. Then you hear them COMPLAIN about Nuke CRAP. :

Us forward guys just look at them and say,,, SHUT UP and PUSH Nuke LOL!

Your Son will need about a year on the ship to get ALL his qualifications done. That includes Ships quals and Divisional quals.

Once he is qualified everything, there are PLENTY of collage programs for him to keep going and time to take that on. If he doesn't get it done on the ship, there's LOTs of time on Shore Duty..

Good luck to your Son. I'm very happy I volunteered for Submarine Duty.

Bill