First, I would have to say, that my 20+ years in the submarine force was neither glamorous or extraordinary. It was a pretty run of the mill career of performing my duties to the best of my abilities, staying out of trouble, and supporting the commands I was assigned to. As I'm sure many sailors can reflect, at times, keeping all these in balance was a real challenge.
Training
I joined the Navy in 1975, attending bootcamp in Orlando, Florida. This was my first real introduction to regimen and discipline. Having come from a fairly free upbringing, this was quite a shock to me. However, I seemed to adapt well and fit into the structure I was engulfed in.
I then attended Electronics Technician "A" school at Great Lakes Naval Training Center in Illinois, Naval Nuclear Power School at Mare Island Naval Station, Vallejo, CA (class 7701), and Naval Nuclear Power Prototype Training in Idaho Falls, Idaho. After 2 years of training, indoctrination, shaping, and molding into the "Rickover" way of thinking, I was assigned to my first ship in the summer of 1977.
USS Birmingham SSN-695 New Construction
I was assigned to the Precommissioning Crew of the USS Birmingham SSN-695. I stayed with the ship for 4 years. I arrived as a 3rd Class Petty Officer and left as a 1st Class Petty Officer. During this time, the crew oversaw the building and outfitting of the 5th 688 Class submarine built by
Newport News Ship Building. As anyone who has been through a ship's new construction period can tell you, this is an extremely arduous period on the crew, including long work hours, training, poor working conditions, and again, long work hours.
After the ship's commissioning in December 1978, we conducted the ship's shakedown cruises and certifications. This included many trips to sunny Fort Lauderdale. Truly a fun time was had by all (The crew was particularly impressed with the capabilities of the 688 class submarine. It was still a new toy in the Navy's bag of tricks). The ship then returned to Newport News for its Post Shakedown Availability. During this time, we had a large turnover in the crew and I found myself rising rapidly up the chain of advancement and responsibility. But one the most important events was that I had finally earned my Dolphins.
After this last shipyard period, the ship passed all it's certifications for it's first overseas deployment to the Mediterranean.
MED RUN July 29, 1980 - February 18, 1981
It was on this run that I learned what being a sailor truely meant. Yes, I had learned how to be a "Nuke", and I had been to sea, but to be part of a mission was something I had not ever imagined.
From the start I knew it was going to be an exciting time. All the workups were over, personal belongings were put into storage, and finances put in order. I was ready to go. What I hadn't expected was that the night before we were suppose to get underway, our Leading Petty Officer decided to get drunk (again). As you can guess, he was in no condition to get on board in the morning. He was kicked off the boat, leaving me in charge of a five man Reactor Controls Division which was suppose to have eight. Needless to say, we were very undermanned and had difficulty keeping the watchbill filled. We left the Norfolk Naval Base on July 29, 1980.
The run was originally scheduled to last four months, assuring us that we would be home for Christmas. This suited everyone just fine since this was the first extended period of time away from home and we were still a relatively inexperienced crew. However, our learining curve was fast and we were soon operating like a well oiled machine, taking on more challenging situations on a daily basis. The 80's were an exciting time. Being the height of the Cold War, and we were on the front lines.
During the first four months, we made port calls to Cartegena Spain, Naples Italy, and of course La Maddalena where we were based. On the 29th of November, we received the fateful message that the run was to be extended for an additional three months, to February 1981. This, of course, would mean that we would miss Christmas with our families. Morale took a plunge that day. However, we were given a consolation prize of port visits to Lisbon, Portugal and Haifa, Israel.
While Lisbon was fun, the trip to Haifa was, in my opinion, the highlight of the entire run. We arrived to a warm reception by the Israelis on December 24th, Christmas Eve. From celebrating Christmas Mass with Airforce General David Jones, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to tours of Jerusalem and Galilee, with few exceptions, I believe everyone had a wonderful time.
After an extended visit to Gibraltar at the end of January, we finally completed an uneventful trip across the Atlantic to arrive back in Norfolk on February 18, 1981. We were greeted by fiends, family, and fanfare.
During this run, I was promoted to 1st Class Petty Officer, the Engineering Department received an Above Average score on its Operational Reactor Safeguards Examination, and the ship was awarded the Sixth Fleet Hook-em Award and the Meritorious Unit Commendation Award. It was quite a trip.
Time for a Change
Shortly after completing my first overseas deployment, I was transferred to the USS Houston SSN-713 Precommissioning Unit to start the new construction process all over again.