Text 14737, 55 rader
Skriven 2008-10-07 12:30:22 av hap newsom (1:124/311)
     Kommentar till en text av DALE SHIPP
Ärende: RE: Military
====================
Hey Dale!
-> 
->  HN> I spent my first 18 years on a lot of AF bases so I knew 
->  HN> them a lot better..and most of my school friends were
->  HN> pretty much the same, so we knew lots of bases where
->  HN> others had been stationed as well as the ones we had 
->  HN> lived on.
->  
-> What was your sub?   We were on the Nautilus today.  First time we have
-> been below decks on a boat.  We were both amazed at the cramped
-> sleeping, eating and cooking space.
-> 
-> What are your memories on that?
-> 
-> Dale
-> 
Since you've been on a boat ( One of my shipmates 
was a helmsman on the Nautilus when she went under 
the North Pole), you'll understand that it takes a 
special kind of person to serve on one, it's all voluntary 
and many who volunteer never make it to the boats. I 
was on the USS John Adams SSBN 620 (blue crew). 
Once you are a submariner and qualified on submarines 
you get to put (SS) behind your rating and rank title So 
I was Hap Newsom FTB2(SS). When you go to a new boat
you have to requalify on that particular boat, but you always
get to keep the (SS) in your title once you earn it.  Boats are
by neccesity economical with space (grin) so there is very 
little wasted space on a sub. I loved being a sub sailor. 35 years
later I still miss it and still stay in contact with many of the 
friends I made while aboard the John Adams. If I hadn't met Anne
and gotten married, I more than likely would have stayed in
the navy for 30 years...but the sub service and marriages 
don't usually mix well, with over an 85 % divorce rate (and it
may be higher), it's tough to stay married and be away on 
patrol for most of your career. The biggest thing is that when 
a surface ship goes out, she can get and send mail, radio 
messages, cellphones and even internet now...boats go out
and submerge and are totally silent until they return. No mail
no cellphones, no internet, no nothing...that's the mission.
When we were on patrol we'd never surface, and we'd only
get 5 "family grams" a patrol, family would fill out a telegraph 
type of form with a message, send it to the Sub's office 
where the "off" crew was located, and then it would be sent
out with regular coded radio traffic for reception by the fleet. 
So when on patrol you'd expect to get 5 "telegraph" type of 
messages before you got back to port. 

My boat was decommissioned in 1989 but the crews that 
served on her still have reunions and they are the best 
bunch of shipmates you'd ever want!
chat with you soon!
hap 
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