Years of Intense Training to Prepare for the 10 Boat

I mentioned during the first USS Augusta reunion many of us got tours on the USS Hawaii. I spotted an article in Honolulu Magazine which featured the SSN-776

http://www.honolulumagazine.com/Honolulu-Magazine/August-2010/Editor-039s-Page-Excellence-and-Mysteries/index.php

Here is a quote from the article... "One thing that hasn’t changed is how difficult it is to be a submariner. It can take a year of intense training before a sailor is qualified to wear the dolphin insignia of the submarine service. On top of that qualification, officers have to pass courses in nuclear power that rival MIT’s. "

It reminded me of cleaning sh[..]ter ball valves with my bare hands for 18 months on the "Stony J" before reporting to the new construction USS Augusta. A good percentage of the forward crew on my first boat were former convicted felons for violent crimes and drugs. Back then the recruiters had a hard time getting people to enlist for 75 bucks a week. Sure there was the special nature of the work... " would you mind being submerged for 3 or 4 months with a bunch of X cons and nukes and get the job to fry a billion people if ordered to? Yes we were a special group of guys.

And the article was partially correct, there were a few guys that passed nuclear power classes that would rival MIT and they were almost always great guys. I was fortunate to live with the nukes on our precomm unit barracks up at EB. I was always in awe of anyone could pass the rigors of the US Navy Nuclear Engineering program. They deserved great credit and the article did try to convey that.

When I was mopping up blood alley on the Stony J, I did not realize for years after that I also had special training that prepared me for life on the USS Augusta. But it would have rivaled the cleaning lady who cleaned the kitchen of an MIT frat house after the giant keg party at the beginning of the school year. Anyway I'm glad I survived the rigors of that too... !!