Submarines

[dawagarage]

Originally Posted by MADE

This is good stuff, I been to Point Loma several times before I realized they actually had subs on that side. From the top side they look rarely small or noticable.

the subs at point loma are the smaller guys, and you really cant appreciate any ship's size until you see it in dry dock. then youre like "damn"

Originally Posted by TheWolf

got a lot of friends that are on subs from kings bay,GA..

kinda cool to see one of them come in. They really don't surface till they get near the shipping channel.

yeah the safest place to be for a sub is submerged, so we dont like to come up until we have to. we're too much of a sitting duck.

Originally Posted by Tearlessj

Amazing stuff in the thread. How is the pay? I'm sure it's worth it?

we get our basic pay, as well as sea pay just like any other sea going sailor. the only additional pay we get is 'submarine duty pay' which for me right now is $275 extra a month. the guys that work directly with the nuclear reactor get 'nuke pay' as well, which i think is 150 a month. but when you go out to sea for a few months, youre not spending the majority of your money so when you come back its like a little bonus.

Originally Posted by Matej

Are there any medical risks or precautions, when locked in with a nuclear reactor?
I am curious how safe it is now. When nuclear power first started being harnessed to drive things, one could not count on having kids in the future or living forever.

in regards to nuclear risk, etc... there arent any really. we all wear devices on our belts that measure the amount of radiation we receive, theyre called dosimeters. every few months the dosimeters are sent in to a lab to be checked to see how much radiation each of us has been exposed to. the safe 'limit' that the navy has set in place for us is actually LESS than what the safe limit is for the average citizen.

Originally Posted by chato de shamrock

Since you could hear marine creatures with the sonar, ever caught any pods of dolphins wigging out from your sub's sonar? Once pulled into port, ever wonder how many marine creatures your sonar must have fudged during your two, three month stint?

we rarely if ever use active sonar, which is more harmful. i dont really know how harmful passive sonar is. however, sadly i do know that marine life is harmed. i think it was in the newspaper a couple months ago about how a whale was beached because it had been hit with sonar. sad story. personally i think it sucks, but its one of those 'evil necessities.'