The Great American Nuke Novel
A new reader pointed out a "book" written by a nuke on USS Olympia and stored on Oregon State University's server. I haven't read the whole thing, but it's a no-crap book, 200 pages in total, with chapters and everything. (It looks like it has 12 full chapters, plus 8 more that are waiting to be fleshed out.) Especially useful are the appendices, with discussions of nuclear power and submarine movies, along with a really good glossary. An excerpt:
Then I got to the Oly, SRB in hand, and they saidIt could be worth a read; the first six chapters are the author's experience in the nuke pipeline (including a stint in Idaho), so all nukes can appreciate that part. Hopefully the book will get fleshed out and get a publisher -- I'd buy it.
"You have just made the worst mistake
That a young sailor can"
And, on my first underway, I knew they were right
It's a really, really sh**ty job
And there's just no end in sight
Last thing I remember
I was running for the brow
"I think I've had enough of this
And I want to go home now"
"Relax" said the topside "we all need to relieve"
"You're the newest NUB on board, and you can never
leave"
-Hotel 717, from the EM Log
posted by Bubblehead at 10:20 AM
13 Comments:
It should make most nukes have gut-wrenching, potent flashbacks in the first few chapters and then most every submariner after that.
10/23/2007 10:46 AM
There is another similar book called: 2190 Days: My Navy Adventure, by Daniel Bil. It is available on Amazon.com.
10/23/2007 1:24 PM
Trying to figure out who this dude is - some things he says make it osund like he got to the boat after I transferred, but other things sound like he was there when I was.
Either way, he definitely needs to fill out those final chapters! I'd buy a copy, too.
10/23/2007 5:38 PM
I've had this on my hard drive for over 4 years now, and an extensive search of the net failed to find any trace of the author. I was really getting into the story when it abruptly stopped. Lets just say there are similar experiences for any young man going through recruit school and tech training, no matter which navy.
Hope the 'power' of this blog can uncover some more info...
DBF!
10/23/2007 8:23 PM
That pdf has been floating around on USS Ronald Reagan's Reactor department LAN for the better part of 3 years now- I think everybody in the department has read it, and we'd love to see a conclusion.
10/24/2007 10:28 AM
I've heard most of these sea stories before on different boats - I think its just a collection of them someone kept.
10/24/2007 1:23 PM
bublehead,
Totally OT but I want to get this around. It is a beautiful song.
I Wanna Go Home
The author has given permission to those currently serving in the military who buy the song to share it with nine of their best buddies, wives, husbands, parents, or children.
If you like it, pass it on.
10/24/2007 4:59 PM
Pretty funny read. Reading the glossary and finding the definition of "FTN" brought back one particular memory.
On a Sunday before departing SD for weekly ops, I had the misfortune of having duty. That particular day, the Eng ordered the EDO & EDPO to have us paint lagging in the ER. When told of this, I argued that we were violating regs given that our departure time was so close. It didn't matter - paint the #@^*%$! lagging. Who was I to disobey? So, in fine Navy fashion I painted the dingy lagging on the stbd main engine a brilliant white. The only problem was that I spent the WHOLE time painting a large FTN across the outboard side. Needless to say, when we were told to stop painting, I was very pleased with my attempt at becoming an artiste.
No one noticed my handiwork until several days into the underway when the XO ventured into the ER. Needless to say, there was much wailing and gnashing of teeth, and upon return to port, there was more painting to be done.
Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, something about how the paint cured on the lagging prevented it from being hidden. Regardless of how many times it was painted over, the good ol' giant FTN was still visible a couple of years later when I left the boat. 8-)
10/25/2007 2:36 AM
Just finished reading it. Yes it leaves me wanting to read more and he was kinda beating up coners especially us SonarMEN. Too bad it's been years since he updated it. He may never finish it.
10/25/2007 5:48 PM
A terrific read....memories came flooding back. I LOVED the glossary...
10/25/2007 8:33 PM
A good read. From the Glossary; Malicious Compliance. Is that real?
10/29/2007 8:28 PM
Yes, and I’ll give you an example:
Right after they finished building NAVIMFAC in Pearl Harbor, they started moving in repair commands from both the skimmer base and the sub base. The skimmers had been manning a gate watch on one of their piers; supposedly a security watch, but really a check to make sure none of those skuzzy enlisted folk tried to park in the thirty or so reserved slots adjacent to it. You could tell security wasn’t the real issue – anyone could walk on unchallenged; we were only checking people who tried to >drive< on.
Well, one sunny day the skimmers tried to get my duty section at NAVIMFAC to start covering this gate watch, which was all the way on the other side of the harbor. As we didn’t have any spare people, I and the other first class in the section decided to go P & S until the DO could come back at tell them to pack sand.
I took the first watch, and the first thing I did was read the laminated “instructions” inside the little booth they had for us. They basically said to stop every vehicle, check IDs, and make sure they had a special parking pass for the pier in addition to a base sticker. Interestingly, the instructions specifically stated that DON vehicles (back, then, all we had were ugly white Chevy pickups and vans, so these were easy to spot) were also to have a pass. No pass-ee, no park-ee.
Well, let me tell you, that was one aggravating watch. The enlisted folk knew better than to try, so the only people who drove up on my post were officers and civilians. With very few exceptions, none of them had the correct pass (and some couldn’t even produce an ID card). And, without exception, they tried to intimidate me into letting them by without it.
That crap may work on the usual E-2 skimmer they had manning the gate, but I was less than impressed. I had my DO’s duty cell phone number memorized, and I was more than happy to give it to each LT or LCDR that threatened me with everything short of keelhauling. They complained, but they didn’t get on the pier.
Luckily for me, the DO that day was a submariner, too, and he was kind enough to back me up. But, after about three hours of standing gate guard, he was told by higher ups to secure the watch, permanently. No one from NAVIMFAC manned it again, as far as I know.
Later on, one of those I’d turned away threatened to write me up for malicious compliance, though I can’t see what harm came from him having to walk a few extra yards. Lord knows, he needed some exercise. I didn’t know what it was at the time, and had to look it up. It must be a skimmer thing.
10/30/2007 6:26 PM
This is great, and the memories came flooding back of the countless drunken nights in good old Orlando. I hope he finishes this and I would definately buy a copy.
11/03/2007 7:21 PM
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