Tweeters On USS Hampton
As I type, several San Diego-area Twitter users are embarked on USS Hampton (SSN 767) on a day trip arranged by the Navy to, apparently, get good press from the local Tweeters. Here's a live feed. (There might be a better one, but I'm completely unfamiliar with Twitter.) And here's an earlier blog entry from one of the guys who's there.
I think this is a good thing from the public relations standpoint, and I'm sure the crew was REALLY, really excited to get underway on a Friday to show a bunch of netheads around the boat. What's the tour group that's most "excited" you for which you've gotten underway to show around for a day?
Update 1720 19 Jan: Here's an after-action report.
posted by Bubblehead at 4:03 PM
24 Comments:
Not a tour group but we got underway on a weekend to shoot an Admiral's ashes out a torpedo tube.
1/15/2010 4:40 PM
A freakin' dependents cruise. Single nukes had to go so we could stand watch while Homer showed wifey around up forward.
1/15/2010 5:57 PM
Hell, on the Miami they cut a Fort L. liberty port short so we could take the Miami city council and Janet farking Reno out for a day.
1/15/2010 8:44 PM
We never did that. Our riders had to stay for the whole enchilada.
1/15/2010 8:57 PM
Didn't know we still do this stuff after Waddle crashed trying to impress... Get the scope up about 10ft or even broach to get a better look before you decide to launch an almost 7000 ton bullet through the water. I wonder how such educated men can make poor decisions just to impress riders..
Guess that's why I went to civvie land after 4yrs and don't regret it.
1/15/2010 9:45 PM
I did five dependent/VIP cruises on 3 different boats. I had my Dad out twice, my Aunt once, My Wife once and my Uncle and Cousin. On top of that, the Chicago was a VIP Cruise ship extraordinaire. The 721 Club would ride at least once a year. They did so much for the crew that it was a pleasure to have them. I as a single sailor on three of the cruises and I loved every one of them.
I had a blast showing the boat off. I gave constant tours and was very proud of Agang and the AMR. It gave people a real appreciation about what and how we did it.
I even stood watch outside AMR 1 on a 637 so my best friend and his wife could get busy. At other times, there were brat children whose dad couldn’t control them any better than he could his division on the boat. And then there was a Stupanic type of TM who had to take his life size nude picture of his wife off the bulkhead of his rack in the bow compartment. I think he had her in there for real though.
It’s a good thing that Anon 9:45 PM got out after four years. He’s the piece of crap nub that we would send back aft to clean while the cruise was going on.
That Damn Good Looking Aganger From Iowa
1/15/2010 10:23 PM
We took ADM Konetzki on a VIP cruise with some Japanese upper government-types in '96. Went so well he gave us the keys to his bar at the Submarine Sanctuary and a port call to the PI. Well worth it. I got to take my son on a day cruise. It was nice to show him some of what I did when I was gone.
People complain about these VIP cruises, but I wonder where we'd be without them.
1/16/2010 5:44 AM
"What's the tour group that's most "excited" you for which you've gotten underway to show around for a day?"
All-time favorite: Dependents Cruise out of Mayport, FL. See my previous post in the "Ode to the Rack" thread :)
The biggest head-scratcher was a VIPCRU out of Norfolk once. The math on that one sucked, but we made it happen. Left at the crack of Dawn and got back at sunset and still managed about 90-minutes submerged.
In Pearl, we were always happy to have Sir John and the Kona Navy League on board...meant we were heading to Kona in the very near future (3 trips to Kona and one to Maui in four years!). Doesn't mean we LIKED taking them to sea, but the bennies were great! One trip, he threw a Super Bowl party at his (very large) home.
1/16/2010 6:28 AM
We did a Tiger cruise from PCAN to KB in 24 hours in TENNESSEE in '93. We had 60 family members, all male. I was the Dive with my Dad and one of my bothers on the helm and planes when we surfaced at night rigged for black. I'm told my Dad talked about that day until the day he died. If you ever get the chance, take it. Call them and say, "Drop what you're doing and get your ass down here!" You'll be glad you did.
And believe me, I know it was a pain in the ass for some of the crew. I was their COB. I thanked those guys profusely. We could not have done it without them. They did not let their guard down and that makes all the difference.
We had a Codel visit once. They were investigating the feasibility of assigning women to submarine crews. What we showed/told them must have worked ... for a while.
1/16/2010 6:41 AM
I only threw up one time and it happened on my only dependent cruise back in the late 60's. A wife of one of the JO's started throwing up in the forward torpedo room and I couldn't help but join her.
1/16/2010 9:05 AM
ddm... was that on the 698, where on the mess decks, at the end of the underway, the world war II submarine show ended with how the war ended? The mushroom cloud on the screen as we were returning to port? With the Japanese riders onboard, yes, that was priceless.
1/16/2010 11:00 AM
The most interesting VIP trip I remember was taking U. Alexis Johnson, UnderSecretary of State for Political Affairs and then CNI, Adm Al Burkhalter, from Norfolk to New London so Johnson could understand what subs did on SpecOps. The best underway was a week with then CSL, ADM Eugene Wilkenson. The quote I remember was from our WEPS who, during a torpedo exercise critique, said "Since there is only one person in this room who has ever fired a shot in anger, I think his comments would be most useful..Admiral.." Then CSL gave a memorable critique of our torpedo shooting efforts. IT was well worth the trip. Then, there was the time that we had the ship's sponsor, Mrs. Barbara Laird, for lunch and she brought her husband, the then Secretary of Defense, Melvin Laird. During the lunch, SECDEF was describing a heated meeting with the JCS regarding the Vietnam war. Just as he slammed his fist on the table, his spouse said in a low tone - "Melvin." and SECDEF shrank in his seat. Mrs. Laird then explained that she had told her husband that he was invited as long as he did not speak about the Vietnam War during the visit.
1/16/2010 2:41 PM
anon at 11:00- No it was 666. Sounds like a great story though.
Funny how a week ago, we were told about concerns with OPSEC and then this week were having a "Tweet" party on an SSN. Doesn't make sense to me.
1/16/2010 6:54 PM
1972 post overhaul week underway on SS-580. We had owner of Interisland Resorts (Kona Surf and the Kona Inn at that time) and his son onboard. Played electric rabbit for P-3's from Barbers point for four days. Friday morning before arrival Kona for the weekend skipper starts angles and dangles. Rig for deep,standard speed, 10 down--500 feet 20 up--150 feet, 25 down 550 feet--35 up about 10 seconds into 30 plus and still going up maneuvering says on 7MC, lost main motor lube oil ALL STOP. end of angles and dangles. Weekend in Kona was great, bunch of free rooms for the crew at Kona Inn O-gang got rooms at Kona Surf.
Keep a zero bubble............
DBFTMC(SS)USNRET
1/16/2010 6:57 PM
Civvy passengers during a vip cruise in Machinery room on a 688? Who sat that critique? Was it the rad sign on the door or the scrubber locker as you walked by it?
1/16/2010 7:57 PM
ddm... our cruise was the with their CNO equivalent and a number of other higher ups. The underway with them onboard was a good will gesture, rhe aim being to keep their support for continued sub visits to Japan. We had a ROAD senior chief and his only purpose on the cruise was to run submarine movies on the mess decks as the tours ended.
Everything went well right up to the very end. During the cruise, the overboard san pipe cracked (again) but that was handled quickly and quietly. Those turds paled in comparison to the one our senior chief unleashed.
The last movie was a world war II movie, revolving around the load the submarine force carried during the war. But the movie ended with the atomic bombs being dropped on Japan. When that mushroom cloud was on the screen, you coul feel the tension rise.
When I told the COB what I had just witnessed, it was like watching a car wreck in slow motion. The amount of emotions that man went through in a few seconds was priceless. I wish I could have been a fly on the bulkhead when he informed the CO.
1/16/2010 8:11 PM
Did a dependent's cruise on the cruiser, brought my mother, had a asshole ET1 try chatting her up. Also had a bleached blonde ET2 get some top quality rack time with his wife, with other ROs rotating through to witness while silently sniggering.
Rode the 724 from Alameda to Ballast Point later as a civilian; my coworker vet from the 584 claimed my 5 minutes on the bridge exceeded his tour total. Interesting, but really wanted to get back aft. Appreciated what was required of the crew aboard to accommodate and entertain us.
-3383
1/17/2010 1:53 AM
Civvy passengers during a vip cruise in Machinery room on a 688? Who sat that critique? Was it the rad sign on the door or the scrubber locker as you walked by it?
That's pretty standard. They don't hang out there. No critique necessary. All the folks who have ever tinkered on an engine get a kick out of seeing the DG. A-div is rightfully proud of that beast and it has always been included as part of every tour group I've seen on a 688 (or any other platform).
My favorite VIP cruise was having our namesake city committe visit. They were very appreciative and some of those on the committee knew alot of facts about the boat that the crew did not - since some of the committee had been present for the christening & commissioning, and were able to speak intelligently about changes that had happened since then in the forward part of the boat.
After the trip, they bought us a new piece of entertainment gear for Crew's Mess, replacing the last one they'd bought from 4-5 yrs prior that had seen better days after several deployments.
One of the funniest VIP cruises going way back was when we had a Congressman onboard for a VIP w/ some muckety mucs. As a young blue-shirt standing Sup I was proud to talk about Sonar. As the Congressman walked out, he asked me what he could do to help out the Submarine Force. I'd researched his voting record the day before the cruise and told him to stop voting against appropriations for submarines. He was shocked I knew about his record and mumbled something as he high-tailed it out to a part of the boat that treated him more in the VIP manner he was used to.
1/17/2010 2:50 PM
First boat (Buffalo), first dependents cruise. We were going through angles and dangles when one of the cans of lacquer busted loose and spilled throughout AMR and the smell went through the whole boat.
1/18/2010 7:20 AM
"Excited?" I'd have to say the time we hosted ADM Skip Bowman, who was escorting a distinguished group of ladies from DACOWITS (Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services), getting "first hand" information on integrating women into SSBNs. ADM Bowman came to the Chief's Quarters, hung out with us Chiefs, actually was a pretty friendly, talkative guy. The DACOWITS ladies went around the ship, escorted by our Chop (not a happy camper, but he coped) asking crew members questions about how they would feel if women were added to the crew. Of course, you just know they gave honest, straightforward answers, because there was no pre-briefing involved! (Cough Cough)
1/19/2010 10:45 AM
I had the distinct privilege to spend 5 days aboard a 774 for a Tiger Cruise. I'll carry that memory with me 'til I'm gone. I could never say 'thank you' enough to the crew for their kindness to us. Breathing their air, eating their food and doing no work made me feel guilty. One of the chiefs made me feel a little better by letting me know that the crew weren't killin' and drillin' with Tigers aboard. Still...
Regarding the San Diego bloggers, some of them have posted entries. Reminiscent of my experience but I didn't blog about it. Not sure what I'd say, exactly. I came away deeply impressed at the professionalism I saw. Much higher than in the civilian world. I feel very, very strange writing about it in a comment like this, much less in a detailed blog post. The last thing in the world I want to do is say something that'll compromise the crew in any way. An odd feeling.
Some links to the bloggers:
My Day on a Nuclear Submarine (travelogue with photos and links to the other riders) http://www.techlifeweb.com/2010/01/18/my-day-on-a-nuclear-submarine/
uss hampton (travelogue with pictures) http://www.chriscantore.com/2010/01/16/uss-hampton/
Bloggers take over nuclear sub USS Hampton (travelogue, photos. I liked her conversational style on Twitter) http://sandiego.metblogs.com/2010/01/19/bloggers-take-over-nuclear-sub-uss-hampton/
And finally, a different Twitter search: http://twitter.com/search?q=%23sdsubdive
--Proud Navy Dad
Thank you for everything you do. And did.
1/19/2010 2:03 PM
Pulled in 6 times in Pearl, three times just before a TRE and three times after to give senior officers a ride so they could keep getting sub pay.
We were oh so rested afterward. Of course, if we had a navigation incident after getting 10 hours of sleep in a week, it would have been due to not following precedural guidance, nothing to do with the fraud of picking up senior riders so they could sit in the lounge and watch movies to keep sub pay.
Another time we travelled on the surface for 11 hours across the battle group to pick up the COS for a two day ride so he could keep sub pay.
1/23/2010 11:02 AM
"Of course, if we had a navigation incident after getting 10 hours of sleep in a week, it would have been due to not following precedural guidance"
You say that "tongue-in-cheek", though the reality of such incidents seems to always point to this as a root cause. Go figure.
"Another time we travelled on the surface for 11 hours across the battle group to pick up the COS for a two day ride so he could keep sub pay."
You poor thing.
Try two weeks worth of DAILY ops out of Mayport to entertain middies.
Now quit whining and enjoy the rest of your off-crew.
1/25/2010 5:05 AM
Ret ANAV:
"Now quit whining and enjoy the rest of your off-crew."
To ask a submariner to quit whining is about the same as expecting a critical reactor to quit generating heat. Both come naturally.
And by the way, your little jab about enjoying his off-crew is just whining in a subtle way. So quit your whining.......
1/27/2010 11:32 AM
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