"Eight bells" signifies nothing more than the time is 0800, 1200, 1600, 0000, or 0400. It comes around every 4 hours. Just like 1 bell, 2 bells, and so on. The only other significance of eight bells is to announce the arrival or departure of a very high ranking official.

@@johnjones5354 Not sure what tradition you're citing, and mean no disrespect. To my knowledge, the tradition of using a ship's bell predates clocks. Sailors in Western navies used a half-hour hourglass and used the bells to mark the passage of time. Eight bells signified the end of a four-hour watch. Carrying forward the "end of watch" metaphor, 8 bells is also a traditional way to honor a sailor who has passed the bar. It would be an appropriate way to commemorate the passing of Jimmy Carter, a Navy veteran. I've participated in the observance for many years in several yacht clubs, and observed it at the funeral of Navy vets.

The first time Jimmy Carter was aboard a nuclear powered submarine was when he was President. It is a myth, and a myth that he never correcred, that he completed Naval nuclear power training, and served on a nuclear powered vessel. People who did complete that training, and did so serve, like myself, resent that myth.

No. You're right. George W. was a fighter pilot in the Texas Air National Guard. But there are questions about his letting politics over shadow his duties in the Air Guard.

Air National Guards to avoid the Vietnam draft !

No, G. H. W. Bush served as a naval aviator which meant he was a pilot on a aircraft carrier.

Thank you for your service sir.

crazy how people always manage to find a way to make something about themselves 💀

@@poleru what have you ever done for this country? I would bet anything that you're posting this from your mom's basement.

@poleru negative Nancy.

As a SONAR tech, I agree with your statement!

if we needed coastal defense assets it would be one thing but US subs have to go halfway around the world before their job actually begins. For diesel boats, that requires a logistical train of support ships and forward basing that is anything but cheap, and all to support subs that have a fraction of the overall capabilities and utility of our nuclear powered subs. One of the benefits of the nuke boats is they don't require such logics, able to sprint 600 to 900 miles a day to get on station quickly and begin theater operations while a diesel boat would take 3x longer to get on station and need to be refueled immediately after crossing the ocean, and then would need to be replenished multiple times for a several month long mission. instead of manned diesels we have several new classes of large drone subs that can loiter for months and can be launched from manned surface and submarine vessels, drones that are cheaper than any manned diesels and have excellent utility. *edited for clarification*

​@@22steve5150 I don't agree with you in that SSN's require large logistics!! Diesel subs do!! Hence I already stated this

@@enricomandragona163 oh whoops i meant that diesel subs require the logistics while nuclear powered boats do not. i have edited the comment to better reflect that.

SSKs for coastal defence, not for galivanting around the World. The cheaper SSK's providing defence would allow for more of the SSN's to do the offensive taskings. As the SSK's would not be galivanting, the logitics costs are managable. The tail costs of not having to deal with the disposal of a spent reactor also adds to the equation. Being smaller, they could also be constructed in smaller yards. As currently, the US is really hurting for yards where SSN's and large warships can be constructed.

@@Yandarval missile and torpedo carrying maritime patrol aircraft, frigate and cutter sized surface craft with ASW towed arrays, and small, fast patrol vessels do coastal defense just as well and for a lot less than maintaining a small fleet of SSK's. USN and Coast Guard has such craft in spades already.

That's your opinion!!