Submariners Are Strange People

Go to www.amazon.com/.... To support my efforts to create more clips please donate to me at www.patreon.com/allinaday. to see this 60 minute TV special, The Complete Submariners Story. My Colleagues and I did our best to show you what was 'real" on a US Nuclear powered submarine. Thank you for watching it.
David Hoffman - Filmmaker
www.thehoffmancollection.com

[@DavidBrown-ok1rf]

I used to sleep underwater, a life time ago '68-'75, proud to have served my country. Winston Churchill once said: “Of all the branches of men in the Forces, there is none which shows more devotion and faces grimmer perils than the submariner. Great deeds are done in the air and on the land; nevertheless, nothing surpasses your exploits.”

[@ronaldviens7862]

This floating hotel ain't nothing like the 598 that i served on. Still, bubbleheads are bubbleheads and we sing the same song "Submarines once, submarines twice, holy jumping Jesus Christ. we go up, we go down. we don't even fuck around. Ah-oo-gah, Ah-oo-gah Dive, dive" - SUBRON15 Missile Tech

[@luistpuig]

MM1/SS (A-Gang) here. (smiling) it gets "better" .. Given that you only get to sleep on a rotating schedule, many times in a submarine you will not get sleep for close to 30 hours. Let me explain. A typical "day" in a submarine is drills (practices) such as battle station torpedo, battle station missile, fire drills, flooding drills, reactor casualty, etc etc etc, and all go down from about 8:00 AM to about 16:00 (4:00 PM). During these drills the entire crew has to be up (no exceptions), given that everyone had a role to play during them. This is done so everyone is constantly sharp, and ready to deal with any problem we may have. Remember if we have a fire or a flooding, etc down there, we only have minutes to fix it... or we all die. Now, say you have been up since the day before, and your 6 hours of sleep fall between those hours (8:00 AM to 4:00 PM), you are not going to get sleep at all, for you have to be up, given that everyone has some role to fulfill during the drills. So you may go without sleep sometimes for at least 30 hours before your 6 hour period of rest may fall outside the drill times. Add that the O2 (oxygen) levels on most subs are also kept a little bit lower than normal air (about 20.8% in the real world), in order to make it harder for fires to thrive (our biggest enemy), the result is that most of the guys are going to be beat. There are coffee makers all over the place, and most guys take massive quantities of caffeine pills (most people like NoDoz pills) with them out to sea with them in order to stay up... and you do that for months on end, without ever coming up, seen the sun, trees, etc... Most civilians have no idea how difficult life is in the military, specially in Special Forces like the Submarine Force. All of us Submariners are all volunteers from the regular Navy, meaning you have to volunteer again to serve in a Submarine after you volunteer and go in the military. Then you have to survive about two years of intensive training before you even go into your first submarine. Then once you get to your sub, you have one year to memorize the entire submarine, and all its systems, for all hands onboard have to be able to do whatever needs to be done to save the ship during a casualty. Then (if you complete that) you become a Submariner, and get your Dolphins, the warfare pin we all wear on our chest... and that is just the beginning of a Submariner's career.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Luis. Fascinating. David Hoffman-filmmaker

[@luistpuig]

You are welcome David, and thank you for posting this video... you bring back memories...

[@mikelschmidt954]

Luis, I can attest to what you posted about sleeping on a Submarine. I served on SSBN 633 Pulaski, A-Gang 74-80. We were constantly drilling. A-Gangers had equipment forward to aft. Aux Forward, Aux Aft, AMR1, Torpedo room to Engine room, we had a lot of equipment to maintain. O2 Production, Hydraulics, High Pressure Air Compressors, Co2 removal, Hydrogen removal, Air Conditioning systems, Refrigeration systems, Trash Disposal TDU system...I was proud to have served with such brave and wonderful men. PS my friends father went down on the Thresher SSN 593...God Rest their souls...

[@luistpuig]

...memories Mikel, memories. I am sure you look back sometimes, and miss it, a do a lot.

[@ssmt2]

@@mikelschmidt954 If shit flowed through it, or the nukes didn't want it, then A-gang got it.

[@submariner50]

Proud to have served, and respects to all fellow bubbleheads.

[@robertwalters4676]

PRIDE RUNS DEEP.

[@charlesyork5443]

It once was my life and I'll always be proud of it!

[@grizzled8353]

You have to be a bit strange to voluntarily serve on a ship designed to sink. *LOL* EMCM(SS) USN Retired. :) I served on five submarines during my career and wouldn't change it for anything.

[@SaltiDawg2008]

I also served on five boats, Master Chief. Two Diesels and three SSN-637s. Retired 24 Year US Navy Submariner

[@Otswartz]

5 diesels and one SSN. EMCM(SS) retired. A good life but for young men. :)

[@trevormclaurin1398]

Just got my fish, did it all on my own I didn't do a single check out with anyone. Was rough but I can proudly say my fish are MINE.

[@688guy8]

Back in the "olden days" people could smoke, seems like there was always smoke in the control room. I still remember when a guy would fire one up at night with the lights off and they'd say "Bright light, watch your eyes!" LOL!

[@SaltiDawg2008]

In te 1960s I would say the majority of us smoked and those that didn't were silent about those that did.

[@alexandergadomski1088]

Smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee we're almost every place on my boat

[@staystrongpeople4942]

STS3{SS}: Definitely proud that I served our country in this capacity.

[@davidrsilburn2620]

Best years of my life , Royal Navy SSNs. ⚓️🇬🇧☠️

[@codyspradley6277]

always happy to hear about sailors or anyone serving in other militaries

[@lookingforonetruechristian7396]

I am in that fraternity. Proud to be a submariner.

[@jabberwocky3868]

Yeah, but they give us enough psychological testing to make sure we were nuts before letting us on board. SS385, SSN578 and SSBN602 where we actually had an MD psychiatrist on board. We drove him nuts before the patrol was over. Greatest years ever!

[@alexshelton1407]

Jesus. You where on some old girls huh

[@webbtrekker534]

@@alexshelton1407 Sometimes the old "girls" were some sexy "ladies". Flasher SSN 613, Cusk SS 348.

[@scrag0416]

CO's name is CDR Bruce Lemkin - awesome CO. Film was done while the Rickover was deployed in the Med in 1989. I was able to deploy with them later in the year on a North Atlantic deployument and it remains one of the best underways I experienced in my 28 year career. I was a STS1 at that time.

[@DavidHoffmanFilmmaker]

Correct on all fronts. David Hoffman - filmmaker

[@championbiz]

CO was a jerk. I was there too.

[@sbreheny]

It looks like Bruce Lemkin ended up as a civilian working in the Air Force.

[@doogleticker5183]

For a few years, I had an apartment, two small rooms, no kitchen, so I had to be dressed up properly and dine with other officers in quite elegant surroundings (but I had a beer fridge - bless the Supply Officer and his Chief for that bit of magic), at the Officer's Mess at an unnamed Navy base. I lived there when not at sea. I was unmarried and it was an option (free accommodation due to "extreme hardship" while at sea and lengthy deployments and minimal turnaround time, i.e. crappy living quarters for months and months and months and very little real life). However, the heads and shower of my apartment were shared with "Animal" in the adjacent apartment. Yes, he was a submariner and yes, he lived up to his moniker. A true officer and a gentleman...lol. I'd honestly say he was a raving lunatic, but he was a damn fine killer of other subs. I got to see him in action during a short exercise after I talked my way onboard as a "tactical advisor"...as if!! Anyway, I have loads of respect to the sailors who man our boats.

[@j.taylor2964]

Been there, Done that, and sometimes I miss those days.

[@TomCozzens]

Well done, as they say-your either qualified or NOT - RM2(SS)

[@josephferguson8697]

its called a boat not a ship.

[@dodgecowboy97]

Remember playing with a class 2 for a week. Before both have way and we could sleep. Fun for awhile until the boredom gave way. Lighting off oxygen candles was fun.

[@SaltiDawg2008]

Notice the Captain (correctly) said, "Make your depth 350 feet, Ahead Standard." The Officer of the Deck (incorrectly) replied, "350 feet, ALL(sic) ahead standard."

[@TWBiker]

There is a difference, even on a "one boat, one crew, one shaft back aft" boat. "All" refers to ABBMEs vice single engine and spray or disconnected.

[@fasfan]

This was once my life. And i would do it again.

[@subman721]

Yes we are Strange! And we are crazy too! (You kinda have to be to serve on a ship designed to sink!) Don't Eff with us, because we'll eff you up!

[@73standard]

It’s where I learned how to mess with people.

[@user-od7md5vt9i]

USS George Bancroft SSBN 643 Blue 1975 - 1980 - Why did we do it? Every last one of us had to volunteer for sub duty, and we each had our own reasons. I really didn't care why the guy next to me volunteered, because I knew I would do my best for him, and I came to know they would do their best for me. Strange people? Maybe, but they were also loyal, intelligent, workaholics, and I am proud to have served with them. I have a deep and abiding respect for my fellow bubbleheads.

[@LATINO412Cubano]

Stop video at 4:08 I know that dude ! One of the coolest guys I ever met !

[@jusme2038]

Wow, I’m surprised they showed the sonar screen

[@ftboomer1]

Diving is routine...and dangerous.

[@faustinreeder1075]

Got my fish on the USS Tautog SSN 639 1985-1989

[@cc-gg6cd]

Submarines, once.

[@michaelreed628]

Communication ... no error til you're sitting EPCP for the first time during a chloride drill. Lol. SSN719

[@p-dizzle3896]

Damn how many blowdowns is that now? I lost count

[@joshallen5301]

MM2/SS A-Gang, USS Pittsburgh SSN 720, ‘03-‘08…

[@73standard]

Sonar, Norfolk SSN-714 ‘95 to ‘98

[@Admwings]

Very well

[@marksmadhousemetaphysicalm2938]

It’ll be submariners NASA turns to when we begin to truly explore interplanetary space…if NASA’s work with nuclear deep space propulsion is successful in the next few years…DRACO propulsion for example…we definitely will need people like this…

[@esketitindustries3120]

Can’t wait to earn my fish, almost there 💪🏼

[@krinkov2875]

I build these things idk how yall live on them lol