These images that will come in the next few days arrived just after Christmas in a box of hundreds of loose pictures that scanned decades and generations of me, my family, and my life.

I hope that you enjoy them...

Here is one to start us off:

Me on USS Shasta (AE-33, foreground) on approach for refuel with USS Willamette (AO-80) with USS New Jersey (BB-62) alongside, taken off of the coast of Hawaii in 1985

[ 01-03-2011: Message edited by: dmwnc1 ]

I was in a field of naval ship navigation called 'Quartermaster'. I spent the bulk of my career on the bridge of ships. 

I entered service at bootcamp as a Seaman Recruit (E-1, Enlisted Level 1) advancing through to QM3 (E-4, Enlisted Level 4) before my first hitch was up. 

Advancement in the field was a little harder and responsibilities of being 'in charge' of the ships bridge and navigation a huge responsibility. Sure the Navigator (officer) 'looked' the part, but it was us that did the real work. 

I was up for the exam to become the Chief Quartermaster (E-7) twice, but personally felt the huge responsibility was more than my training and experience (so far) would permit me to consciously allow advancement, so I volunteeringly did not take the tests. 

I exited Sea Duty (in the tenth year of my 'career') as an E-6 (normal rotation then was 8 years Sea Duty, two years on Shore Duty) and spent my last two years in the US Navy as the sole Controller of a Top Secret Classified Materials Vault at the Commander Fleet Air, Mediterranean HQ (COMFAIRMED) in Naples, Italy. I picked this assignment specifically to be able to live in and tour Europe since I hadn't planned on being a 'Lifer' and knew this would be my last hitch. 

USS Elliott (DD-967) on approach to us (USS Shasta AE-33) for armament replenishment

USS Lynde McCormick (DDG-8) taking a nose dive

VERTREP (Vertical Replenishment) ops on USS Shasta (AE-33)

USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63) during Fleet Exercise Operations, April 1985

USS Shasta (AE-33) with Mt. Fuji in the distance, March 1983

USS Enterprise (CVN-65) at anchorage, Sasebo, Japan, March 1983

Battle of the Ironclads (Monitor and Merrimack, actual sized replicas) in Hampton Roads Harbor

[ 01-03-2011: Message edited by: dmwnc1 ]

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Originally posted by Frosty 4:
Do we have other CTers that would like to share their "Sea Stories"? Frosty 4

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Lunch was a BBQ on the fantail which was great fun. I clearly remember his best navy friend's aunt who looked just like 'Flo' from the TV show 'Alice'. The fun aunt lived in Las Vegas and even wore dice earings which looked great with her beehive hairdo . Apparently she still looks the same 20-years later.

Submarine passing down Hampton Roads Harbor, Norfolk VA (Newport News Shipyard in the distance)

Diesel submarine, Mare Island Shipyard, Vallejo CA

Same submarine later off the coast of California

Fast Attack submarine USS Tautog (SSN-639) backing out of Alameda Naval Air Station, Oakland CA

Outbound SSBN (Ballistic Missile) submarine, San Diego CA

Submarine with a DSRV (Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle) at San Diego CA

USS Nautilus (SSN-571), the world's first operational nuclear-powered submarine

[ 01-04-2011: Message edited by: dmwnc1 ]

Crew atop conning tower of inbound submarine outside of San Diego CA

Stern of submarine in drydock, San Diego CA

My sub, USS Finback (SSN-670) docked Naples IT (1980), with Mt. Vesuvius in the distance. This was my first ever time at Naples.

[ 01-06-2011: Message edited by: dmwnc1 ]

Bow and stern shots of one of my ships (USS Shasta AE-33)

USS Clifton Sprague (FFG-16) in drydock looking at aft port side forward

And some oldies but goodies:
Heavy Cruiser USS Des Moines (CA-134) (1948-1961) in mothballs, Philadelphia Naval Shipyard

Seen departing San Diego, the first US nuclear-powered cruiser USS Long Beach (CGN-9), (1961-1995) Built at Bethlehem Steel, Quincy MA

Heavy Cruiser USS Albany (CA-10) (1946-1980) seen at Portsmouth VA, heavily reconfirgured from her original build

[ 01-05-2011: Message edited by: dmwnc1 ]

At Norfolk VA (Mar 88), three aircraft carrier islands:
(L-R) USS America (CV-66), USS John F Kennedy (CV-670 and USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71). You can see the bow of destoyer USS Thomas S Gates (CG-51)

Fleet Exercise Ops off of Southern California 1985

And finally:

USS Shasta (AE-33) early morning approach to Golden Gate Bridge

[ 11-23-2011: Message edited by: dmwnc1 ]

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THANKS for putting up with this flashback in my life

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On the contrary: it is we who owe you thanks....

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Originally posted by linerguy:

On the contrary: it is we who owe you thanks....

-Russ

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If you ever feel inclined, it would be very interesting to hear about daily life aboard a submarine. Any interior pictures would be great too!

I'm one of those strange individuals that is more interested in the everyday life aboard a sub, compared to what it's like during combat.

Things like how long you would remain submerged during a single mission. What the bathrooms were like. The galley and mess. Showers. Sleeping arrangements. Did you have unlimited access. What did you do during off time. Was there a gym. What is the normal temperature inside the sub. When you surfaced, were you able to take turns going out for fresh air. What were the challenges and rewards. Things like that.

Thanks.

After completing my basic sub school training in Groton I joined FINBACK at the end of a shipyard refit and we left Newport News carrying some of their personnel aboard. For weeks I had to sleep on a cot in the Torpedo Room amongst the Mark-48 torpedoes. Eventually after months of 'hot racking' (sharing a rack with another junior seaman or Petty Officer on opposite duty shifts) I did get my own bunk, a coffin sized enclosure where the only privacy was a pull-curtain.

Life in port (Norfolk) amounted to non-stop watches and maintenance and we lived not onboard, but in pretty nice dormitory-style accommodations (two to a dorm room) on base.

At sea we trained and stood watches. A submarine is most venerable on the surface, so after passing a certain point we would dive to 400' and spend most of our days and nights down there. We conducted a lot of exercises off of Virginia. We hit the Tongue of the Ocean, a submarine exercise and training area west of Nassau. The longest time I ever spent underwater was 89 days after we deployed from Norfolk for the Mediterranean, where we docked in Naples, Italy a few times. I remember going through the Straits of Gibraltar submerged and checking out the 'Rock of Gibraltar' through the periscope. We also tendered at La Maddalena and spent a lot of time cruising between and around Corsica and Sardinia and the Western Med.

Only once did I ever experience an 'emergency blow' exercise, where a submarine basically blows it's ballast tanks and breaches the surface in a dramatic fashion. It was a feeling I will never forget.

The food onboard was always top notch. We were a very tight crew and knew the ship inside and out, and we earned a 'Dolphin' insignia pin after passing the rigorous in depth knowledge test of the overall operations of the entire submarine. In Navy tradition you would have it pinned on and then 'tacked' to our chest by fellow crew members with their fist. It was a ritual and it was painful. Sort of a Navy version of college hazing.

The only pictures I have are exterior pictures, one of which I posted above. The rest unfortunately are still in storage down in North Carolina. 

To answer some of your questions specifically:

How long you would remain submerged during a single mission. (This depended on the mission or exercise, from several days to several weeks. Longest ever was 89 days. Even submerged we would occasionally come to periscope depth to have a look around, but not for long).

What the bathrooms were like. Showers. (Wow. I am sure I took showers but no real memory of what the bathrooms were like other than a lot of stainless. We took 'Navy showers' which amounted to turning on the water just to get wet, shut the water off, lather up, turn the water on, rinse, all in about 3-5 minutes. Even today I can't spend long in a shower, wasting water an such!).

The galley and mess. (The enlisted mess was really small and shared the same galley as the even smaller officers mess. I don't remember the exact number but it would seat around 24 people. Oncoming Duty Watch standers ate first at each meal, then after a seat freed up the next in line would sit down. It was a process and took some time if you were at the back of the line).

Sleeping arrangements. (The berthing compartment had bunks stacked three high in groups of six or nine berths to a row (imagine a very short, dead-end alley with three racks on either side and three bunks set crossways at the end) with several of these rows across the compartment and a main passageway row that would have upwards of 12-15 berths each side. We had blue pull-curtains for privacy, and very limited storage under/inside your bunk (which lifted to expose a storage compartment) for personal gear and uniforms. It wasn't much to write home about. I think I remember that each rack had ventilation controls and it's own light for reading, etc).

Did you have unlimited access. (I wasn't a 'nuke' so I had access to everywhere except the reactor control space without clearance). 

What did you do during off time. Was there a gym. (Training, updating manuals, movies in the mess, reading, sleeping, cards. No gym or exercise equipment that I remember. I do remember a small laundry machine were we did our own jumpers we called 'poopies suits').

What is the normal temperature inside the sub. (Couldn't give you an exact temp but it was never warm or uncomfortable). 

When you surfaced, were you able to take turns going out for fresh air. (As the Quartermaster I was always one of the very first up topside to rig the bridge, a set of poles and rails locked and latched to the top of the conning tower to provide a sort of security platform for lookouts and other personnel. I don't remember others really wanting to go up there, but space was very limited and quite cramped).

What were the challenges and rewards. Things like that. (Daily life in such very cramped spaces was always a challenge but you got use it. The responsibility and expectations put on me as a young man, made me a better man. It's hard to describe, but what we did, my life in the sub force, my responsibilities and the knowledge we were expected to always be 'on top of' made be more of a regimented and disciplined person. The reward in itself was being allowed to serve on a submarine and the respect I got for being submariner).

[ 01-10-2011: Message edited by: dmwnc1 ]

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Originally posted by dmwnc1:
Ernie, THANKS for asking! One of the biggest things I remember about life on a submarine was the never ending duty watches and routine in the Control Room.

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Very very interesting. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience.

On one of the educational shows I watched, the men stated one of the toughest challenges was adapting to an 18 hour day instead of 24. I guess the schedule was something like 6 hours on and 6 hours off, although I may have that confused. In any case it wasn't a typical 24 hour day on a sub.

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Originally posted by eroller:
Very very interesting. Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experience.

On one of the educational shows I watched, the men stated one of the toughest challenges was adapting to an 18 hour day instead of 24. I guess the schedule was something like 6 hours on and 6 hours off, although I may have that confused. In any case it wasn't a typical 24 hour day on a sub.

Ernie

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THANKS Russ!!! In all my career, and most of my adult life, I can rarely ever remember anyone ever thanking me for my service.

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You're very welcome.

I imagine it takes a certain type of person who can spend 89 days underwater without seeing daylight.....

My hat's off to you even more!

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Originally posted by Grant:
If I may borrow from David Letterman, this posting is within the top 10 picture postings on travelpage, maybe number 1!!!! Thank you so much for sharing. This comes from a Canadian who has never been in the Navy, but deeply respects all those that have served in the naval forces of the world. Wow.....

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THANKS Grant!!! If that is indeed the case then I am in great company with many excellent Cruise Talk photographers from both sides of the Atlantic and Pacific. However I do miss Onno's special style of art photography. I do want to mention many others like Ernie, Pam, Andrew, Malcolm, lasuvidaboy, Peter Knego from Maritime Matters, Rich, Aad, Neil, Desirod (David), Doug, Maasdam, elad, Barry, Thad, Ernst, Oceanliners, Russ, Chris, Cunard Fan, Joe, Globaliser, mikesa, LenKinap, rem-dk, Noordam, Cunardcoll, Frosty 4, Deb, Johan and many, many others (sorry if I left you out) whose endless contributions through the years are an amazing inspiration.

[ 01-11-2011: Message edited by: dmwnc1 ]