What is a Submariner?

I did not write this, but it is better than anything I could have written . . .

What Is A Submariner?

Only a submariner realizes to what great extent an entire boat depends on him as an individual. To a landsman, this is not understandable, and sometimes even difficult for us to comprehend, but it is so! A submarine at sea is a different world within herself, and in consideration of the protracted and distant operations of submarines, the Navy must place responsibility and trust in the hands of those who take such boats to sea. In each submarine there are men who, in the hour of emergency or peril at sea, can turn to each other. These men are ultimately responsible to themselves and each to the other for all aspects of operation of their submarine. They are the crew. They are the boat. This is perhaps the most difficult and demanding assignment in the Navy. There is not an instant during his tour as a submariner that he can escape the grasp of responsibility. His privileges in view of his obligations are almost ludicrously small, nevertheless, it is the spur which has given the Navy its greatest marines - the men of the Submarine Service. It is a duty which most richly deserves the proud and time-honored title of - Submariner. - Author Unknown