What this book isn't.

This book isn’t about life on a nuclear powered submarine. Life onboard was fairly mundane. I slept. I ate – sometimes the food was good and sometimes it was REALLY bad. I worked and studied. I performed maintenance on equipment and I observed others use their skills in the performance of their duties. It was a job – where I worked was an underwater missile platform; that is what makes it unique. Our purpose was to launch a retaliatory nuclear strike if required and I supported that purpose.

I will not be telling much about the mission of the submarines I was on. Those were classified. Most missions were categorized as “SECRET” and some were more than likely higher than that. Because I was a member of the crew I had access to information due to the nature of my job and the studies I needed to complete that I might not otherwise have had. Information from those missions that has been made public could pop up here and there.

This will not be an anti-war or pro-war commentary about submarines. It is not a biased opinion of what I thought about the mission I had volunteered for one way or the other.

It will be a collection of reflections on the experiences I had during eighteen years and eight months of voluntary service onboard the most deadly piece of weaponry in the US Navy’s arsenal and how those experiences have carried forward into my civilian life.

I retired from the Navy on October 31, 1995. I joked with family and friends that I could now dress-up as a civilian. What I have discovered in the years since my retirement is that is exactly what I do – I dress-up as a civilian; in my heart I am still a member of one of the most elite groups in the US Navy. I am a Submariner.

So, these are the things I learned along the way. I hope you find these personal reflections both enjoyable and something you can use in your own life. I wish you fair winds and following seas.

I do want to thank my wife and best friend, Carol, for putting up with many things that come with a retired Submariner. We - I can be pretty set in my ways. Love you!

I would also like to thank my daughter, Virginia, and my long time friends Dot and Karen for their invaluable feedback on this project.