The Ship is Moored!
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We successfully passed sea trials, with very few deficiencies. Every gave us BZs for a job well done.
Being fully qualified and authorized to wear the dolphins is still elusive. The submarine force instruction directs that a sailor shall qualify in “less than six months, three months of which shall be on an operational submarine (i.e. not in the shipyard).” The scuttlebutt is that all the requests (of which there are many) for waivers were denied. Interestingly, the ship enters a modernization period in the spring, so there won’t be enough operational time to fulfill the requirement. Even with already a month on an operational sub (from riding USS Providence back in May), I would not see three months until summer ’07 sometime. Other non-qualified sailors would be waiting even longer.
Reminds me of the old proverb about what awaits those who ask for God to grant them patience: He rewards them with many circumstances that teach them to be patient.
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2 Responses to “The Ship is Moored!”
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December 24th, 2006 at 9:18 am
When the SSN 665 was in Bremerton in 1976 we had several people Qualify with little or no time at Sea. I am not sure if any waivers were required back then. It struck me as a little unrealistic to consider anyone “Qaulified” in Submarines without having been to Sea. Keep a stiff upper lip, all things come to those who waite.
Your situation reminds me of what one particular old salt had to say to one of the “no sea time quals”, “I have more time on the shitter at test deapth than you in the Navy.”
Merry Christmas to all who serve.
December 24th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
Absolutely. I agree that qualification should not come until some salt is on the shoulder (and I don’t mean running down to crews mess and grabbing a shaker). I was stunned to see how many sailors with fish on their chest really did not get or care about basic submarining after two and a half years on a barge. The unifying factor for all of these was little to no time at sea (some were grandfathered under an older instruction).
My problem with the Force instruction’s minimum time requirement is two-fold: It’s arbitrary. Commands should be able to determine on a case basis when personnel understand basic submarining. (Of course, this would be abused.) Some people get it (because they care and they want to get it) very quickly; others have to be trained for a little longer.
Also, I’m just frustrated, personally. Not really an argument against it, except that I have a bare minimum of sea-time and operational experience and eighteen months of absorbing every bit of basic submarining I could from old salts. There are other factors adding to the frustration, but to say more would require airing the family laundry. So I’ll stop there.