T'was the Night Before Christmas-Submarine Style

T'was the Night Before Christmas-Submarine Style
By Sean Keck

T'was the night before Christmas, and what no-one could see,
The men with the dolphins were under the sea.
Most of the crew was flat on their backs,
Snoring and dreaming all snug in their racks.

Those men on watch were making their rounds,
Some manning the planes or listening for sounds.
Back in maneuvering or down in the room,
They all hoped the oncoming watch would come soon.

I'd finished some PM's whose time was now due,
And hoped for some sleep, even an hour or two.
Against better judgment I took a short stroll,
And found myself wandering into control.

The Nav had the Conn, the COW was in place,
The COB had the Dive and a scowl on his face.
The helm and the planes were relaxed but aware,
The QM and ET were discussing a dare.

To comply with the orders the Nav told the Dive,
To bring the boat up with minimum rise.
The orders were given and soon they were there,
At periscope depth with a scope in the air.

The QM confirmed our position with care,
The broadcast was copied, we brought in some air.
The Nav on the scope let out a small cry,
He shook his head twice and rubbed at his eyes.

He looked once again to find what it was,
That interrupted his sweep and caused him to pause.
Try as he might there was nothing to see,
So down went the scope and us to the deep.

I asked what it was that caused his dismay,
He sheepishly said, "I'm embarrassed to say."
It could have been Northern Lights or a cloud,
Or a meteorite he wondered aloud.

But to tell you the truth I guess I must say,
Whatever it was it looked like a sleigh.
And though it passed quickly and never was clear,
I almost believe it was pulled by reindeer.

We laughed and teased him and I got up to go,
When our moment was broken by "Conn, Radio."
They told us a message was just coming in,
We looked at the depth gauge and started to grin.

"Radio, Conn, I feel safe to say,
Your attempt at a joke is too long delayed.
If it had been sooner it might have been neat,
But I doubt we're receiving at four-hundred feet."

"Conn, Radio, you can come down and see,
We're not playing games to any degree."
I headed aft with nothing better to do,
Surprised by the fact it was still coming through.

It stopped and was sent to control to be read,
The Nav read it slowly and scratched at his head.
Then again he began but this time aloud,
To those that now waited, a curious crowd.

"To you Denizens of the Deep and men of the sea,
Who risk your life daily so others stay free.
I rarely have seen you on this, my big night,
For far too often you are hidden from sight.

But purely by luck I saw you tonight,
As your scope coaxed the plankton to glow in the night.
And lucky for me I've finally won,
The chance to say thanks for all you have done.

I know that you miss your families at home,
And sometimes you feel as if you're alone.
But trust what I say and I'll do what's right,
I'll take something special to your families tonight.

Along with the gifts I'll take to your kin,
I'll visit their dreams and leave word within.
They'll hear of your love, and how you miss them,
I'll tell them that soon you'll be home again.

It might not be much I know that is true,
To thank you for all the things that you do.
But I'll do what I can, while you do what's right,
Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight."
 

Women now allowed to serve on submarines

This was posted on the Navy Live Blog on April 29th, 2010 by sweetser

This post by RDML Barry Bruner, Commander, Submarine Group 10, originally appeared on the Commander, Submarine Group 10 blog.

Comments can be found on both blogs.

There have been a number of comments to earlier blog entries [on the Commander, Submarine Group 10 blog] about women in submarines. I have not been ignoring them; rather our nation’s law requires that both houses
of congress be in session for 30 days after notification
before a change in manning policy such as this can go
in effect. Yesterday marked the 30th day – so I can 
now discuss the plan and the reasons for it.


1. There is a need: The change in the policy to allow women to serve on submarines is applicable to both officer and enlisted – but, right now the plan is only focused on bringing officers onboard. There are a number of reasons for this, the most important being that selectivity demands we open the aperture for officer selection. In 2005 and in 2008 we did not quite meet our goals for officer accession in the submarine force. Over the past 40 years the percentage of men graduating with technical degrees has gone down from 75 to 49 percent with an increase in women earning technical degrees (an increase from 25 to 51 percent). Given this increasing need to open up the selectivity aperture – along with the fact that our SSBN and SSGN class of submarines allows for privacy and a viable career path for women, the logical step forward is to allow female officers into the submarine force. Based on the lessons we learn while implementing this plan I anticipate the Navy will then consider the way forward for enlisted women on submarines.

2. The plan: The plan in place assigns the first females to nuclear power training this July. Following completion of training (December 2011 or January 2012) we will assign two ensigns to each crew of four ships, two SSGNs and two SSBNs, one of each class in Kings Bay, Ga. and Bangor, Wash. Additionally we intend to assign a lieutenant or lieutenant commander female surface qualified supply officer to each of these crews as a mentor to the two ensigns. So – for the initial input of women that works out to 8 crews with three women each.
USS Florida (SSGN 728) (B) Executive Officer Lt. Cmdr. Bill Patterson discusses plans for submerging the Ohio-class guided-missile submarine with Jed Rauscher, a producer with Lone Wolf Documentary Group, while Lt. (j.g.) Reid Smythe mans the number two periscope.

3. Women’s Health: Lastly, there have been a number of comments concerning women’s health and the health of a fetus (if one of the women should not realize she is pregnant until after the ship gets underway). A number of medical studies indicate there are no discernible medical issues that should preclude the assignment of women to submarines. Additionally, our Navy’s Bureau of Medicine has proposed three additional studies to further quantify and validate the low probability of any effects of a submarine’s environment on women’s health or fetal development.

I recently spoke with a number of our retired submariners who were vocal in their opposition to the integration of women on submarines. I appreciate their concern and as always, am very appreciative of their service to our Navy and country. Perspective is based on where you sit. We’ve looked hard at the impediments to successful implementation of the plan but given the need and the more open attitude of the current generation of submariners I continue to feel that this change to policy is needed to maintain the readiness of the most operationally active submarine service in the world.