Chapter 2

Unlike many people who join the military, I was perfectly suited for my role. My small stature and mechanical abilities made me an invaluable asset on the submarine. Living your life with 154 other men in extremely close quarters is, however, very difficult unless you are comfortable in your own skin. Privacy is practically nonexistent on a sub, even one the size of the Ohio. When we would go out on patrol, we would carry enough food for approximately 60 to 90 days and could travel anywhere in the world, underwater, completely undetected, which meant that for at least 60 days we would not see the sun. In fact that was our primary reason for being. We were the United States most lethal weapon in the cold war; its most effective first strike deterrent. The knowledge that if we were ordered to fire our missiles at any enemy location meant that all hell had broken loose and most likely the world was close to Armageddon; it was a very sobering thought.

It's amazing how quickly you fall into a routine when you're on board a submarine. Each "morning" (when you're underwater there's no difference between day and night) I'd get up, dress, have breakfast and report for duty. I was part of the engineering department and my primary responsibilities included maintaining the atmospheric systems; the cooling systems for the air, the air quality systems – scrubbing the air of CO2 and maintaining the level of oxygen and the water purification and recycling systems. On a new boat, after shakedown, the systems are pretty much trouble free, but you still have to maintain them. A typical day is eighteen hours long. The crew is divided into 3 watch sections; each watch is 6 hours long. When a crew-member is on watch he is actively operating his assigned equipment. After watch a crew-member spends the next 12 hours engaged in various activities, such as attending training sessions and studying for advancement examinations or to qualify to stand watch at other workstations. Some perform routine preventive maintenance on their specialized equipment. In our free time we can watch movies, play cards or various board games, exercise in our gym and have our meals. After an eighteen-hour day it's easy to fall asleep.

Our living quarters are called berthing areas; each man gets about 15 square feet for sleeping and storage of personal items. The berths have a reading light, a ventilation duct, an earphone jack for the boat's audio entertainment system and a curtain to provide a small, but welcome, measure of privacy. Because of the challenging living conditions aboard a submarine, the crew builds a strong bond of fellowship to one another.

I didn't receive my first letter until we returned to port; it had been seventy-seven days since we had first departed from Bangor. Mail call is almost as important as shore leave to the crew of a submarine; almost being the key word. I actually received two letters that day. The first one that I opened was from Mr. Taylor, my broker, telling me that he had made my stock purchase and that things were going really well. He had purchased 417 shares in the IPO on September 23. After a stock split of 3 for 2, I now owned 626 shares valued at nearly $13,200. He told me that he would not do anything with my shares until he heard from me, which was fine with me as I intended to hold the stock for a long time.

The other letter was from my mother.

Dear Tom. I hope you are well and happy. I can't tell you how sorry I am for everything I have done. I have been an absolute failure as a mother and a woman. Can you ever forgive me? I've been sober for almost a year now. It was tough at first but now my previous way of life seems like a horrible dream, which I never plan to revisit. I met a wonderful man; William was one of my counselors and has helped me over the rocky road which I have had to travel. We've been seeing each other regularly on a personal level for the last several months. He's from the mid-west, single, about 45 years old, and as straight-laced as they come. We're planning on getting married next month. I know you won't be able to come, but I thought you should know. None of this would have been possible without you. I owe you my life. I've enclosed a couple of pictures so you can see how I've turned my life around. I just have one thing to worry about. Your father used to tell me that a man wants a wife who's an angel in the kitchen and a whore in the bedroom. Well I certainly qualify for the latter; I just hope I can satisfy him in the kitchen; hopefully, I won't kill him in either area. I love you, Mom