WWBob

Not really a question, this has all been pretty fun and interesting, but I was pre-commissioning/gold crew on the Ohio. We had the best first CO/XO/Eng/leaders I've ever seen. From EB all the way through the third patrol the message was clear: Your behavior reflected directly on the reputation of the boat and you should act accordingly. People did. It was simple to have pride in your boat that everyone else shared. It was a team effort. We were successfully manipulated. :) Those that didn't want to play got shot out a torpedo tube. It was a great crew.

The forth patrol the CO changed. The new guy rode along with us for a week or so at the end of the third patrol. The very first words out of his mouth at an all-hands at Bangor were 'patrol hats will not be tolerated'. He didn't even introduce himself. He constantly made fun of the XO during the run, because the XO could sometimes go on for a while on the 1MC, but it was all useful information that we liked knowing. After the forth patrol the XO went on to CO the Parche, so we know what kind of a standup guy he was. I'm glad for him he got out of there. The new XO for the fifth patrol was just about as much fun as the CO. During the fifth patrol there was an "incident" with the missiles. I *think* the CO was on board when we tied up, but I won't swear to it.

I got out after things went so bad that quickly. On top of that there were getting too be many "Reagan buildup" officers that, literally, were almost useless. History and English majors in engineering? Some of them were exactly as bad as it sounds. I didn't feel safe anymore. Did get to meet Rickover. Didn't think to ask him how those guys got in. :) I don't think I can even imagine what it is like anymore. How many officers and crew have nervous breakdowns from not being able to check their phones every two minutes? :)

Thanks for the AMA, sir!

Excellent!

Wouldn't part of leadership be calling 'em like you see 'em? He may have been right. :)

He could be Air Force. :)

The pressure was on until you got qualified at one of the prototypes. You survived nuke school, so you kinda wanted to make sure you made it through prototype. After qualification it was a whole different world. We always had Saturday morning cartoon keggers at the Scuttlebutt ('79/'80). Good times...after qualifying. :)