Navy Nukes

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Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on December 22, 2011 at 7:23am

guess no matter what age, dads will be dads!!!!!!

Comment by Bill on December 22, 2011 at 7:11am

Thanks Paul.  Actually my dad still does to me and I PIRd in 88. :)

Comment by NavyDads Admin (Paul) on December 22, 2011 at 7:07am

Please don't be sorry for bringing anything up on the site.  I think some of the responses were a little over the top, but passions do run deep for our sailors scattered around the world!  And I'm still reading my son the riot act when appropriate- and he PIR'd in '07!!!!!

Comment by Bill on December 22, 2011 at 7:03am

Micheal, isdem and Zazz, thanks for your insight and support.  What wonderful sailors you have and blAH BLAH BLAH.

Lets see, I get it.  His grandpa got it.  His great grandpa got it (sunk by Germans and swam well enough to do it again).

My daughter is in for an Academy appointment as I type.

We understand the the  USN here:  what I didn't understand was the nuke school philosophy; will they give and take a bit down the road?  I read him the riot act, trust me.  He is no snivveling whiner, actually a class leader.

Fact: an 18yo man who never lived anywhere else and had an exceptionally tight home life after loosing his mom 13 years ago might get a bit down at his first holiday away, especially when he thought he might get to come home.

Sorry I brought it up.  He took my advice, chatted up an experienced chaplin and will be fine.

Comment by Zazzws on December 21, 2011 at 8:34pm

http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2011/dec/19/just-a-few-really-big-shi...

BREMERTON — Aircraft carriers could be playing musical chairs in a couple of months at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

The USS Nimitz is wrapping up a major overhaul at the shipyard; the USS Ronald Reagan is scheduled for similar work; and the USS John C. Stennis will be returning from the Middle East.

Nimitz's yearlong Docked Planned Incremental Availability (DPIA) maintenance was expected to be completed by year's end. By the time the other two ships had arrived, it would be moored at its new Everett homeport. The change of homeport for sailors and their families became effective Dec. 15, which isn't directly related to the ship's departure. It won't beat the Reagan out of town but should be gone before the Stennis gets back.

"Additional maintenance work was identified, requiring the ship to be in dry dock and has delayed her departure," spokeswoman Lt. Cmdr. Karin Burzynski said. "We are currently planning to arrive in Everett sometime in February, once the maintenance work is completed."

Nimitz, first in its class of 10 nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, received upgrades to several ship systems, including defense and navigation. The first 10 months of work was performed in dry dock. The ship, commanded by Capt. Paul Monger, was moved back to Pier D Sept. 29. The total overhaul cost $239 million.

The Reagan's homeport change from San Diego to Bremerton takes effect Jan. 10, but, like Nimitz, that's not when the ship will be leaving San Diego or arriving in Bremerton. Those dates haven't been determined, or at least announced. The shipyard is planning for both ships to be here for a while.

"PSNS ... has been aware of the overlap of the two carriers and are coordinating to minimize impact on USS Ronald Reagan's arrival," shipyard spokeswoman Darcy Jenne said.

The Reagan, commanded by Capt. Thom Burke, will be undergoing a DPIA maintenance, estimated at $218 million.

Photo by MC3 Kenneth Abbate

Contributed photo/U.S. Navy The USS John C. Stennis, seen here in the Straits of Hormuz in November, is scheduled to return to Bremerton in February from a seven-month deployment to the Middle East.

Photo by MC2 Kevin B. Gray

Contributed photo/U.S. Navy The USS Ronald Reagan, seen here on a port visit to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, will be changing its homeport in January from San Diego to Bremerton, where it will undergo planned maintenance.

The Stennis departed Bremerton on July 25 for a seven-month deployment to the Middle East, where it's providing air support for soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan. A seven-month deployment would equate to a return date around the end of February.

Stennis, commanded by Capt. Ronald Reis, had a port visit to the Philippines canceled by a typhoon, but sailors visited Kuala Lumpur, Bahrain and Dubai.

Naval Base Kitsap spokesman Tom Danaher said it's unlikely there will be three aircraft carriers here at once but is preparing nonetheless. The operations department is conducting a study on the base's ability to support three.

"The study indicates that we can support three carriers for a limited amount of time, with the major drawback being parking," he said.

Comment by Tom McConnell on December 21, 2011 at 8:15pm

Nukes have one of the toughest jobs in the Navy. The training is incredibly long and difficult and the working conditions are often less than desireable...but this is all part of the job of protecting this great country of ours. When ones thinks of the conditions many of our military personnel endure in Iraq and Afghanistan it can be humbling. One of my twin sons is a Nuke aboard the USS Reagan (the other is a Flight Engineer on the P-3 Orion) and I saw firsthand on a recent Tiger Cruise what those Nukes go through...long, odd hours, little sleep, sometimes not eating...but my son told me that this was his job and the best thing he could do was do it with pride! Great insight and a positive attitude for a 23-year old!

Comment by Bubblehead on December 21, 2011 at 7:15pm

Holidays away are tough.  I was on a fast attack a long time ago, and we calculated we were away from wives/girlfriends 65% of the time due to deployments (WestPac), local ops, and duty section in port (3 section duty).  It's tough, no doubt about it.  That 35% "home time" was only for local, too.  Getting to to a sailor's home of  record for the holidays is even a lower percentage.

It's soooo different from the civilian world that you sailor might as well be on a different planet.

There are rewards, though, and I hope your guy sticks it out.  Life on a sub is like nothing else, and the submarine community is special, even while it is hard.

Remember what Kennedy said (something like this): we do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard.

I believe that the experience of sub service makes a young man better.

Good luck.

Comment by Susan J on December 21, 2011 at 3:27pm

Bill, I rarely respond to topics on here anymore, but I wnted to tell you I am sorry that your son feels the way he does. My youngest son was a nuke (MM2 when he got out of the navy) and my other son is a Sgt in the army. I have not had both my sons in the same house for any holiday since my youngest was in high school. My army son hasnt been home for Christmas in 9 years, this will be the first time since my navy son will be home as he is now done with the navy and has a civilian job. My navy son spent his bootcamp over Thanksgiving, Christmas and new years, then off to nuke school where he rarely saw daylight with all the studying he did. When he got to fleet, they went on deployment in September and was gone 9 months. Even this year I wont see my oldest son even though he is state side. He volunteered to do the limited duty at his post so those with small children would spend it at their homes. I will see him in late February for 30 days, just prior to them sending him to S.Korea for his next post.

For your son, remind him that once he gets to fleet he will be standing watch even more often, and many times do 12 and 24 hour shifts with very little time in between to even sleep or eat, especially if on deployment! And STILL have to get time to get his quals done in the time given! As any nuke will tell you, and alot of the other sailors as well...Nuke are the First on the ship, and always the LAST off! If his ship gets put into "docks" for repairs, the majority of the ship will have major down time, BUT NOT NUKES! You cant just shut off the power plant of nuclear power! It must be maintained at all times, when at sea or in port.

I hope your son understands what he signed up for with the longer hours and less time with family as a nuke. And if he thinks if he becomes a regular MM and give up the nuke part to get more time off and less hours standing watch...I am afraid he is wrong, many many MM's are also working in the nuke department, just not as nukes! They have the same hours and such.

Have him sign up for Skype if he feels he doesnt get enough "face time" with friends and family, that is what we do!

Good Luck to him...and have a Merry Christmas anyway!

Comment by Michael E. on December 21, 2011 at 3:06pm

My son is home for Christmas this year for the first time in eight years. I agree that with that attitude he will probably be home next year so be patient. I am glad that my Oldest is home for a little while.

My youngest doesnt have any time off until he completes his oral boards and then he will leave for a sub or ship. 

Comment by lsdemme2001 on December 21, 2011 at 2:22pm

Really?  New to the Navy and complaining about missing Christmas?  Wont last long with that attitude.  Do you think he signed up for a weekend at the Ritz?  

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