In The Navy (Sub School), Part 8

Towards the end of training we learned how to use an EAB http://www.dcfp.navy.mil/equip/eab.htm (pretty basic breathing) and an OBA http://www.navy.mil/navydata/cno/n87/usw/issue_21/snapshot.htm.

In short, the EAB is a mask that you plug into a valve that feeds air into the mask, pretty simple. The OAB is a device that uses a chemical canister to generate oxygen which will feed into you mask. The OAB is very bulky because the chemical reaction in the canister gets really hot and needs a big metal plate to protect you from getting burned. The OAB also has a time limit on how long the canister lasts, so you have to watch an indicator dial. The advantage is that you are not plugged into a stationary air connection.

We learned the basics of how all of a Submarine’s systems work. Hydraulics, Ventilation, Ballast Tanks, High Pressure Air, Electrical, Nuclear, Propulsion and all of the ways these have backup or cross connect abilities were taught. It was a lot to swallow and the final test was hard. If you failed, you had a chance to retake it. The US was in the tail end of the Cold War with Russia and they needed Sub Sailors. New boats were still being cranked out by General Dynamics at break neck speed.

The SSBN (Nuke missile carrying, or “Boomer”) Michigan class boats were at the top of the bill. I never set step on one, but compared to the SSN 688 attack boat I did serve on, it was massive. Right around this time the Russian Typhoon Class boomer was confirmed to be real. It was the first time a production Submarine had twin reactors (there was an American sub that tested the concept years before, but it never went into production).

When Sub School ended it was sad to see a lot of the people I had gotten to know leave for other destinations. Most went off for Torpedoman, Sonar, Machinist Mate, Electrical Technician, Quartermaster or Internal Communications (IC) schools. Some of these were on the base, some were at other locations, but I would never see most of them again.

Dyke, Joey and I had all struck (you “strike” for a certain type of position on Subs, it’s like picking a preference) FTG which stands for “Fire Control, Guns”. On a surface ship the FTG rate manage the big guns and the Torpedo Tubes/weapons and launch systems (yes, many Navy surface ships have Torpedo Tubes).

On Submarines the FTG rate handles the entire weapons system, less the torpedo’s themselves and the launch tube. On most current subs, they have a Tomahawk Vertical Launch System (VLS) that also belongs to the FTs (short for FTG, because we didn’t consider the torpedo tubes to be “Guns”). At the time they just had one FTG rate for the entire Navy, but by the time I was about to get out of the service, there were rumors that they were going to separate Sub and Surface rates.

All of this babble plays into what classes we were headed to next. The training program was modularized into common elements as much as possible. There were “Core” classes for individual systems. On Subs at this point in time there were mainly two Weapon’s Systems, the older MK-113 (with variations) and the MK-117. Dyke and I wound up in the pipeline for the older MK 113 system. Joey was in the MK 117 pipeline. You don’t get to pick, you are assigned.

It was nice that the core of my friends stayed together at this point. We are now headed into FT “A” School which lasts 12 weeks! This would be the longest period of time I have spent with any group of people in the Navy, before actually reporting to a Submarine. We were to forge very strong friendships during this time and I expect many of the sailors going through this class did the same. More on that next…