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I have also known a few submariners whose careers had them rotating between boomers and TAG-S ships.
USNS Pathfinder (T-AGS-60)
USNS Sumner (T-AGS-61)
USNS Bowditch (T-AGS-62)
USNS Henson (T-AGS-63)
USNS Bruce C. Heezen (T-AGS-64)
USNS Mary Sears (T-AGS-65)
USNS Maury (T-AGS-66)
They did most of the detailed mapping of the ocean floors, and the mapping of gravity anomalies that subs use to navigate by. It was men on TAG-S ships who originally located the wreck of the Titanic and allowed our subs to use it as a navigational landmark, in the 1970s.
Interesting. I was the crewing manager for the operator of these ships in the late 90s. The TAGS class ships are (GOCO) ships owned by the Military Sealift Command. The crews were all civilian, to include the NAVO people who did the actual mapping. There were no active duty on these ships when I crewed them. Are you saying you had AD friends stationed aboard these vessels?
Interesting. I was the crewing manager for the operator of these ships in the late 90s. The TAGS class ships are (GOCO) ships owned by the Military Sealift Command. The crews were all civilian, to include the NAVO people who did the actual mapping. There were no active duty on these ships when I crewed them. Are you saying you had AD friends stationed aboard these vessels?
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Yes. In the 70s and 80s I knew sailors who were able to do 3 years on them. I was told they would be the only Active Duty on board when they did this.
Did some TAGS vessels have a SINS [Ship Inertial Navigation System] a stable gymbal platform? They may have been required to babysit the SINS.
Yes. In the 70s and 80s I knew sailors who were able to do 3 years on them. I was told they would be the only Active Duty on board when they did this.
Did some TAGS vessels have a SINS [Ship Inertial Navigation System] a stable gymbal platform? They may have been required to babysit the SINS.
I'm not sure about SINS, but all of the ships sailing in the 70s and 80s are decommissioned. Maybe the newer Pathfinder platforms were made without that system and so didn't need the AD personnel.
The only AD guy on an MSC ship? Sounds like cake duty to me.
Just to digress slightly, what do you guys think of the 'Crimson Tide' film starring Hackman and Washington, is it realistic or just hollywood guff?
It's a movie, just saw it once, and never again.
On a related note, "Hostile Waters" is rated as unrealistic in Martin Sheen's performance. Well, I've known Captains who might be like that.
I suppose what I am saying is that there is reality......and then, there is what the audience will accept. To me, what's a realistic movie of this nature? "The Bedford Incident".
Speaking as a surface guy, I'm curious about the difference in space between an attack boat and a boomer. Boomers are much bigger, so I've heard that makes a difference when it comes to livable space. Is that the case? Is there a lot more space on a boomer? Are you still hot-racking on a boomer?
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Boomers are very much bigger, talking an LA class of 6000 tons versus the Ohio class of 16,000 tons. The boomers had to be built around the missiles, so the missile system guided the size, thus allowed it to have a whole lot of room.
Never even heard of hot racking on a boomer (Ohio class at least), even with inspection teams and VIPs filling up the space, there are tons of space to set up temporary beds.
You guys certainly know a lot about subs. I know nothing. I don't suppose subs take tourists on board? A breach of security? I would pay for a ticket.
So you work 7 days a week? No days off? And you don't miss females?
What happens if a man makes mistakes or doesn't remember things? Or does not have the strength
for the job?
I'm sure you can get a tour of a sub, though it would probably help to be a family member of a current submarine based Sailor. There's always the museum boats, though, like the Bowfin at Pearl Harbor.
Yes, you work 7 days a week. I was a rider, so I worked 12 hour shifts, though I was always on call and rode for 250ish days. Those whose permanent duty station is the submarine work 8 hour shifts of actual duty, then spend 8 hours studying/prepping/relieving others/etc., before having 8 hours to themselves, which generally means way less than 8 hours of sleep. Funny story: once, someone put in a leave chit for 7 days to be taken while underway on the boat The CO considered the request for all of 10 seconds before denying it.
I know that folks miss women (both men and women who are attracted to women), but don't forget that non-heterosexual men and heterosexual women also ride these things.
If you mess up--and depending on the severity of your screwup--there is a good chance that you will be relieved from duty on the spot and possibly have your qualification for whatever job revoked. I knew a weapons officer who had his Officer of the Deck (OOD) qualification revoked, only to be replaced by a junior LT. It was embarrassing for the WEPs, but he was making far too many mistakes, which was unacceptable. That probably killed his chances of promotion, but I never really followed up with him.
Last edited by prospectheightsresident; 03-19-2021 at 05:14 PM..
You guys certainly know a lot about subs. I know nothing. I don't suppose subs take tourists on board? A breach of security? I would pay for a ticket.
So you work 7 days a week? No days off? And you don't miss females?
What happens if a man makes mistakes or doesn't remember things? Or does not have the strength
for the job?
While deployed, it is seven days a week work, there are no days off. Your "weekend" is you just have more free time because no drills or training going on during your time off watch.
There are no tourists on board, however, they do have "tiger cruises", which relatives can go out for a few hours to a couple of days with the submarine. Everyone who goes has to jump through the hoops to be cleared. It is a fun time though for everyone, I always enjoyed it. You can tour a sub that is in port if you know someone stationed on it, or know a higher up stationed on base that can perhaps get something arranged.
Miss females? I mean we are not dogs or something in constant search of females to breed with, lol.
Oh boy, mistakes, well, they do happen, we do what we do to mitigate it. The training is a lot, a whole lot, and there are tons of checks, more checks, and more after that, to ensure no mistakes, especially the deadly ones, occur. And you will remember things because the things will be drilled into your head constantly to where doing it is as natural as breathing.
But say there was a mistake of some sorts, there will be a bit of an investigation, they will see how it caused, and the trouble a person could be in could range from a talking to, to disqualification of the watch and have to requal it. Of course negligence and intentional are a whole other can of worms.
You guys certainly know a lot about subs. I know nothing. I don't suppose subs take tourists on board? A breach of security? I would pay for a ticket.
So you work 7 days a week? No days off? And you don't miss females?
What happens if a man makes mistakes or doesn't remember things? Or does not have the strength
for the job?
Well, if you have those "qualifications", you could always visit your namesake.
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