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Comment by Kaye S. on September 13, 2009 at 12:39am

Daltons Mom: Some of this has been said before, but it's a post I'd written elsewhere and I didn't feel like retyping it!

There are two types of subs, "fast attacks" and "boomers." Attack subs accompany an aircraft carrier group and are there to protect it from bad guys. They carry mostly torpedoes (for attacking) and a few Tomahawk missiles (for bad guy ships). They are small and agile, easy to manuver. Crews are smaller and space is very tight everywhere. A regular schedule is generally a longer deployment (6-9 months) & shorter "at-homes" (3 months) because they must go where the mother ship goes. But, the cruise is broken up with ports 'o call to foreign places, which is exciting. Communication with families is available via phone during these stops or via short emails when the sub is at communication depth.

Boomers are "lone wolves." They disappear into the ocean, purposely staying hidden, to do reconnaissance and peace-keeping. They carry Trident nuclear missiles (for peace-keeping) and some torpedoes (for self-defense). They are huge (2 football fields long and 3 stories high), but slower and not as agile. Crews are larger and more space is available for moving around (for instance, there's no racking amongst the torpedoes and not so much hot-racking). Their cruises are shorter (3 months), but they remain underwater constantly. The only communication families get is via short emails whenever the sub surfaces to communication depth. Their "at-homes" are longer though (6 months) making it easier on the personal life.

On carriers, sailors get to see the spectacular sunrises and sunsets; truly experiencing the ocean like sailors have for thousands of years. But, there are very strict chains of command and very little interaction between enlisted and officers. There's also less interaction between functions (machinists don't know sonar techs, etc.). Since sub crews are not 5000 strong, plus they cross-train extensively, the men know each other better across functions. Also, there's less formality between enlisted and officers, so the crew gets to know the command better and vice versa. ALL submariners must become qualified (earning their "dolphins" pin; see my page for a blog post about this). As Lisa said below, the guys get the bum end of every work detail, shift, and rack until they do. They must earn this pin within about 12-14 months of coming on board or they'll be reassigned to a carrier. And, perhaps most importantly of all, since the sub's galley is cooking for 150 (on a boomer; less on an attack sub), the food is better!

One other consideration from the mommy-viewpoint is that, if he can handle the no-sun and cooped-up atmosphere, I'd rather have him underwater where bad guys are less likely to shoot at him.

Above, just under the large square photo of the "Dolphins" pin, is an area named "Discussion Forum" for additional sub discussions (only 3 show at a time, although there are many more). Click on "View all" in this area and you'll have two pages of more sub talk to read! Find the discussion entitled "Lovely Links to Know" for many sites and videos to educate you about subs. Also check out the "USS Toledo Videos," for an excellent overview into sub life. I agree that the PBS series titled "Carrier" would be excellent for a view into "skimmer" life (what sumariners call surface sailors).

Good luck with the decision-making. Hugs! k.

Comment by BunkerQB on September 12, 2009 at 1:41pm

My son is a nuke officer on a sub. He is single and volunteers for watch duty when he knows the married ones need to be home with the kids. He said this is the biggest problem with being on a sub - the lack of normalcy for the married sailors. Hey, it the military. He also did not want to get lost on a carrier. I personally would have preferred that he went with a carrier because it would be easier to take classes and I personally can't envision being that confined. He said living inside a sub is NO big deal, you get use to it. Right, son. We don't hear from him for days and days. When he calls, invariably it's 2 AM our time. He likes the men in his group and I believe they like him. He prefers to be yelled at than have one of the chiefs or senior officers yell at the guys who work under him. If things are running smoothly, the higher ups just leave you alone to go about your job, so my son works extra hard to make sure things run smoothly when he is in charge.

Comment by LLovesmysailor on September 12, 2009 at 12:27pm

I'm a sub mom, so I guess I'm bias, but I can tell you why my son chose to go subs. He's on a Fast Attack sub, so they do get to go into port. Some say more interesting ports than the carriers. This last deployment they were in Norway, Scotland and England. There are only 155 sailors on a fast attack and that is the main reason he wanted to go subs. He was also only 18 when he went to Nuke school and didn't want to get lost amoung the 5,000 sailors on a carrier. He told me "mom, I don't want to get lost on my way to work." His dad was on the Nimitz years ago and agreed that Alex does much better in a smaller environment. There is also the extra insentive of getting sub pay. Hope this helps with his decision.

Comment by NevadaSierra on September 10, 2009 at 8:45am

Hi Everybody: WOW, I've missed some great stuff, and since our sailor isn't 'active' on a sub now - his working in Mark's neighborhood I usually just read to keep up.
Someone asked about Ombusdman; there is a group here as well that has been VERY helpful.

MARK: Congrats. How often something that awesome happen?! How very wonderful for all of you.

ANITA: please know that you are all in our prayers. Any news about AJ? My angel blessings~s

Comment by LLovesmysailor on September 9, 2009 at 6:27pm

Anita, I'm so glad your son is OK! Does he know what they will do with him while he waits for his sub? Which sub will he be stationed on?

Comment by LLovesmysailor on September 9, 2009 at 4:23pm

It is a good idea to get in contact with the FRG early on. They get very busy when it gets close to the subs home coming.

Comment by LLovesmysailor on September 9, 2009 at 11:30am

Anna, I was in contact with the Ombudsman. She put me in contact with the FRG. They sent me the date of his return and arranged for us to get onto the base for the home coming. They also contacted everyone to tell them of the delay. My son could have told me when they were coming home when he called from his last port call. But he could not have arranged for us to get onto the base in Groton. Being on the e-mail list of the FRG is the best way to get accurate and timely information.

Comment by LLovesmysailor on September 8, 2009 at 10:43pm

Last year I sent my son a Halloween package. I mailed it a week before Halloween. They delivered it to my son in Feb. Fortunately, it didn't have anything that would go bad. I no longer send anything to the sub. If he's in port, I send it to his apartment. If they are out, I wait until they get back. So who knows, your son might get his package in a few months.

Comment by LLovesmysailor on September 8, 2009 at 12:58pm

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I can't send him any packages. They only get packages when they get into port and since that port call was cancelled, it means no packages.

Comment by LLovesmysailor on September 8, 2009 at 12:26pm

I'm having one very tough day. I just found out that my son's sub had its last port call cancelled. So that means no phone call for the near future. Also, their return date has been cancelled and will be put off by at least a month. Instead of seeing him in a few weeks it will be a couple of months

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