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Comment by Kaye S. on July 29, 2009 at 5:08pm

Caroline (a new sub mom) was asking some questions about fast attacks and boomers, so this response is for her. But, since we seem to have LOTS of new folks, I thought it might be best to post here:

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). 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.

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.

Welcome to the unique and special world of submariners! Hugs! k.

Comment by LLovesmysailor on July 29, 2009 at 1:57pm

I am considering getting a navigation system for my son's car. That way he can explore some of New England and not get lost. And maybe just a little hint for him to make it home occasionally.

Comment by Mark on July 28, 2009 at 9:20pm

The cell phone/camera policy seems to vary a lot depending on the base. Boomer bases always have tighter security restrictions than fast attack bases, and Bangor/PSNS (Puget Sound Naval Shipyard) seem to be even tighter. We (shipyard employees) cannot have cell phones with cameras in the shipyard, and since Bangor is a sister base - the policy there is the same. I'd be curious to hear about Kings Bay.

Comment by Kaye S. on July 28, 2009 at 9:08pm

Lisa, my Sailor is a Nuke on a boomer. He's not allowed to take his cell on board because of the camera. And he wasn't allowed to take his laptop on board until he had earned his Dolphins ("If you've got enough time to be on a PC, you've got time to be working on quals.") Sounds like he needs to check with his command on this one. Hugs! k.

Comment by LLovesmysailor on July 28, 2009 at 4:41pm

OK, that explains the hot racking thing for me. Alex is an ET2 and has his fish. The only time he had to hot rack was when they had midshipman on board for a short cruise.

Comment by LLovesmysailor on July 28, 2009 at 12:07pm

Lisa, My son is presently deployed and he has his laptop with him. Just make sure that your husband's is insured. Yes, even on subs, things disappear. The rules for Nukes seem to be different than non-Nukes. I know that on fast attacks that Nukes don't ever hot rack. So they have their own space to keep some things. Hope this helps.

Comment by Mary, Proud Mom of Nick on July 27, 2009 at 1:42pm

Hi Sub moms - we have a question about what color stripes the submarine uniform has. For example on ships - aviation wears lite blue, engineer wears red, etc. I think there are four different color stripes. Wondering if all submariners wear one color stripe or do their stripes tie into their rate? Thanks!

Comment by Kaye S. on July 27, 2009 at 1:25pm

Lisa, I believe "Family Grams" no longer exist, since the sub-to-shore email system has come about. If you'll go to my page, there's a blog post there about emailing a sub which may answer some of your questions. Hugs! k.

Comment by Mark on July 26, 2009 at 11:59pm

Lisa - it depends on what the boat is doing. On a deployment, a fast attack will typically have a continuous stretch at sea lasting up to about two months between ports at some point. This is a period where the boat will keep an exceptionally low profile, and the communication to/from families will be very infrequent - outside of that period though, several e-mails a week is probably realistic. His qualification status shouldn't matter; maybe it will if he got behind on his quals, but I doubt it even then.

Comment by Mark on July 26, 2009 at 6:55pm

Already posted on the other group, Kaye - abso - (insert adverb here)- lutely!

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