I was a nuclear trained electrician and served twelve years in the submarine service.
There were several significant moments in my service. One had little to do with the military and more to do with where I was. I still vividly recall shortly after my first dive standing under the main hatch imagining how much water was above me. Kind of a Jules Verne moment. This beautiful moment was shattered shortly after when I was given a wrench and a qualification card and told to get to work.
Aside from the family separation I found my time in the Navy very rewarding. I am of course desensitized to the hardship by time though. I got out in 2001. Sometimes it takes great effort to minimize nostalgia and remember things exactly the way they were. Some of the maintenance wasn't enjoyable at all. Drill schedules and field days were necessary evils. I have no regrets.
I am eager to share my enthusiasm for my experiences, but always caution others that it isn't for everybody. Some people that had the exact same job as I did were blatantly miserable. I am honest about the 'bad' parts so that people can make an informed decision. Submarines are a unique environment, some simply can't cut it psychologically.
I want to extend the bit of the conversation about how some join the service to avoid jail. In my experience, very few join out of some patriotic zeal. Most join simply for the sake of having a steady paycheck. The nuclear Navy is filled with people that will tell you they joined for the education oportunity since they couldn't afford school otherwise. Many join to avoid destitution. Even though ours is a strictly volunteer force, the notion that people generally join to defend and spread democracy is misplaced.
I recommend military service so long as one understands real expectations (not the rosey recruiter version) and has the constitution to see things through. There's nothing worse than dragging along dead weight because someone checks out by putting forth the absolute minimum effort.
There were several significant moments in my service. One had little to do with the military and more to do with where I was. I still vividly recall shortly after my first dive standing under the main hatch imagining how much water was above me. Kind of a Jules Verne moment. This beautiful moment was shattered shortly after when I was given a wrench and a qualification card and told to get to work.
Aside from the family separation I found my time in the Navy very rewarding. I am of course desensitized to the hardship by time though. I got out in 2001. Sometimes it takes great effort to minimize nostalgia and remember things exactly the way they were. Some of the maintenance wasn't enjoyable at all. Drill schedules and field days were necessary evils. I have no regrets.
I am eager to share my enthusiasm for my experiences, but always caution others that it isn't for everybody. Some people that had the exact same job as I did were blatantly miserable. I am honest about the 'bad' parts so that people can make an informed decision. Submarines are a unique environment, some simply can't cut it psychologically.
I want to extend the bit of the conversation about how some join the service to avoid jail. In my experience, very few join out of some patriotic zeal. Most join simply for the sake of having a steady paycheck. The nuclear Navy is filled with people that will tell you they joined for the education oportunity since they couldn't afford school otherwise. Many join to avoid destitution. Even though ours is a strictly volunteer force, the notion that people generally join to defend and spread democracy is misplaced.
I recommend military service so long as one understands real expectations (not the rosey recruiter version) and has the constitution to see things through. There's nothing worse than dragging along dead weight because someone checks out by putting forth the absolute minimum effort.
