Monday, March 20, 2017

That's Three Times, and I Am Getting Annoyed...

Top of the evening to all...

I have now been killed in the service of my country three times.  This is getting annoying.

The first time was about 18 years ago.  One of my submarines, USS Chicago, was in drydock for some repairs.  The commanding officer decided to run a fire drill.  He asked me if I wanted to observe in the compartment where the supposed fire was to take place.  I went into the compartment.

The rule on submarines is that a fire must be brought under control within 60 seconds.  After that, everyone is presumed to be dead.  By the way, flooding at sea is bad, but there are multiple ways to control it.  Pumps, counter-flooding, or turning off water supply might be options, depending on the situation.  Any sailor will tell you that fire is far more frightening.  Anyway, the submarine's damage control team took three minutes to get to the compartment where I was observing.  Sigh...

The second situation was real.  I do not remember exactly what happened.  I know that I was underway and underwater.  I was hanging out in the torpedo room.  Suddenly there was smoke in the torpedo room (never a good thing).  I moved into a corner.  I still do not know what caused that smoke.

The last time was just a couple of weeks ago.  We had an active shooter drill at the reserve center.  I screwed up, got shot, and got everyone else in my room killed also.

The good news is that I am feeling pretty spry.

Have a good evening.

R/SCG