Reprinted with permission from the Journal of College Science Teaching, a publication of the National Science Teachers Assocation (www.nsta.org). –Ed.
There are places where proficiency in science and technology is an immediate life or death matter. The USS Dallas, SSN 700, a fast attack submarine based in New London, Connecticut, is one
of them. I had the privilege of touring the submarine at its home port recently to get a better understanding of its working environment and learn about career opportunities in the submarine service for university students of science and engineering.
Naval Submarine Base New London is on the Thames River, just a short drive north from U.S. 95 along the east coast of Connecticut. During our visit, several of the Navy’s Atlantic fleet of fast attack sub- marines were at the base for repairs and refitting after completing patrols that may keep them underwater for months at a time. Adjacent to the base is the Submarine Force Museum and the Historic Ship Nautilus, the first submarine to transit the North Pole. Both of these immaculately maintained facilities are open to the public and free. The base, of course, is closed to the public with layers of security protecting the piers where the submarines dock. Visitors get an immediate impression that that this is a no-nonsense, zero-tolerance for error, environment.
On the day of our visit, our hosts drove us to the pier to board the Dallas where we met the submarine’s senior enlisted man, better known as “Chief of the Boat.” (Unlike sailors in the surface Navy, submari- ners call their vessels “boats.”) The Master Chief bears a large part of the responsibility for coordinating the work of the Dallas’s 130 enlisted crewmen. Women officers now serve on both fast attack submarines and the larger ballistic missile submarines, and the Navy has begun to train enlisted women for submarine duty. The Dallas is an older boat but newer Virginia-class attack submarines will accommodate mixed-gender crews more readily.
Our pier-side conversation with the Master Chief gave us the im- pression that he would rise to senior management in any civilian organi- zation. He was proud of the diversity in race, ethnicity, and backgrounds of his crew and extolled their ability to work as a team. It was obvious to us that he was deeply dedicated to his boat’s mission, and we left know- ing that we had met a remarkable leader.
The interior of the Dallas is tight, utilizing every space. The array of technology required to operate it is remarkable. Its nuclear reactor powers the submarine’s propulsion system, provides the electric power required to distill fresh water and produce oxygen, and operate its myr- iad systems. (Naval reactors use highly enriched uranium but there are efforts underway to design naval reactors using low-enriched uranium to prepare for the possibility that nations may someday agree to ban the production of highly enriched uranium that can also be used for nuclear weapons.) With nuclear power, the length of time the Dallas can remain submerged is limited only by the amount of food it can carry.
On the day of our visit Dallas crew were reviewing training man- uals and checking equipment. They clustered around the control sys- tems used to maintain course and depth, monitor the boat’s interior and exterior environment, and power its weapons and defensive systems. Fire prevention and control is high priority requiring frequent drills. Our guide showed us a wall-mounted bracket holding two valve wrenches required to operate a seawater fire extinguishing system and said that if one wrench is out of place, the crew would be alerted and take immediate action. There is no allowance for error or tolerance for deficiencies in a submarine environment. Few university science laboratories achieve that standard in their safety practices.
The submarine’s formidable technology would impress any observer but the attitudes and seriousness displayed by crewmen as they pursued their assigned work activities were just as impressive. We left the Dal- las feeling humbled and proud of the submariners who serve on it, and proud of a democratic nation with men and women volunteering to serve in such a spartan and dangerous environment.
Would it be possible to develop an introductory university science class that generated a similar intensity of purpose and esprit? Perhaps one could try to develop a course on “submarine science and technology “ designed around the technologies on display in the Dallas with stu- dents assigned as “crew” tasked to understand and operate the Dallas’ systems. The content is built in: physics, chemistry, biology, computer science, oceanography, and engineering.
Students who wanted to do more could explore the psychology of crew selection, training, and morale maintenance in close quarters. They could study the role of the submarine force in the nation’s deterrent and power projection capabilities. Grades may not motivate as much as the need to work in an unforgiving environment but students might get a bet- ter sense of the value of technical competence, discipline, and dedication to mission in the world beyond the confines of the university.
