If you want to be a naval officer, you should want to be a submariner. There is more challenge. There is more responsibility. There is more opportunity. Ultimately there is more career fulfillment.
The preeminence of a nuclear submarine career is not widely understood. The critical roles the submarine plays in the national defense requires a security which does not permit gratuitous publicity. At the same time there is a lack of submariners to proselytize. There are too many essen- tial military billets that have to be filled by someone with a submariner’s knowledge and training. There are thus insufficient nuclear submariners left for recruitment. The submarine force is the “Silent Service” in more respects than is good for the Navy.
A few months ago I tried to place my submarine experience in per- spective. My ship was deployed to the Western Pacific, accomplishing the multiplicity of missions that only a nuclear submarine can do. I had met all the challenges of submarine command. It was an excellent time to reflect.
Had submarines been worth my time? Would I have been better in air, surface, or as a Marine? The answer is clear to me now; however, I can remember the chance basis on which I made my own service selec- tion. I did not have sufficient perspective then. What can I offer those people looking at a career decision now? How can I best express the tremendous sense of achievement which comes to those who can reach submarine command? This short essay is my effort to help explain “Why a submarine career?”
CAREER DECISION.
Your career choice is clearly one of your life’s most important decisions. How do you make a selection that will affect your entire life? How is it possible to anticipate the future? How can you look forward to decide what you will find satisfying twenty years hence? It is hard. But it cannot be ignored. You must make a choice.
I believe there are two important aspects of service selection – first you must choose a career which will be worth your life. It must be both challenging and inspirational. Secondly the purpose of your career must be in consonance with your personal basic value system. If you do not start out in a career which permits achieving both of these goals you do not have even a possibility of fulfillment. All of us have seen men and women in their late thirties and early forties who have significantly altered their life styles, changed careers and become strangers to their pasts. These are people whose career was not worth living. These are people who had not chosen a career which held true to their basic value system. Many people waste one-half of their lives because they disregard these basic tenets. It is a modern tragedy to see someone win a prize he never really desires.
You should realize that the quality of a career is not one of decid- ing how best you can use your talents to achieve material gains. That which comes easy has the permanence of early morning frost. In order for you to later find your life fulfilling – you must have chosen a ca- reer big enough to challenge you. You must have chosen a task difficult enough to inspire you. Set your goals high enough so that you can earn your own self-respect.
Concurrently you must ensure the work you do is worthwhile. To whom must it be worthwhile? There is only one judge in this court. Es- sentially, no matter what your ability to carry-on with life, no matter what your ostensible social and financial success, you cannot hide from yourself. Sooner or later, in the quiet of self-reflection, you will judge yourself by rather simple standards – what have you done to help your family, your neighbors, your country and mankind?
A submarine career will meet your standards. A submarine career is challenging – intellectually, physically, and morally. It is a game worth playing.
SUBMARINE UNIQUENESS.
In examining the submarine career
I believe it is necessary to look at the Commanding Officer’s billet. The submarine commanding officer is the result of the submarine career training program. He is, in addition, the focusing lens by which the ef- fort of his wardroom are coordinated and directed. The challenges, re- sponsibilities, and opportunities he faces are those which are inherent to a submarine career. Why are these significantly different in submarines? Because the submarine is unique.
You probably have some understanding of the demands of the sub- marine’s nuclear propulsion plant – the need for unyielding high stan- dards – the requirement for continued personal training – the sacred pub- lic trust involved. What you may not yet understand is that these same demands are reflected in all aspects of submarining. This is because of the essential uniqueness of the submarine platform. The submarine can carry America’s interest anywhere in the world’s oceans. The submarine does not need any support. She does not need control of the seas or of the air in order for her to proceed unchallenged. When operated by real sub- mariners, she is a silent ghost. Therefore, to maximize her advantages, the submarine normally operates in radio silence (without outgoing com- munications). This operating policy obviates the need to leave the hidden depths and thwarts possible detection and localization technology. As an operational consequence of this policy, the submarine is seldom required to even acknowledge an order, much less discuss any possible (mis)un- derstanding of the order’s intent.
Also as a result of this unusual method of operations, the submarine force emphasizes self-reliance, independence of thought, and a willing- ness to make your own decisions and take responsibility for the results. Why? It is simple. The magic of communications has permitted the Pres- ident of the United States (and all lesser echelons) to enter the bridge or cockpits of other commands and to provide real time direction of the Commanding Officer’s efforts. This is not true aboard submarines. Sci- ence has not been able to effectively penetrate the surface of the blue ocean. As a result, submarines continue to use the same measures used by Lord Nelson. He knew he would have only limited communications capability after the battle was joined. Therefore he talked to his Captains before the battle and trusted in their training and judgement after the bat- tle had begun. Operational experience with submarines, from World War II to the Iranian crisis, has proven again and again that the submarine is at its most awesome when the submarine commander is also provided this same (unusual) degree of freedom.
Challenge of Submarining.
Once at sea the submarine commanding officer knows that the success of his mission is completely dependent upon him and his crew. They must traverse the wide seas completely alone and self supportive. They will be gone for months without com- munication. They may cruise in regions literally thousands of miles from a friendly port. They can and will receive no help, no medical aid and no spare parts. They either have what they need, can make it or can fix it. There can be no blaming of bad luck or reliance on others. Their only friend is the ocean. Yet she is an environment inherently hostile. The safety of the ship and the lives of her crew are always at hazard. This is the challenge.
RESPONSIBILITY.
Since Thucydides told of the Peloponnesian Wars, the concept of the commanding officer has always appealed to our ideal of man as an individualistic leader. The uniqueness of the sub- marine platform produces an equally unique responsibility for the sub- marine commanding officer. He is in an enviable position in our modern life – he is truly master of his fate. He controls his destiny through how well he prepares himself and his ship. He controls the size of the stakes by the risks and costs he is willing to assume.
The Commanding Officer by his ultimate responsibility is corre- spondingly given complete control over all of the ship’s resources. He controls every facet of operations and every action of the people aboard. He has no routine to limit him or behind which to hide. His requirements are not structured, his time is not regimented. All of the ship is focused through and directed by his personal efforts. He cannot escape moral and legal liability. While success is personally his, so is failure. This is responsibility.
SUBMARINE OPPORTUNITY.
The third significant uniqueness of submarine command is opportunity. The opportunity exists to be a true leader – to achieve accomplishments through others. How many men ever reach a leadership position in which they have ultimate responsibil- ity? How many men ever reach the position in which they provide the motivation which serves as the mainspring for others? The submarine
commanding officer will – before he’s forty.
At the same time if you choose this path you must personally and physically command the ship into demanding situations in which the outcome is unknown. Alone at sea, far from America’s shores, the op- portunity still exists to display steadfastness and resoluteness in the same type of hostile environment which characterized the settling of the western wilderness. The opportunity still exists to do feats of skill and bravery – to win honors. You will have a once in a lifetime opportunity to truly understand yourself. Your achievement will be directly depen- dent upon your personal capabilities and priorities. How well have you trained yourself? How well have you inculcated your crew? What care have you paid to your submarine?
Concurrently you will determine the depth of your personal com- mitment. What challenges will you face and which will you turn from? What is really important to your inner self? I assure you that you will answer all of these questions during a submarine command.
What other careers can offer you, while still in your youth, the oppor- tunity to truly know yourself? What other career will offer you the per- sonal peace which comes through a tested knowledge of your strength? What understanding is more important than understanding yourself?
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE.
Less than two hundred major combatant warships make up the entire striking force of the United States Navy. Each major warship is a significant portion of the nation’s military strength. As a submarine commander, you will have one of those ships. You will have the only ship type that can go anywhere no matter what the enemy’s strength. You will have the only ship that is completely self-sufficient – the most effective weapon of war ever made – the most effective weapon for peace which the world has seen. The submarine is our nation’s cutting edge on both offense and defense. The challenge is in submarines. The responsibility is in submarines.
FULFILLMENT.
What is the deeper significance of a career in sub- marines? It lies in the immutable pages of history. In the rise and fall of civilizations, no form of individual liberty or government has ever been safe from ravage. The teacher, the farmer, the statesman, are all neces- sary. The defender is essential. The Commanding Officer of a submarine is directly, personally, and significantly involved in the maintenance of this nation’s defense, a defense which is the key to the balance of power that holds the world at peace. Can there be many careers which contrib- ute more to the common good?
Challenge, responsibility, opportunity. Know yourself. Display cour- age. Serve mankind. Submarine career.
D. R. Oliver, Jr.
Commanding Officer
USS PLUNGER (SSN 595)
17 September 1980
