FAQ about U.S. Navy

Answer: About 70 days

In theory, a submarine can stay submerged for as long as its supply of food holds out. In practice, however, the length of a patrol is limited by the endurance of the crew. Submarine duty is physically demanding and extremely stressful. Everyone on a submarine works 18 hours a day, and Engineering personnel frequently work longer than that. I remember once getting an hour and a half of sleep over a five day period. Since it is important to keep as many submarines at sea as possible, each boat has two crews, called "Blue" and "Gold." When a boat comes back from patrol, there is a brief period called "turnover," during which the boat changes crews. The returning crew is given a 30 day period to recover, and then two months of training before returning to sea.

Answer: "Paddles"

Urban Legend has it that the first LSO used sailors' hats and waving arms to signal corrections to approaching aircraft. Legend or not, the art of "waving" aircraft resulted in purpose built "paddles" to help pilots see the corrections being signaled by the out-tretched arms of the LSO. With the advent of the mirror landing system, the LSO used the radio for sending corrections, but the name "paddles" has lasted and is the official radio callsign used by the controlling LSO. The Air Wing LSO who is senior to all the squadron LSOs is called CAG paddles.

Answer: Thresher and Scorpion

Thesher (SSN-593) had bad luck from the start. She was commissioned on August 3, 1961. On November 2, 1961 she suffered a failure of her diesel generator while in port and had to be evacuated. In 1962, she was struck by a tug boat while mooring at Cape Canaveral, Florida and suffered damage to her ballast tanks. On April 10, 1963 Thresher was conducting deep diving tests off the coast of Massachusetts. Operating at near her test depth of 1300 feet, she reported she was having "minor problems." She was never heard from again. She was found in 5500 feet of water, broken into six pieces. The most probable cause of her loss was determined to be a leak in a high-pressure water line, which shorted out her electrical system. 129 men, inluding seventeen civilian observers, lost their lives.

Scorpion (SSN-589) was commissioned on July 29, 1960. On May 16, 1968 she left Rota, Spain on her way back to her homeport of Norfolk, Virginia. When she did not return as scheduled on May 27, a search was launched, but it was not until October that her wreckage was located in 3000 feet of water 400 miles southwest of the Azores. No one knows what caused Scorpion to sink; there are many theories, including one that she was sunk by a Russian submarine. It is known that Scorpion was suffering from a number of engineering problems, and had undergone emergency repairs shortly before her last mission. Her crew of 99 officers and men perished with her.

Answer: San Clemente Island

During Third Phase the instructors take the men to San Clemente Island to train them in weapons and tactics. They spend at least a week on this island training, bleeding, and blowing stuff up.

Answer: The extreme aft part of the main deck

All parts of a ship have names, some of which are in common use, some known only to sailors. The fantail on a destroyer is a common place for ceremonies, musters, etc.

Answer: 700 MPH

Although an FA-18 Hornet can reach speeds of 1400 MPH - just under Mach 2 - the fastest speed in the show is about 700 MPH. It is achieved by the solo pilots during the sneak attack.

Answer: Dolphins

In 1923, Captain (later Admiral) Rufus T. King suggested to to the Secretary of the Navy that submariners be allowed to wear a special insignia. The suggestion was adopted, and the "Submarine Warfare Qualification Insignia" came into being. The design is: "a bow view of a submarine proceeding on the surface with bow planes rigged for diving, flanked by dolphins in horizontal positions resting their heads on the upper edge of the bow planes." Officers wear gold dolphins, while enlisted men wear silver. They are worn on the left breast of the uniform above the ribbons. The dolphins, by the way, are not warm-blooded creatures like Flipper; they are dolphin fish, better known as mahi mahi. The dolphins also have names: Castor and Pollux. One can only wear the insignia after completing submarine qualification, an arduous process that can take up to a year. To qualify, a sailor must be familiar with all submarine systems and operations. Sailors on ballistic missile submarines are authorized to wear a device called a "patrol pin" below their ribbons. It consists of a submarine in profile. The number of patrols is indicated by gold and silver stars on the device.

Answer: The Grinder

This is where most of the men bleed, sweat, and fight their way to become Navy SEALs.

Answer: 28 million dollars

The jets are not cheap! FYI - they weigh about 24,500 pounds empty, too!

Answer: Military Sealift Command

The Military Sealift Command operates more than 110 ships around the world. These ships carry the designation 'USNS' (United States Naval Ships) and are not commissioned ships. Also, they are crewed by civilians. Some MSC ships also have small military departments assigned to carry out specialized military functions such as communications and supply operations. MSC ships carry the prefix 'T' before their normal hull numbers.

Answer: A former enlisted man

I have never found out the origin of this term. As a general rule, it was better to work for a mustang than someone who started his career as an officer. At least they usually knew what they were doing. On the other hand, they tended to be quite a bit more intelligent than other officers, so it was harder to put something over on them.

Answer: pounds

Landing aboard a carrier is like a controlled crash as the aircraft do not flare their approach and slam onto the steel with hook extended in an effort to catch one of the wires stretched across the landing area. The wires are reset for each landing to a setting corresponding to the expected weight of the approaching aircraft thus knowing the landing weight is absolutely critical. The most typical carrier ops doctine is to use a max trap single weight setting for each type aircraft. Aviators read their fuel quantity in pounds and fuel flow in pounds per hour. In prebrief planning, aviators calculate how much fuel they expect to have throughout the flight in 15 minute increments called a fuel ladder. They jealously hold on to every drop of fuel until the last moment never knowing if there may be a delay in landing or other emergency. At the last moment, fuel dumping may have to be used to get the aircraft down to the set max trap setting used by the carrier.

Answer: None, they are purely decorative

Med lights are lights that are strung from bow to stern, over the highest mast on a ship. They are used only in port. Stringing Med lights was one of the worst duties an Electrician's Mate could pull. It is hard work, because the cables are heavy, have to be spliced together, and all of the lights - hundreds of them - have to be kept lit. They basically make the ship look pretty at night. Having nothing better to do, some commanding officers are gung-ho about Med lights. Once, on one of the ships I was assigned to, some scoundrel broke into the Med light locker, cut the plugs off all the Med lights, and threw them overboard. Our Captain was quite distraught, as he was a Med light enthusiast.

Answer: Officer of the Deck

While the Captain of a ship has absolute control of the vessel under his command, he can't be awake and in charge 24/7. When the Captain is not on duty, his functions are performed by the "Officer of the Deck." At sea, this is almost always a commissioned officer, but on smaller ships the function may be filled by an enlisted man while the ship is in port. I had to stand OOD watches on my destroyer, and hated it. For one thing, you had to wear your dress white uniform, and if anything could go wrong, it would invariably happen on your watch.

Answer: "Foul"

As aircraft filter down out of the Hawk Circle and enter the landing pattern in 45 second intervals, the LSO platform comes alive and "paddles" reports readiness to the tower. At multiple stations across the flightdeck safety observers ensure that the landing area is clear of any impediments to landing. The deck is considered to be "fouled" or a "Foul Deck" if all is not in readiness. If the tower forsees a delay, the "boss" calls "paddles" and says "no chance". "Paddles" then initiates the waveoff lights to signal the aircraft to go around and reenter the pattern.

Answer: A club for first and second class petty officers

Many large bases have not only an enlisted men's (EM) club, and an officers' club, but clubs for specific ranks and ratings as well. Acey-Deucy clubs are for sailors in paygrade E-5 and E-6. The name comes from a game popular with sailors that resembles backgammon.