Submariners! Bubbleheads. Please share how your branch's heroism influenced the battlefields.

Well I'm not a bubblehead, but during the Cold War as well as present this country depends on the Triad to deter a nuclear attack. The traid consist of ICBM's, land based intercontinental bombers, and nuclear submarines. Most superpowers who could be considered enemies could probably effectively defend against one or possibly two of these threats. However, to defend against all three would not be considered achievable with unacceptable loss of life and property. The greatest of these threats was and is the nuclear submarines. US submarines are extremely quiet and nearly undetectable by known decides at this time. Their mere presence can deter a nuclear strike alone. My hat is off to of those who support and carry out the missions of the Triad, especially the Submariners.

Most of my career was on Submarines. My son who is just coming up on 20 years has also served on several Trident or (Ohio) class submarines. My father and grandfather were both on surface targets.
Now to the question, for the most part the missile submarines are strictly limited to "Strategic Defense / Offense" and covert. The tridents hold enough power on each one to completely end the world so when you take a look at the importance and placement of submarines, the more accurate question would be along these lines: In the arena of strategic planning and shaping of our defense, what are some of the key positions submarines have played in our past? A bit more generic but places the topic into a "sea stories" type of an answer. The records of the people on the boats years later will never tell you the nature of each mission or patrol. Then the subject of other types of submarines would also have a several stage process in answering this question.

From my perspective, we left the pier, went into the water, dove down, landed on some magical stilts that for the next couple of months just moved all around in angles and rolls in pitch. Being a cook, I could have been one of the ones putting stuff in the food to make the crew think they were actually going places. Then in a couple of months, we all of a sudden surface next to the pier and play like we were at sea. ..... Well maybe that is not quite right but, it sure sounds like a fun time. LOL We just did what we did and had a great time. Now a days, with no poker and all the do gooders, much of the fun is all gone. They are in a great deal of danger of losing the bond of "brotherhood" like no other with all the "do gooders crap". They do not make apple jack and even the shellback or bluenose initiations are just a special meal that they actually eat and then a handshake. LOL Well, I remember back in the day... LOL

Mark, there are many things that many could tell you or just try and hint or beat around the bush. The real truth is, submariners either on the surface, under the water or even using the air go where they are needed and do what they need to get done. No excuses, no misses. 100% accuracy. The stealth abilities of our submarines is one of the cornerstones of our integrity, thus the "Silent Service". Be the pictures needed from within the Black Sea or mapping underwater ice tunnels at the north pole area and even working with scientists to map and understand the movement of land and the various forms of life in our oceans today. Be we needed to take special forces for deep infiltration or put into position for a missile launch that will hit a target thousands of miles away, the boats get done what we are asked to do and we make sure it is done without flaws. That is the job.

Finally, one of the major jobs is to go out to sea and see how much cardboard and plastic can be packed up and stored to be brought back into port for recycle and protection of the sea life. That is a pretty full time job. There are typically one or two people dedicated to just dealing with trash full time. That is quite a bit of manpower hours when the forces are cut to what is considered bare bones in manning, frills and duplication of efforts. A crew of very limited size and yet this one task is dedicate that percentage of dedicated staffing. Typically there are only about 150 on a submarine, give or take as needed.
But like Stephen Seagal has said, Hey, I am just a cook. LOL I had to get that in there someplace. LOL

Immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack, Submarines were, quite literally, all we had left. It was up to Subs to carry the fight to the Japanese. And they did. WW2 was a war of attrition and the best way to defeat someone is to destroy their chain of supply. The Japanese could not afford tanker and transport losses. 67% of all Japanese shipping sunk by the Allies was sunk by the US Navy's Submarine Force. Had more efficient torpedoes been available from 1941 (instead of 1943), the war may well have ended a year early as the Subs were hitting ships daily. Post war, the Subs entered the Cold War in a sea-denial/surveillance role and in that, they excelled. The majority of the CIA/NSA's spy traffic came from "spy subs" that tapped Soviet undersea cable traffic. The reliability of the SSBN program - and indeed, the speed with which it was created - were technological marvels. The technology and safety - all lead by the brilliant Admiral Hyman Rickover - enabled the USN to lead the world in technology that we as a nation would eventually use to power our cities. Indeed, many of the nations' nuclear power plant operators are former US Navy Submariners. The submarine launched Trident 2 D-5 missile is capable of hitting any hostile target in the world from the safety of American waters, giving the 14 Ohio Class "boomers" the ultimate stealth and reliability. Four of the class, including USS Ohio herself, were converted to Guided Missile Submarines (SSGN) carrying 144 cruise missiles and squads of special forces including Navy SEALs, Army Delta Force and/or USMC Recon units. The US Navy's Submarine School is still located in Groton, CT and is now open to female sailors. I served onboard the best of the US Navy's missile boats, the USS Casimir Pulaski during the 1980's. For an inside look at Submarine life, go to http://www.usscasimirpulaski.com