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Shipmates
Contributions
IN THE
BEGINNING
"In
the beginning there was a word; and the word was God. All else was
darkness and void without form. So God created the Heavens and Earth.
He created the Sun and the moon and the stars, so that light may
pierce the darkness. The Earth, God divided between the land and
the sea and He filled it with many assorted creatures."
The
dark, salty, slimy creatures that inhabited the seashore He called
Royal Marines and He dressed them accordingly. The flighty creatures
of the air He called Airy Fairies, and these he clothed in uniforms
which were ruffled and foul. These creatures were not over
popular, as their droppings fell on the earth below, but God
forgave them because as He said, they knoweth not what they do.
The
lowest creatures of the sea, God called Skimmers, and with a twinkle
in His eye, and a sense of humour only He could have, God gave them
big grey steel targets to go to sea on. He also gave them very many
splendid uniforms to wear. He gave them wonderful and
exotic places to visit. He gave them pen and paper so that
they might write home every week, and he gave them ‘make and
mends’ at sea! He also gave them a ‘chinky’ laundry that they
might keep their splendid uniforms clean. (When you are God you tend
to carried away at times).
On
the seventh day as we know God rested, and on the eighth day at 0700Z
God looked down upon the Earth and God was not a ‘happy God’.
He realized something vital was missing. So he thought about His
labours and with His infinite wisdom, God decided to create a divine
creature, and this divine creature He called a ‘Submariner’.
And these Submariners, whom God created in His own likeness, were to
be of the Deep, and so he gave them a white woolly jumper to keep them
warm. He gave them sleek, black, steel messengers of death to
roam the depths of the oceans, waging war against the forces of
Satan and evil. He gave them hotels to welcome them when they
grew weary of doing God’s will. He gave them subsistence so that
they may entertain the ladies on nights ashore and impress the hell
out of the poor creatures called Skimmers.
At
the end of the eighth day, God looked down upon the Earth and saw that
all was well. But still God was not happy, because, in the course of
His labours, He had forgotten one thing, He had not given Himself a
Submariner’s white woolly jumper!! He thought long and hard, and
finally satisfied his mind that not just anybody can be a Submariner.
I
was a member of the "Gold" crew from 9/66 to 5/69! We were
based at Ford Island, Hawaii when in port and then would fly to Guam
to meet the return of the "Blue" crew as they returned from
their patrol. I made 5 patrols on this great Boat! My skipper was
Comdr.. William's. As all boots have to go through, I was a member of
the seaman gang for the first 2 patrols while qualifying. I then
become a Sonar man. Before the last patrol, I became an STS2. I have
lost all contact with any of my shipmates over the years, and would
like to hear from any out there. Maybe we could share some great
stories, like the time we painted the deck with pink and green paint.
We were ordered to paint the deck and told to 'borrow' paint from the
skimmers base. They didn't say what color to paint it!
Dave Sisson STS2/ss
Submarine Qual Song
Sung to Roger Miller’s “King of the Road”
Siggies for smokes and Cokes
Tell the guy a good joke
And if he takes offense
Just use your common sense
And it’s two hours of shoot’n bull
Buys a signature sign’n fool
I’m a Nub of means
by no means, Heavy at all
I know pump names, valve numbers, buttons and boards
Statistics, ballistics and pipes by the hoards
But I can't see, reading an SIB
When a cup of black and bitter buys a siggy for me
Repeat chorus
I know Weaponeers, Engineers, NavETs and Mess Cranks
All took their turn at fill’n in the blanks
And when I go to my board
I hope I get an Officer that I can afford
Repeat chorus
Lyrics by Mark “Max” Miller MM1SS
“Laydown” Suschena ET1SS
USS Benjamin Franklin SSBN 640 Blue, 2/1973 – 11/1976
How To Simulate Being A Submarine Sailor
-
Many of these
apply to not only submarines but surface ships as well!!!! A
goooooooooooood one. Certainly not a recruiting tool!!!!!
-
Buy a steel
dumpster, paint it gray inside and out, and live in it for six
months.
-
Run all the
pipes and wires in your house exposed on the walls.
-
Repaint your
entire house every month.
- Renovate your bathroom. Build a wall
across the middle of the bathtub and move the shower head to chest
level. When you take showers, make sure you turn off the water
while you soap down.
-
Put lube oil in
your humidifier and set it on high.
-
Once a week,
blow compressed air up your chimney, making sure the wind carries
the soot onto your neighbor's house. Ignore his complaints.
-
Once a month,
take all major appliances apart and then reassemble them.
-
Raise the
thresholds and lower the headers of your front and back doors, so
that you either trip or bang your head every time you pass through
them.
-
Disassemble and
inspect your lawnmower every week.
-
On Mondays,
Wednesdays, and Fridays, turn your water heater temperature up to
200 degrees. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, turn the water heater off.
-
On Saturdays
and Sundays tell your family they use too much water during the
week, so no bathing will be allowed.
-
Raise your bed
to within 6 inches of the ceiling, so you can't turn over without
getting out and then getting back in.
- Sleep on the shelf in your closet. Replace
the closet door with a curtain. Have your spouse whip open the
curtain about 3 hours after you go to sleep, shine a flashlight in
your eyes, and say "Sorry, wrong rack".
-
Make your
family qualify to operate each appliance in your house -
dishwasher operator, blender technician, etc.
- Have your neighbor come over each day at 5
am, blow a whistle so loud Helen Keller could hear it, and shout
"Reveille, reveille, all hands heave out and trice up".
- Have your mother-in-law write down
everything she's going to do the following day, then have her make
you stand in your back yard at 6 a.m. while she reads it to you.
-
Submit a
request chit to your father-in-law requesting permission to leave
your house before 3 pm.
- Empty all the garbage bins in your house
and sweep the driveway three times a day, whether it needs it or
not. Have your neighbor collect all your mail for a month, read
your magazines, and randomly lose every 5th item before delivering
it to you.
-
Watch no TV
except for movies played in the middle of the night.
-
Have your
family vote on which movie to watch, then show a different one.
- When your children are in bed, run into
their room with a megaphone shouting that your home is under
attack and ordering them to their battle stations.
-
Make your
family menu a week ahead of time without consulting the pantry or
refrigerator.
- Post a menu on the kitchen door informing
your family that they are having steak for dinner. Then make them
wait in line for an hour. When they finally get to the kitchen,
tell them you are out of steak, but they can have dried ham or hot
dogs. Repeat daily until they ignore the menu and just ask for hot
dogs.
-
Bake a cake.
Prop up one side of the pan so the cake bakes unevenly. Spread
icing real thick to level it off.
-
Get up every
night around midnight and have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich
on stale bread.
- Set your alarm clock to go off a random
during the night. At the alarm, jump up and dress as fast as you
can, making sure to button your top shirt button and tuck your
pants into your socks. Run out into the back yard and uncoil the
garden hose.
-
Every week or
so, throw your cat or dog in the pool and shout "Man
overboard port side!" Rate your family members on how fast
they respond.
-
Put the
headphones from your stereo on your head, but don't plug them in.
- Hang a paper cup around your neck on a
string. Stand in front of the stove, and speak into the paper cup
"Stove manned and ready". After an hour or so, speak
into the cup again "Stove secured." Roll up the
headphones and paper cup and stow them in a shoe box.
- Place a podium at the end of your
driveway. Have your family stand watches at the podium, rotating
at 4-hour intervals. This is best done when the weather is worst.
January is a good time.
- When there is a thunderstorm in your area,
get a wobbly rocking chair, sit in it and rock as hard as you can
until you become nauseous. Make sure to have a supply of stale
crackers in your shirt pocket.
-
For former
engineers: bring your lawn mower into the living room, and run it
all day long.
-
Make coffee
using eighteen scoops of budget priced coffee grounds per pot, and
allow the pot to simmer for 5 hours before drinking.
-
Have someone
under the age of ten give you a haircut with sheep shears.
-
Mount a
florescent light under your coffee table and sleep under it for a
month.
-
Sew the back
pockets of your jeans on the front.
- Every couple of weeks, dress up in your
best clothes and go to the scummiest part of town. Find the most
run down, trashiest bar, and drink beer until you are hammered.
Then walk all the way home.
-
Take a two week
vacation visiting the red light districts of Europe or the Far
East, and call it "world travel".
- Lock yourself and your family in the house
for six weeks. Tell them that at the end of the 6th week you are
going to take them to Disney World for "liberty". At the
end of the 6th week, inform them the trip to Disney World has been
canceled because they need to get ready for an inspection, and it
will be another week before they can leave the house.
-
Are you ready
to go to sea?
Kevin,
We have
two things in common, the Ben Franklin and FTB. I served aboard her
'74 to '77. I came aboard straight from 6 runs
aboard the Rayburn and 4 runs aboard the 640, blue crew.
Your pics from MCC brought back some memories, but there were some
definite changes after the stint at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (PNSY).
At
any rate, I scored to FTB1(SS) before I left, the LPO was Pat Parker,
he scored something like three higher on the exam and made first
before I did. Your comments
regarding the best duty are absolutely correct.
William
Witchey
Nice Web Page!
I
served on the Ben Franklin from 5/80 to 1/83 and was an EOOW/EDO most
of this period (I was loaned out to the SSBN 626 for 3 months,
12/80-3/81, to serve as an EOOW/EDO for their patrol). When I
left active duty I had somehow made LT even though the Engineer and
the CO disliked me.......
I
started civilian employment at Nebraska Public Power District's (NPPD)
Cooper Nuclear Station in 4/83 and have worked there ever since.
I rejoined the Navy Reserve in 1984 after undergoing an attitude
readjustment, and have attained the rank of CDR, presently serving as
the Emergency Planning Navy
Liaison Officer for FEMA Region VII.
Kim
Walden, who I replaced when I came to the Ben Franklin, also works at
NPPD in the corporate office. He is now a CAPT in the reserves
and serves as the Nebraska Emergency Planning Navy Liaison
Officer.
Gerry
Hurla, an E-6 ELT during the 1979-81 overhaul era works at the
Calloway Nuclear Power Plant in Missouri.
MT2
Rainwater, early 1980's, works as a vendor rep for an electronics firm
that services equipment at nuclear power plants. I saw him briefly in
the early 1990's but have lost touch.
The nuc@
work photo looks like a MM that used to work for me. He is
currently an engineering consultant in the nuclear industry and was at
Cooper Nuclear Station in 1996.....I just can't remember his
name right at the moment.
CAPT
Goebel, CO 197? to 1981, retired as an Admiral ~ 1995 following his
tour at the STRATCOM located in Nebraska. He tried his hand at
trying to help Northeast Utilities recover from all their nuclear
power plant problems but left the company after a short period of time
in 1997. I have not heard about him since that time.
The
number 640 used to plague me everywhere I went. Upon leaving active
duty and driving from Charleston, SC to Wisconsin my car even broke
down on I-640. Somehow I have turned that around and 640 seems to be a
number associated with good things.
Robert
Beilke
rlbeilk@nppd.com
My name is Budd Klungler.
I
rode the Franklin down the ways and commissioned her. I was on
the Franklin from January 1965 to July 1969. I came aboard the
Franklin as an MTSN (SU) and left her as MT1(SS). I retired from
the Navy in January 1982 as FTCS(SS). I now live in Monroe,
Michigan with my family. I have been trying for years to see if
there is, will be, or was a commissioning crew reunion. I know
of a number of other guys that were in the commissioning crew that
live in and around the Bremerton area.
Any information you have on the original blue or gold crews would
be extremely appreciated.
Budd
Klungler FTCS(SS) Ret.
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