Clearly I am surrounded by submarine dig-its on slashdot, so I'll try not to hurt anyone's feelings.
NR-1 was originally an ego booster for Hyman Rickover. After all, as the head of the Bureau of Naval Reactors (part of the Department of Energy), why couldn't he have a namesake? The president has Air Force 1. Why couldn't he have NR-1.
NR-1 is a pretty old submarine, and it is TINY. It is occasionally referred to as the "trash can reactor". You wouldn't catch me volunteering to be on that thing-- the guys I knew gave up the opportunity to shower regularly to lead a fairly miserable life for the periods of time they were submerged. Compared to life on even a Los Angeles class submarine, NR-1 life is substandard.
All of the stupid "100 people go down, 50 couples come up" jokes are pretty lame. For the most part, a submarine crew consists of sharp, extremely heterosexual guys that spend their time doing the right thing and busting each other's balls. If anyone admits a weakness or that something bothers them, everyone will do their best to push that button and drive him to insanity.
When the crew's favorite movie is "Wild Things", it is hard to say they're all a bunch of homos.
The life of a submariner is anything but easy. Men on real operational submarines (i.e. the "fast attack", Los Angeles class submarines) often spend more than half of the year away from home.
I've said my peace.
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Clearly I am surrounded by submarine dig-its on slashdot, so I'll try not to hurt anyone's feelings. NR-1 was originally an ego booster for Hyman Rickover. After all, as the head of the Bureau of Naval Reactors (part of the Department of Energy), why couldn't he have a namesake? The president has Air Force 1. Why couldn't he have NR-1. NR-1 is a pretty old submarine, and it is TINY. It is occasionally referred to as the "trash can reactor". You wouldn't catch me volunteering to be on that thing-- the guys I knew gave up the opportunity to shower regularly to lead a fairly miserable life for the periods of time they were submerged. Compared to life on even a Los Angeles class submarine, NR-1 life is substandard. All of the stupid "100 people go down, 50 couples come up" jokes are pretty lame. For the most part, a submarine crew consists of sharp, extremely heterosexual guys that spend their time doing the right thing and busting each other's balls. If anyone admits a weakness or that something bothers them, everyone will do their best to push that button and drive him to insanity. When the crew's favorite movie is "Wild Things", it is hard to say they're all a bunch of homos. The life of a submariner is anything but easy. Men on real operational submarines (i.e. the "fast attack", Los Angeles class submarines) often spend more than half of the year away from home. I've said my peace.