USS Enterprise vs Nimitz class

[m75]

Here is a dumb question but i'll ask it anyway. The USS Enterprise CVN-65 has 8 small nuclear reactors (atleast thats what they tell the civilian world) vs a Nimitz class which has 2 reactors. I think I read here once that each reactor has a bull nuke (highest enlisted man assigned to the reactor) Does that mean CVN-65 has 8 bull nukes??

thanks

[Gamecock]

No.

[93-383]

No in fact the Nimitz class only has one SEA (bull nuke) in reactor department.

[Harley Rider]

Well having served as a "Bull Nuke" on the Enterprise I think I am qualified to answer this question. The Enterprise reactor department has a Reactor Department Master Chief who is the senior enlisted nuke for the department. Additionally engineering department has a Engineering Department Master Chief that is also a nuke and serves the same function as the RDMC. So in reality there are two "Bull Nukes" on Enterprise. Hope that answers your question.

[deltarho]

So in reality there are two "Bull Nukes" on Enterprise. Hope that answers your question.

  That's a lot of bull...

[93-383]

However I did see a time when there was a Master Cheif for M,RM,RE,and RC div (RL lucked out and only an MMCS).
On the flip side of that coin there was a time when RM div only had one MMC, so two MM1s where the RM1 and 2 LCPOs

[Khak-Hater]

Don't think of Enterprise as having eight ( reactors.  Think of it as having four (4) dual-reactor plants.  Oh, and don't let anyone tell you that they're small.  It's a very powerful and flexible system.  No one, as I recall was assigned to a specific reactor, except maybe the RO standing watch on it, and then there's no rule that says that he would need to be from that plant (i.e., it's a temporary assignment that only lasts the length of the watch). 

As far as "Bull Nukes" go.  I have no idea what you're talking about.  I served on the E for six (6) years and never heard anyone referred to as the "Bull Nuke."  We had several Master Chiefs in Reactor Department.  One of them was the Departmental Master Chief.  I never heard anyone call him the "Bull Nuke."  We called him "Crusty the Clown" because of a remarkable physical and behavioral resemblance to the "Simpsons" character. 

The Engineering Department Master Chief was no more revered than that.  Having never served in Engineering Department, I couldn't even tell you who he was, but I never heard any of the EM or EE dudes referring to a "Bull Nuke." 

I think that maybe this "Bull Nuke" is a tuber-term like the Chief of the Boat (COB).  I always heard all of my tuber friends from NNPS and NPTU referring to the COB, like they knew him and he had some noticeable effect on their daily lives.  Yes, we had a Command Master Chief, but he was usually an Air Dale of some sort and no blueshirt in Reactor Department would've known who he was [by name and/or sight].

MGM

[Already Gone]

"Small" is a relative term, isn't it?  The Navy's biggest reactor is absolutely tiny compared to the smallest commercial reactor.  All 8 of the reactors on E put together are still smaller than one commercial nuke.

[Fermi2]

Like I always say. Startup Sources!

[Preciousblue1965]

"Small" is a relative term, isn't it?  The Navy's biggest reactor is absolutely tiny compared to the smallest commercial reactor.  All 8 of the reactors on E put together are still smaller than one commercial nuke.

It isn't the size of your reactor, it is what you do with it.  At least that is what I have always been told.....

[Harley Rider]

As far as "Bull Nukes" go.  I have no idea what you're talking about.  I served on the E for six (6) years and never heard anyone referred to as the "Bull Nuke."  We had several Master Chiefs in Reactor Department.  One of them was the Departmental Master Chief.  I never heard anyone call him the "Bull Nuke."  We called him "Crusty the Clown" because of a remarkable physical and behavioral resemblance to the "Simpsons" character. 

The term "Bull Nuke" is a relatively new term to the surface nuke world. I would say the moniker has been around 10 years or so and yes the term is used to describe the departmental Master Chief. Some embrace the term but I never used it. The Crusty the Clown made me laugh so hard I spit my coffee on my keyboard. Does that ever bring back memories.