Is the subpay worth it?

[Antonio11213]

I am a taller individual, coming in around 6'3 / 6'4. I understand the nukes on the sub usually get the higher reenlistment bonuses, and also get sub pay. They from my understand also get opportunities to advance quicker and can get more recognition for better or worst. But my question is it all worth it to my height? Or will it just be a headache both literally and figuratively?

[Marlin]

   If pay is the issue I would say no. If personal advancement both military and personal growth I would say yes. I am from an older generation of subs, the worst height on the 637s was about 6'1" as they normally could walk around with not much problem but during drills when they ran they tended to bounce up into equipment while running. Taller than 6'1" they were bent over in about half of the boat anyway and were already cautious of equipment in the overhead. One of my nuke school classmates was 6'9" and was assigned to the boats. As usual YMMV.

[GLW]

same as always,....

go nuke because you want to be a nuke,...

go boats because you want to be in the engineering spaces on a boat,...

[ipregen]

No matter what you choose you will have to sleep with your knees bent to fit in a rack. Surface ships will visit more liberty ports, consider if daylight and sunshine make your life better. Either type will offer you many opportunities to bang your head and knock your knees traveling through watertight doors.

[Chimera]

If you're doing it for the money, the answer is, "No."  Submarine duty is a matter of pride, not money.

[Antonio11213]

By "subpay" I mean the benefits the pride, the actual pay, the tighter knit community. I am just more or less concerned on my height being an issue.

[Marlin]

By "subpay" I mean the benefits the pride, the actual pay, the tighter knit community. I am just more or less concerned on my height being an issue.

   In that case go for it, but then I am somewhat prejudice as I am a SubVet, the Base Commander of a United States Submarine Veterans chapter (USSVI), and a district commander of seven USSVI bases. When I enlisted I was looking at all of the services and wanted to avoid being drafted so I had at least some choice in where I was going. I was an avid reader of a number of SciFi authors who were also known as speculative fiction writers who had as many medical and technical books published as they did SciFi (much of their speculation is reality today). One of the books I read not long before enlisting was the "Deep Range" by Author C Clarke (inventor of the communication satellite). In this book in the near future we were farming and ranching the oceans with submarines. It was not long before that that Star Trek had ended its initial run as a TV series I was a fan of it as well, submarines were as close to a spaceship as I would ever get. At the time enlisting in the nuclear propulsion program was almost a guarantee of assignment to subs. I wish they were better at teaching legacy when I was in but there really was not much time. In Star Trek Captain Kirk a number of times said forget about me save my ship. In reality during WWII two skippers did exactly that. Commander Gilmore severely wounded ordered his sub to dive with him still topside to save his boat. Capt. Cromwell when his sub was about to be captured evacuated his crew then stayed aboard to ensure the boat was scuttled and to ensure he was not captured as he knew the plans for the invasion of Japan. It is a shame that I did not learn much of the Submarine Service history until I was out of the Navy for some time. In WWII the Submarine Service had the highest rate of loss, one in four men did not return and at 1 percent of the fleet accounted for fifty percent of enemy shipping losses, fully one third of Japanese warships were sunk by submarines.

[Chimera]

By "subpay" I mean the benefits the pride, the actual pay, the tighter knit community. I am just more or less concerned on my height being an issue.

I'm 6'1".  The guy who stood throttle watches with me was 6'4".  My first XO was 6'3".  Height is just another thing to adjust to.

[Antonio11213]

So I talked to a couple people who were stationed on subs in face to face conversations. Some were taller people, I am getting more and more excited for it. I'm glad I volunteered for sub duty. I'm getting excited.

[Arxos]

You'll be fine. I'm 6'5" on an LA class fast attack. The racks aren't that bad. I can sleep on my side or back, knees only bent a bit. I did bang my head a lot my first month onboard, however.

[Chimera]

It is a shame that I did not learn much of the Submarine Service history until I was out of the Navy for some time. In WWII the Submarine Service had the highest rate of loss, one in four men did not return and at 1 percent of the fleet accounted for fifty percent of enemy shipping losses, fully one third of Japanese warships were sunk by submarines.

When I was growing up, there was a TV series called "Silent Service".  When I finally enlisted, submarines were where I wanted to be.  My dolphins were the most important thing on my uniform.  Now I need to find someone to give them to so they can be passed on in the service.

[Samabby]

I know a young man who stands 6'8" and ( after a few head knocks ) learned to get around an LA class boat very well- just picked up his E-6 status.

[Tylor]

No. Going to a submarine is the biggest mistake of my life, and I'm on a fairly good boat. I'm an electrician on a 688, which is arguably the worst you can get these days, but if you're concerned with money sub pay will not make it worth it. Your pay/hour will much higher on a ship, and you will have a much higher quality of life. The optempo is ridiculous, then even when you're in port the days are almost always and least 12 hour days. I would give anything to get off of this boat.

[Tylor]

So I talked to a couple people who were stationed on subs in face to face conversations. Some were taller people, I am getting more and more excited for it. I'm glad I volunteered for sub duty. I'm getting excited.

Oh... Well just go for an SSGN or a Virginia, I guess..

[MMM]

If money is your concern, you might want to rethink enlisting in general.

[GLW]

No. Going to a submarine is the biggest mistake of my life, and I'm on a fairly good boat. I'm an electrician on a 688, which is arguably the worst you can get these days, but if you're concerned with money sub pay will not make it worth it. Your pay/hour will much higher on a ship, and you will have a much higher quality of life. The optempo is ridiculous, then even when you're in port the days are almost always and least 12 hour days. I would give anything to get off of this boat.

wow,...less than 2 years on the boat and you go from "Enjoy New York, man. I came from S8G and it's the most fun I've had in my navy career. " all the way to "I would give anything to get off this boat",....

yup, the Navy'll do that to ya,...

[scotoma]

When the ocean gets rough, the surface ships get tossed around. The go down where it is calm. Of course, if you are on patrol you may not see daylight or weeks.

[TVA]

How could Tylor possibly know what the worklife is like on a carrier?

[Tylor]

How could Tylor possibly know what the worklife is like on a carrier?

I have several friends on carriers, and no, it's not an easy job. No nuke job is easy. Although their quality of life is far superior, you can use facebook on deployment, you can order amazon on deployment. You don't go out on underways once a month. You also don't have 10 electricians, only 4 of which are qualified to do maintenance and tags, trying to move mountains when it comes to managing the largest secondary workcenter on a submarine. I have worked my ass of to be an exemplary sailor on my submarine. I qualified EWS/EDPO in under 2 year on board, I'm a supervisor in my department and I work long hours to pursue correcting deficiencies and making work better for junior sailors. There is ultimately nothing I can ever do to make my command good, or make peoples jobs not terrible. If you can deal with the fact that you will always have a terrible deal, and you will have to deal with being the guy overworking your division while you see one after the next realize their lives will only go downhill for the next several years, be my guest. I hate it. It is the biggest mistake of my life, and I don't think anyone deserves this.

[Tylor]

wow,...less than 2 years on the boat and you go from "Enjoy New York, man. I came from S8G and it's the most fun I've had in my navy career. " all the way to "I would give anything to get off this boat",....

yup, the Navy'll do that to ya,...

I'm glad you've noticed. Maybe shore duty will win me back.

[GLW]

I'm glad you've noticed. Maybe shore duty will win me back.

didn't 4 me,....