On June 16, 2020, The Drive magazine, under the heading The War Zone, published an article by Aaron Amick, a former sonar from the US Navy nuclear submarine. "Nukes, Nubs And Coners: The Unique Social Hierarchy Aboard A Nuclear Submarine" … We will give a translation of the name a little later, after the translation of the slang names of positions, specialties and statuses of submariners, which are mentioned in this title. The article itself is devoted to the informal hierarchy among American submariners.
Service in the submarine of the US Navy is not fun because of the word "absolutely". For Russian readers, for example, it will be news that some of the American submariners after their service experience post-traumatic stress disorder. Accidents with fatalities there, in general, happen, they are just usually kept secret, military operations against countries with which America is not officially at war, there are also. Often, boats return from combat services with pieces of the sound-absorbing hull covering torn off.
There is no need to laugh, this is the result of the widespread use of large moves at the transitions of submarines, due to the fact that there are simply not enough of them in the US Navy (and those that exist, and their crews, are often used for wear and tear). Well, about the fact that on their boats on bunks they sleep in turns in several shifts, the Russian reader, in general, knows.
But Amik, already a retirement, like all retirees, remembers mostly good and funny things, and it is simply impossible to write to him about really interesting things, so first - a humorous, funny look at the American submarine.
Useless bodies and other interesting people
So, any newcomer to the American submarine is called NUB, or Non-Usable Body, which translates as "useless body." It doesn't matter if it's an officer or a sailor. Any beginner - NUB (read and pronounced as "N-Yu-Bi", spelled).
NUBs are treated with undisguised disdain: after all, they spend space, water and air on themselves, without giving anything in return. The life of a NUB is somewhat easier if he is a “Hot runner”, “Hot runner”, that is, he is “undermined” to perform simple tasks that are assigned to him, and in general is initiative on the whole.
The NUB has about a year to master the knowledge necessary for him and start serving in earnest. At the first stage, when a newcomer gets to know the boat, the crew can "eat" him - just not help him and not give the officers positive feedback.
In the future, the NUD will learn to navigate on board, master the actions in an accident, learn to fight for survivability without prompting from other crew members, constantly demonstrating their knowledge to experienced colleagues and commanders.
In the end, the NUB, often dressed in a full set of protective firefighting equipment, with a breathing apparatus, goes through the whole boat and passes an oral exam to an experienced sailor on absolutely any system that he meets on the way, showing where, what and how it is turned on, as needed act in the event of a particular emergency, what to turn off and on.
Then the NUB needs to ensure that the officers and sailors, who can test newcomers by their position, find time for him and take his exams. This is also not easy, even organizing such an exam for yourself requires a lot of effort and time. Often, NUBs are "affixed" to the commission, buying various cakes and cookies for the duration of the exam, but this is more of a tribute to tradition.
After five hours of "interrogation", the NUB, if successful, becomes a human being. In case of failure in the exam, he will have another attempt, after a failure in which NUB is fired from the submarine. But this is rare, basically everyone goes through this selection.
The last stage is a personal conversation with one of the senior officers of the boat, who decides whether this person is ultimately fit for service or not. If so, the submarine commander personally presents him with "dolphins" - a submariner's badge. Now he is not a NUB, he has become his own and as a distinctive feature he may no longer wear a uniform cap while on board.
Now he will be sent to one of the large crew groups "Nukes" or "Coners".
"Nuke" from the word "Nuclear" - "nuclear", this is a slang word that can mean anything nuclear - a bomb, for example. "Nuclear" - these are those who are responsible for the movement of the boat, officers and sailors who maintain the reactor, turbines, turbo-gear units and in general everything that makes the boat move. Amik jokes that those who decided to make the Star Trek series come true go to Nuka. They are up to their ears in math and data sets, and eat at the same table with Chief Petty officers.
"Nuke" that maintains reactors, "Nuke" -electricity and "Nuke" -mechanics are different "Nukee". The first of them look like "geeks" obsessed with technology and computers, the second - like chameleons, can even get lost in the photo of the crew, and the third - hefty, oil-smelling thugs, standing their six-hour watch in hot and noisy compartments in the stern.
The nukes' space ends in the same place where the compartments with their equipment end, usually the reactor compartment. Then the space begins, which is out of touch with its real shape and the number of compartments, called "Cone" - "Cone" (apparently this name originated on old US Navy boats, the hull of which narrowed towards the bow more or less evenly along the length of the boat). In the "cone" live "Cones" - "Coners". All submariners, regardless of their specialty, are taken to this group, except, of course, "nukes".
The world of "Cone" is America in miniature, a cut of society. But since those who theoretically may not fit into it, are "eaten" by the crew at the stage of the "submariner's larva" - NUB, then everyone gets along well with each other and interacts normally. In the world of "cones" we find "torpedo guys", and acousticians, and navigators, as well as on any submarine in the world.
There are also radio operators, the only people, besides the boat commander, who have at least sometimes some personal space. Acoustics are the freest people on the boat, they can just sit silently during the shift and analyze noise spectra, or simply listen to the world around them through headphones. No one else has this level of freedom on a boat. In "revenge" they have to bear the nickname "sonar girls" ("sonar" - the sonar station of the submarine).
A special zone is the "Sherwood Forest": a missile compartment with ballistic missiles, where missile technicians work, constantly monitoring the microclimate parameters in the missile silos and, in general, monitor the boat's main weapon.
Standing apart are "A-Gangers" ("A-Gangers", roughly "Atomic Fast Horse"), the technicians responsible for ventilation, air regeneration, diesel generators and other supporting systems, up to the latrine. This is a kind of "black labor" of the submarine, as Emik writes, "a mixture of" nuclear waste ", that is, a sailor who could not stand the school of training for sailors in the reactor compartment, and a diesel mechanic from some seedy place." Well, or like a non-evolved "nuke" -mechanic, but "with a smell."
There are also people completely unusual for Russians - yeomen. Yeomen is like a scribe, a person trained to quickly type commands and texts on the keyboard. All the paperwork of the US Navy hangs on them. Usually, the yeoman is the "right hand" of senior officers, freeing them from routine and freeing up time for command.
The most popular and respected by all crew members "cone" is, of course, the ship's spinner. It is unlikely that something needs to be explained here.
Now the title of Emik's article "Nuke, Nuke and Cone: a Unique Social Hierarchy on Board a Nuclear Submarine" becomes clear.
This is what the informal division in the American submarine looks like. And what about this with us?
And here, oddly enough, it is very similar.
"Suites", "oil bubbles" and the whole depth of our depths
If the American submarine is divided into "nukes" and "cones" (NUBs are not submariners, but their larvae, we will not count them), then ours into "mechanics" and "suites". "Mechanics" are the personnel of the BCh-5 (electromechanical warhead). On diesel-electric submarines, due to the specifics of the main power plant and the side effects from working with it, the personnel of the BCh-5 are often referred to by a much more striking name - "oil poppies".
However, on the one hand, on some "diesel engine" they can still be mechanics, on the other - and on some nuclear submarines they were oil-filled. These traditions are alive, they evolve, and everything changes over the years, and there are differences in different fleets.
BCH-5 on nuclear submarines is divided into divisions: 1st movement, 2nd electrical and 3rd hold.
The word "masloup" is ridiculous, as are the jokes about "bilge", but it directly depends on these people whether the boat will return from the campaign or not. Situations when the reaction of the officers, warrant officers and sailors of the BC-5 depended on whether the boat would die or not, in our submarine, alas, there were often. Including in modern times.
There were also tragic cases when sailors from the BCH-5 were killed saving their ships and comrades. Such are they, "maslopupy".
All the others who are on the submarine are "suites".
In the bow of the boat (or closer to the bow, if it is, for example, "Ash" or "Ash-M") in the torpedo compartment, the personnel of the BCH-3, a mine-torpedo warhead, are on duty.
In its composition there are sailors of different ranks, but in any case, for the rest they are "miners". And they are also commanded by "Miner", just with a capital letter. They may have cruise missiles, anti-submarine missiles, guided torpedoes in ammunition, but they may not have mines, it doesn't matter. "Miners" - period. By the way, underwater "miners" are not called "Romanians", this is a nickname for sailors from surface ships.
The warhead warhead BC-1 also has its own hierarchy. For example, the boatswain and the boatswain's team of helmsmen-signalmen are “rudders”, and young and inexperienced officers-navigators are “navigators”. In general, BCH-1 is a "navigator".
Rocket warheads-2 are often the "Chinese". According to legend, this nickname arose due to the terrible tightness of the missile compartments on the first, diesel still, ballistic missile submarines. I must say that this nickname is not used everywhere.
BCH-4 (communications) and 7 (lighting the situation and control), as well as services (for example, supply or chemical), cannot boast of such specific nicknames (however, this is unlikely to upset anyone). But intelligence, OSNAZ, is always "Canaris". I must say that this title contains a rather gloomy irony, but this is how it all works with us. And the command of the Canaris is, of course, Canaris.
Fate is not chosen.
Do we have analogues of American NUBs? No, the process of “inclusion” of a submariner into service on our boats is structured differently. And here it is worth stopping laughing. Some things should be looked at from a serious angle.
Initial admission and further service
Despite training in schools and training centers (junior staff) and naval schools (officers), with the arrival of a new crew member on a submarine, he is given credit sheets in the specialty and structure of the ship and training in damage control.
With the junior staff there could be problems with training due to the insufficient level of education, but this is already in the past, now there is no conscript service in the submarine, and since the mid-2000s, while they were still there, they began to be taken to the submarine, and their level education has grown markedly. In addition, in a good crew with a well-established system of personnel training, a young sailor of the level of a "village tractor driver" in about a couple of months became a fully trained submariner. True, for this he did not study only when he slept and "waved a spoon" in the galley, the rest of the time it was continuous and tough preparation.
By the way, the transition to the manning of crews by contract sailors eliminated another unofficial hierarchy - godkovshchina-bullying.
Until recently, with the officer corps, it was quite a common situation when an officer could be the commander of a group, a lieutenant commander, but still not close the score sheet for the ship.
In many respects, this gave rise to the division between "mechanics" and "suites" in our submarine (in relation to the latter, it was understood that for them "the screws start behind the galley").
At the same time, the requirements for knowledge of the ship for "luxury specialties" in a number of cases were no lower than for "mechanics", and this primarily concerned officers of the officer of the watch category (usually an assistant commander, commander of a mine-torpedo and missile warheads and torpedo group commander) and ship duty officer (or his assistant) - from any category of officers who passed the tests and were admitted by order.
The very fulfillment of these duties required a good knowledge of not only "mechanical issues", but also the leadership and conduct of damage control, incl. in the "stern" (mechanical compartments). The situation when the "suites" are in an emergency batch operating in the compartments where the submarine's power plant is located is quite standard. This also applies to the reactor compartment.
Closing the score sheet for a ship (and admission to duty) is a very important "status" issue in the crew, and a direct "application" of an officer for a future career. This is not only and so much an exam as the ability and willingness to take and bear responsibility not only for oneself, subordinates, but the entire ship.
For example, the last question when admitting one of the authors of the article on the ship was the chief officer's question on "the emergency exit of the ship from the attack of cruise missiles on the base." Submariners will be able to assess the question (which goes far beyond the "required knowledge" and "permissible by rudokami" for a young lieutenant, even a ship duty officer). I answered successfully and outside the box, and most importantly, I was ready to act this way in a real situation.
All this was imposed by very strict requirements of the Inspectorate of State Supervision for Nuclear and Radiation Safety (IGN for Nuclear and Radiation Safety), introduced after a series of severe nuclear accidents on submarines of the USSR Navy.
For example, one of the authors of this article, having arrived at his first submarine, did not manage to reach his 1st compartment, as he was summoned to the central post and sent to practical exercises in the equipment enclosure of the nuclear reactor, and the next day he "delved into" the squadron headquarters in nuclear accidents of the Navy (with a good "piece" of the theory of nuclear physics).
Here it is necessary to note the problem of "narrow specialization" of the officer corps - the legacy of the mass conscript service on our ships before and often the weakness of the midshipman.
The officer was trained as a narrow specialist, while often from the very first days of service he needed a broad knowledge of related issues, a deep study of which was not provided for in the programs of the schools.
Separately, it is necessary to note the problem of training acoustics, where experience is very important, but the very fact of career development of acoustics officers made it difficult to obtain it (and further devalued this experience). It was not uncommon for a "cool acoustician" to be a "flyer" who was not kicked out of the RF Armed Forces just because he is a cool acoustician and does amazing things at sea.
It is also necessary to highlight one staff unit, which is not in the US Navy.
Zampolites
Two illustrative quotes from experienced and respected submarine officers.
One:
When I was a submarine commander, 70% of political officers in our division were drunkards and womanizers, including on my boat. All the chiefs of political departments whom I knew can be characterized as drunkards, womanizers, thieves, careerists and big Bastards.
Second:
… different people met. I remember one of our deputy. He came to us from Bechevinka. From "Warsaw" (diesel-electric submarine, in this case, project 877. - Ed.). I did not enter the Academy. Lenin. Well, he was sent from diesel engines to steamers. We stood in a factory in Seldeva.
Which he did one of the first. He organized an excursion for families to the submarine, which at that time was in the dock, with a subsequent departure to Paratunka, to the springs. In winter, beauty. But that's not the point.
Fulfilling the duties of the OVPB, in the evening at the dock, on the second factory shift, in the central processing center, I observe the following picture. The submarine support officer is standing, the foreman of the hold team. And so the deputy calls him and asks to show and tell him about the main drainage main. With all the pumps and pumps, Gogol is resting with the inspectors, there is a dumb stage in the CPU. The foreman shows him, he crawls with him and writes everything down in the workbook of the submariner officer. It turns out later that he teaches the ship … and not only the D-3, but also communicates with the officers and warrant officers of the D-1 and D-2 (BCH-5 divisions - Ed.).
Further - more, the ship is driven, the exit from the plant, and upon arrival in the division, the ship is transferred to a horseless line crew, and we fly to the training center, to Komsomolsk. Well, of course … but on the KBR, the deputy begins to draw a picture of the submarine's maneuvering and the target assigned by the commander in order to have a visual picture. Yeah … it looks like a fairy tale … in a tavern, under a glass it turns out that the officer began his service in Magadan, on old diesel engines. I don't remember, but apparently the 613th project. And there he became like an officer. Plus, he participated in the transition of these submarines to Vladivostok for cutting. In short, omitting the details of Aivazovsky, at this crossing, they drank more than one 9th shaft. And that he did not enter the academy, so according to his words, when asked, there are different questions.
He told how to act for the good of the Fatherland and the good of the cause. I don't remember literally, but the meaning is the same.
Well, they turned him off, from the academy and sent him to the steamers … Yeah, and also, in the division, when the head of the political department learned about his zeal in studying iron, he was summoned and told. That all the animals in the forest are equal, but some animals are more equal … Mikhail Removich, study the brains of the l / s, and do not teach the structure of the ship. I don’t know how it ended with the nachpo, but we left for Primorye …
Of interest is the American experience with an attempt to introduce "political officers" in the crews of US Navy submarines, described by the first commander of the submarine "Nautilus" Andersen: deciding that due to a long stay under water the crew "will have problems", the command put "a specialist on such problems”(A psychologist), as a result, the only person with“problems”was … the psychologist himself is the only slacker on board.
Summing up, it is necessary to answer the obvious question: who has a better level of training - ours or the US Navy? In our opinion, "on average" the US Navy has formed a much more optimal system for training submarine forces, but this is true for the "average" level.
An unjustified emphasis on "mechanical" issues (often at the expense of "tactical") often leads to stereotyped actions of US Navy submarines (or even erroneous - in a difficult tactical situation). A simple example: to become the commander of an American nuclear submarine, you need to undergo special training in working with a nuclear reactor, which takes a very long time and makes an officer practically an engineer for the maintenance and repair of nuclear power plants. This is commendable, but after all, the commander first of all needs to learn how to fight. When will he do it?
As long as the Americans “use technology,” their superiority is technical, they rely on technology that is ahead of the enemy just by an era. They do not have any extraordinary level of tactical skills.
In spite of all the problems with the "average level of training", we had outstanding crews, the commanders who made it possible to resist the US submariners with dignity even on the worst equipment.
True, it was often impossible to realize all the capabilities of our personnel because of the worse equipment than the enemy, and in a real war, in an extremely acute form, a lag in weapons (torpedoes) would arise. But this, as they say, is a completely different story …
