[jackflashdrive]

Observations and snippets from my time in bootcamp and naval nuclear power school.

Boot Camp:

- In boot camp they gas you so that you get practice donning a mask correctly, and so that you are not afraid of tear gas. This involves bringing 80 people into a small room (5 recruits wide by 16 long) and turning the gas on. Recruits are let out five at a time, but before they can leave they have to remove the mask and answer questions. Almost everyone pukes, the only question is if you can hold it until you get outside. Everyone who pukes in the tiny room has to go in afterwards to clean it up. I was in the back of the room standing next to someone who did not put his mask on correctly. He was writhing and puking into his mask for a good 15 minutes before he got out.

- Black people cannot swim. Obviously in the Navy you need to know how to swim, and anyone who can't has to take swim lessons. Almost all the black guys in our group (and almost no whites) had to attend swim lessons. Imagine walking by the pool and seeing 15 huge black guys hanging onto the side of the pool and practicing their kicks.

- On the day of the swim test you have to walk off of a REALLY high diving board and then swim for a period of time. One guy in our group was kind of weak and ended up crapping in the pool. Let me tell you that the Navy seals in the pool (to insure nobody drowned) were not at all happy with that. The pool had to be shut down for the entire day so that it could be drained and cleaned, which was a huge disruption. (How bad does a Navy Seal have to feck up to get assigned boot camp pool duty anyway?).

Nuclear Power School

- Most people are not aware that the nuclear reactors on Navy vessels (carriers, submarines, etc.) are run by 20-year-old kids. At one point during my time in NPS someone started building terd sculptures in the bathroom. Obviously, the Navy really wanted to find out tbe identity of this disturbed individual before he got his hands on the nuclear control rods. Naval investigative service was called in. They did DNA tests and whatnot. Unfortuntely, they determined that he was using other people's waste and we were enouraged to flush. The Phantom Sh*tter (as he was known) was not caught while I was there.

- After the formal book learning you go to Nuclear Prototype training to practice on a real reactor. Here's how it worked in Charleston: They have two old nuclear submarines that had the propeller removed and replaced with a propeller-like device that does not actually propel. These subs are welded to the pier and otherwise fully operational. So these kids who are not old enough to drink alcohol legally practice running a nuclear reactor in Charleston harbor. I've heard numerous stories of radioactive coolant accidentally discharged in Charleston harbor (oops, wrong valve). The consequences of reporting such an event are such that these events do not get formally reported.

I have a number of other stories but these are just some highlights. My best friend was a nuclear chemist and he has a really amazing story that involves a recently promoted Chief Pettery Officer too big for his britches, a grease gun, an orifice, and a totally unsupervised reactor plant on an aircraft carrier.