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Big Red: Three Months On Board a Trident
Nuclear Submarine offers a compelling portrait of both the technical
complexity of an incredible vessel and of the personalities of the
officers and Sailors who are entrusted to carry out its fearsome mission.
Having enjoyed an unprecedented level of access, Time magazine diplomatic
correspondent Douglas C. Waller follows the Blue crew of USS
Nebraska (SSBN-739) as they prepare
for and embark on a strategic deterrent patrol. Though not without its
flaws, Waller's book makes a valuable contribution to submarine
literature. His keen eye for detail and a readable style ensure that the
book will be popular with submariners and non-submariners alike.
Submariners will note that his characterization of life onboard rings
true, while non-submariners will come to appreciate the dedication,
talent, and sacrifice of those who stand the watch on strategic defense.
Big Red starts out with the ship moored pierside in Kings Bay, getting
ready to get underway. The reader is introduced to some of the senior
leadership on the boat. We see the frustrations of the COB in fighting all
the little battles associated with getting the ship clean and the crew
ready for sea. We see the Captain's anxiety after a tough refit and
worrying over the inevitable material problems that always seem to creep
up just before casting off the lines. These are the aspects of leadership
we'd expect to have described, but we also see the mixed emotions of a
junior officer who is leaving his new bride behind in an unfamiliar
location - and hear about the Captain's divorce and the crew's speculation
on how it might affect the patrol. These introductory sections show one of
the best aspects of Big Red: Waller captures the fact that the
people who operate this wonder of technology are every bit as complex as
the awesome machine in which they serve.
Once underway, Nebraska suffers a close call while negotiating the
channel out to sea. Material and personnel faults combine to produce an
incomplete helm order that results in the boat being dangerously
off-course within the narrow channel. Waller captures the chaos that
attends such events, from the frantic actions of the Bridge team in
averting disaster, to tense moments in Maneuvering as the crew responds.
Although Nebraska misses a navigation buoy by only 20 feet, the
watch is able to get her back into the middle of the channel and on her
way.
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| Scanning the horizon
before submerging to begin a typical TRIDENT deterrent patrol. |
After the ship submerges, the author gets
to observe the crew being put through its paces. Nebraska's Sailors
participate in a wide variety of drills, ranging from the usual assortment
of simulated fires and flooding to dealing with a deranged man in the
missile spaces. In a particularly detailed and well-drawn section, Big
Red thoroughly covers the complicated and deadly serious business of
processing Emergency Action Messages (EAMs) and performing the myriad
steps required to execute a TRIDENT missile launch. Although the launch
exercise is clearly a drill, Waller's careful observation of the crew's
superb professionalism makes a profound impact on the reader.
Throughout Big Red, Waller skillfully weaves in the stories of
people onboard, as well as providing a very accurate portrayal of
submarine culture. Many of the topics discussed are ones that a reader
might be somewhat surprised to see in print, in contrast to the somewhat
antiseptic media exposure so often seen. For example, Waller remarks on
the spirited rivalry between nuclear-trained and non-nuclear enlisted men,
quotes some pithy repartee, and airs the frequent perception that the
nuclear engineering background of the officers makes them unreasonable
nitpickers. The revelation of these and other issues we submariners do not
usually discuss in public make the book a "warts and all"
portrayal that hasn't often been done before.
Other examples demonstrate the remarkable honesty with which Waller
captures the essence of modern submarining. In describing the operational
differences between attack submarines and their ballistic-missile
counterparts, he notes the friendly disdain with which attack boat Sailors
refer to their patrolling brothers. He tells about a Sailor who is
compiling a list of reasons for getting out of the Navy - veteran
submariners may not be surprised to learn that this disgruntled individual
is a Sonarman. But perhaps truest of all are the characterizations of
various meals served on the boat. All submariners will immediately know
what's on the menu when they hear about "trail markers,"
"hockey pucks," "vent covers," or
"three-by-fives."
The shortcomings of Big Red probably have less to do with Mr.
Waller's journalistic skill than with the conditions of his access to Nebraska.
It seems that only half the picture of a nuclear-powered submarine has
been given - the front half. Though the book exposes the reader to a wide
spectrum of non-nuclear personnel and their routine, there is precious
little coverage of the nuclear-trained Sailors and the engineering aspects
of nuclear power. A description of the action in Maneuvering during the
near grounding and mention of a "rough inspection of its Engineering
Department" are about the only references we find in Big Red
to the nuclear technology and people aft. Given
that Waller's eye for detail is so convincingly demonstrated elsewhere, it
is unlikely that he simply didn't notice the unique ways of the people who
work in the engineering areas. This is unfortunate, because the uniqueness
of the "nuclear" culture is far richer than can be conveyed by
mere passing references to the "nuke-versus-others" rivalry.
Admittedly this criticism may reflect a bit of bias on the part of a
reviewer who has served almost exclusively in engineering billets, but I
think others would agree that the story told in Big Red is
disproportionately short on the nuclear propulsion aspects of submarine
operations.
The other criticism of Big Red also reflects the bias of a reviewer
who has served exclusively in attack submarines. Even though Waller's book
covers the submarine experience in a unique way, I think that exciting and
compelling stories could also be told about fast attacks, with the
challenge of changing assignments in mid-deployment, doing charts on the
fly, and coming to grips with OPORDS on short notice. It seems that SSN
access during some exercise phase of a deployment could have been granted
without raising any more security issues than are associated with
embarking on a boomer, and it could have led to a more comprehensive view
of who we are and what we do.
The criticisms, however, do little to detract from Waller's achievement. Big
Red is an excellent book and highly commended to the attention of
anyone interested in submarines. Much as the movie Das Boot
succeeded because it presented an accurate portrayal of submarine Sailors,
so it is with Big Red. In giving the people onboard equal emphasis
with the technical marvels that form their backdrop, Waller has given us a
richly drawn account that is eminently readable and can only make a
submariner proud to be associated with our superb institution.
LCDR Doody is the former Military Editor of
UNDERSEA WARFARE Magazine and currently the prospective Executive Officer
of USS Los Angeles (SSN-688). Big Red is published by Harper
Collins Publishers and will be available in book stores beginning March 6. |
