What is the qualification requirement for serving on board nuclear submarines as officer?

Answer 1

The basic requirements for serving aboard a Nuclear Submarine, be it as an enlisted sailor or commissioned officer, are pretty straightforward:

1. Citizenship - Must be a U.S. Citizen (No Foreign Nationals).
2. Volunteer for Hazardous Duty - Must be a Volunteer for Submarine Duty (serving aboard a submarine is considered Hazardous Duty for pay / promotion purposes).
3. Security Clearance - Must pass a Background Investigation and be granted a minimumSecret security clearance (Top Secret for Officers and key Enlisted personnel).
4. Advanced Health Screening - Must pass Health (including pressure testing) and Psychological Evaluations, which are well beyond Navy entrance screening standards.
5. Nuclear PRP - Must be granted acceptance to, and maintain status in, the Nuclear Personnel Reliability Program (Officers, Corpsmen, & Key Weapons Handling Personnel).
6. Submarine Warfare Qualification - Like all Submariners, must Qualify in Submarines. There are no exceptions; if you don't qualify, you're history.

Though submarine duty has an almost romantic attraction, and those of us who've served aboard them (most of us anyway) wouldn't trade the experience for anything, duty aboard a nuclear submarine takes its toll in some way on just about everyone, either in health, family, or career. It's easy to be attracted to, and want something when you don't know all the facts, and of course they won't tell you all the facts before you volunteer, primarily due to the fact that it's classified, and if they did, they'd have a lot fewer applicants.

That's the easy part.

Here are a few unclassified facts:

1. Submarine duty is rewarding, but it's also a high-stress, high-pressure, no mistake job, particularly for Officers. I have personally seen Officer careers ended by making a single clerical mistake regarding the nuclear propulsion systems. There is absolutely no room for error onboard any nuclear vessel, and the Navy has a strict zero-tolerance policy for anyone who screws up in the propulsion spaces.

Unrestricted Line officers who volunteer for submarine duty typically do so for the added challenge, prestige, and engineering experience. Those that make it far enough in their careers to actually command a boat usually haven't made any mistakes (though I'm sad to say these days there are more than a few idiots who shouldn't be allowed to command an RC submarine in a backyard wading pool).

2. Divorce rates are typically higher, around 70-75%, since unlike ships, submarines do not transmit any communication while at sea unless it's a severe emergency or they are specifically ordered to. Coupled with the fact that you can't talk about anything you work on because it's classified, any mission you go on, where you're going, where you've been, etc., makes it extremely difficult for the average family to deal with.

Wives literally have to take care of everything while you're at sea - bills, banking, car/home repairs, kids, pets, emergencies (e.g., fire, flooding, accidents, medical, etc.) and all without the support of a husband they can talk to every night or help them with. Extended family usually helps, but most women who marry submariners don't fully understand what's involved, and not everyone will be stationed in a port near their families. There is of course a Navy support system in place to help dependents, and it's gotten better over the years, but it's no substitute for a spouse. Even then, remember the increased stress the sailor is already under to begin with.

To give you an idea of how much separation time I'm referring to, during my first year aboard, I calculated that we were either at sea or away from home port a total of 293 days. That was about average the rest of my time onboard as well. For the first 5 years I was married, I estimate I only spent a total of 1 or 2 years of time with my wife, probably less.

During the time you're actually in port at home, you're still on a 4 day watch schedule, meaning that every 4 days you get to spend 24 hrs on the boat while the other 2/3 of the crew gets to go home. Your only function in port if not training is to ready the boat to get underway again.

For those that think the "steady schedule" of Ballistic Missile submarines is more conducive to family life than serving on a Fast-Attack, think again; the divorce rates are actually higher for Boomer sailors. That's because wives know that their husbands are going to be at sea for a specified period of time, and can get away with cheating on them without much fear of being discovered. The sailor's term for them is "Boomer Widow".

We've been married now for over 32 years, but we're the exception; of everyone I served with, we are the only ones who are still together, and that's largely due to the fact that she was a sailor too when we married, so it was much easier for her to deal with. Everyone else is on at least their 2nd or 3rd spouse, or just gave up dealing with long-term relationships.

In the end though, I chose to leave after 8 years (5 years of that was Sea Duty), as it got real tough coming home from sea and having my daughter run to the other side of the living room because she didn't know who I was.

Forget anniversaries, holidays, birthdays, and anything else you're used to in life - even 25 years later, they come and go and I've never really regained any appreciation for them. Like they are at sea, they're just another day on the calendar.

3. Health - Even though submarine air is purified mechanically and chemically, submarine environments are hardly clean. Aside from the host of carcinogenic agents used onboard, there's diesel fumes (my first year I slept directly above the Diesel-Generator room), and a host of other lovely things that can hurt or kill you. That's why it's all-volunteer, and it's considered hazardous duty. Radiation is typically the least of your worries.

To give you an idea of how bad the air can be, the ship's brass plaque is typically mounted outside the Commanding Officer's stateroom. After polishing to a bright luster with Brasso, it only takes about 2 weeks for it to re-tarnish itself due to the atmosphere.

Altered sleep patterns are common among most submariners, myself included, even so many years later. The constant changing of time schedules affects the body in ways you can't appreciate until you've experienced it. For example, we used to leave port on Romeo time (Eastern Standard or Daylight time), then switch to Zulu Time (GMT) after clearing the harbor. After the Maneuvering Watch (watch stations for entering/exiting port) is secured, the boat goes into an 18 hour watch rotation, meaning you're on watch for 6 hours, then off for 12. That's of course unless you're short-handed, and are in a 12 hr on/12 hr off watch rotation (Port/Starboard watch rotation). It doesn't take long at sea to lose track of time, and the only real way you know what time of day it is, is by the meal they're serving.

After all that for a few weeks or months, you come home, and switch back to Romeo time again.

Forget sunlight also, unless you see it in a DVD, video, or the Periscope.

I lost 2 friends to suicide and more than one to accidents or illness that resulted in their disqualification from submarine duty or medical discharge. I myself developed Asthma at the height of my career, disqualifying me from submarine duty and effectively ending my Navy career. Most of my back problems are also directly related to my boat time (lots of heavy lifting), and 3 spinal operations later, it's a constant reminder of what it cost me.

It wasn't as big a deal for me - I always knew I could make it in the civilian job market, and I did pretty good after I was discharged. But Officers typically plan for a long career, and the slightest problem can end those plans. The Navy doesn't publish such statistics, but the rate of deaths or disqualifications is higher than they admit. Still, Officers who have successful tours aboard a nuclear submarine typically do pretty well after they leave the service. Those that are screw-ups are a different story.

Aside from the regular aspects of submarine duty that affect crew, it's particularly tougher for submarine Officers, since virtually all Officers (except the Navigator and Supply Officer), if they want a submarine command of their own, must qualify as an Engineer before that's even a possibility. Submarine Officers are typically pushed toward Engineering anyway, as that's just the nature of serving aboard a nuclear boat.

Add to that the normal Officer qualification and evaluation requirements that are just part of being a Naval Officer, and it makes the job that much more stressful.

Having said all that, I still wouldn't trade my experiences for anything in the world. I did and saw things in several years that people can only dream about. Is it hazardous and dangerous? You're damned right it is, and don't think for one minute the risks aren't that big. But it's also one of the most rewarding and fulfilling jobs in the Navy. Submariners are picked from the top of the Navy's sailors, and if you want to work with the best, there is no better place to go. The Submarine Force constitutes only about 2% of the Navy, and volunteers go through a rigorous screening process.

My point is that if you do decide to volunteer, do so with the full knowledge of what it could cost you later in life in terms of health and/or family. I had no illusions about submarine duty before volunteering, either with health or family; my wife and I almost didn't get married because of our differing opinions about what my career path should've been (obviously we worked it out).

Even with the problems I have now, I have no regrets. But it's not for everyone; I've found that to really motivate me and perform well, I need a high-stress, high pressure environment to work in, and submarine duty gave me that. After leaving the Navy, the only thing I found comparable was working in the Space Program, on both manned flight & unmanned satellite programs.

Most submariners are the same way, thriving in such environments. However, not everyone is cut out to exist in tight quarters for long periods, working extremely long hours (caffeine will become a necessity of life), and be under constant pressure to get everything you do right. If you're such a person, or want to discover whether or not you are that kind of person, then it's worth the risk. But don't volunteer with romantic illusions of the type of submarine duty seen in movies, as real submarine life is a far cry from fictional portrayals. The work is hard, the hours are long, and the sacrifices are many. In the end, each individual will need to determine whether or not the rewards were worth the sacrifices.