Any navy nuc guys?

ppragman

FLIPY FLAPS!
I talked to a guy who was in the program, he said it was incredibly cool, but I'm still not entirely sure what they do. Someone on here probably has an answer. It seemed like they were all working on the reactors, but it appeared there was a pretty good variation between rates.
 
I did 12 years in the British Navy Polaris Program. served on 3 out of the 4 Resolution Class subs (Now obsolete). The patrols are extremely boring. Good if you want to further your education - terrible if you have a family or are the social type.
Reactor work is generally contracted out to the manufacturer and only takes place at maintenance periods alongside.
As a newbie you generally get to carry tools for the tech and watch him work if you are in the engineering section. There are lots of other trades on board. I was an engineer and it was a good job and of course ery secure. If you work at it you can progress fairly quickly through the rates. We were mainly watchkeepers at sea - operating and running the machinery. The engines and generators are all steam turbine. Much like a jet except the motivator is steam and not jet fuel.
There are some good descriptions of how it all works in Wikepedia and places like that.
 
I talked to a guy who was in the program, he said it was incredibly cool, but I'm still not entirely sure what they do. Someone on here probably has an answer. It seemed like they were all working on the reactors, but it appeared there was a pretty good variation between rates.

I'm not a nuke, but a conventional MM working in Reactor Dept aboard USS HARRY S TRUMAN (CVN 75) out of Norfolk. I can only speak of the carrier side of the house. There are three rates for which you can be placed, MM (machinist mate), EM (electricians mate) and ET (electronics technician). MMs work in RM or RP divisions. RM is specifically the reactor room, and RP is propulsion or in other words the engine room. Only nukes to RM and a select few and a mix of nuke MMs and conventional MMs to RP. I stand the same watches, and do the same maintenance as a nuke MM minus the hefty signing bonus, huge reenlistment bonus, etc, etc. I'm a whipping boy I guess you could say. I can't speak on the EM or ET side. EMs are pretty obvious, and ETs deal with the operation of the reactor.

I could go into much more detail, but there are limits to what I can say.

I served on a conventional ship before coming to the Truman. I can tell you that the nuke Navy is a completely different Navy. They pride themselves on superior knowledge and professionalism. The people are great, minus the obvious bad apples. For the most part, nukes don't like being nukes. My two roommates, both MM2s would rather not be in the Navy, I mean, this stuff isn't for everyone. Being a nuke is a tough job, there is no time to slack, and as a junior guy you are thrown into a environment carrying a lot of responsibility. For example, a 21 year old kid from Kansas standing Chief Reactor Watch on board the most powerful ship in the world. It's a huge responsibility, but pretty cool when you put it into perspective.

The initial sign on is 6 years, with a chance to reenlist once you get to your first command. Depending on the rate you get, school may be as short as 1.5 years or as long as 2.5 years. MM's have the shortest school. School is in South Carolina to begin, you may stay there or head up to New York.

As far as working with the reactors statement, yes and no. You maybe end up an MM in RP division, in which case you will do nothing with a reactor. You'll steam the carrier in the engine room and fix and maintain the equipment there.
 
I'll tell ya what Navy nuke guys do - they earn a ton of money when they get out. At a hiring conference for former military people I attended recently, the offers coming in for nuke guys were very impressive.
 
I was never a squid, but I'm a reactor operator at a Nuclear Power Plant and have been declared an honorary Chief Petty Officer by my "shift-mates." That is kind of an inside joke between us as I am a US Army Infantry paratrooper. About 90% of the people I work with are former Navy nukes and they talk and joke about it endlessly. As a result, I am pretty familiar with the Navy nuclear program and lifestyle.

They told me our plant is managed exactly same as the Navy in every way with the exception that we don't SCRAM our reactors on a regular basis and don't have to stay at the plant for six months at a time. Since former Navy nukes are so prevalent in the civilian nuclear power industry, it stands to reason that alot of the same procedures and administrative bs from the ships and boats found their way into the civilian sector.

Anyhow, they all said the Navy sucked balls. As nukes they got less port/shore leave than the rest of the crew on the carrier/sub, work long hours, and are frequently out to sea for long stretches. There is also alot of tension/jealousy/anger/hatred between them and the rest of the crew, especially the airedales, kind of an "us vs. them" atmosphere. I haven't heard anybody say, "gee, I wish I had stayed in, that was the best job I've ever had." The bonus the Navy offered was okay, but it obviously wasn't enough to keep them.

However, as Ian J said, there is definitely an opportunity to make a pretty good living in the civilian nuclear power industry once they get out. If there is anything you want to know in particular about civilian or Navy nuclear power, I can get you an answer if I don't know it.
 
Yeah, I heard that it wasn't exactly the most exciting job, though it looked pretty cool. A guy I know was telling me about.
 
I was an enlisted nuke before I got commissionend and went aviation. (I didn't have the grades to go back nuke, so I had to be a pilot instead; evne though I took every reactor theory and evergy conversion course the Naval Academy had - not that I'm bitter.) From what I saw, it looked like being an enlisted nuke was much more fun than being an officer nuke. Since I was a Machnist's Mate, I spent my time out in the engine room spinning valves and re-alingning steam/water flow. The officers sit at a little desk watch everything and take logs. They have to know a lot more (in my opinion) and physically do a lot less. Thank God I wasn't smart enough to do that.
 
I'm a ex-MMC (SW) Nuke...

I did 15 years. 2 Carriers and 2 instructor tours

Your main job on ship is to run the reactor plant. The typical watch rotation on a carrier (BTW I was the RM01 LCPO on the Truman, OCflyguy88) is 5 and 15. You are on watch (operating the plant) for 5 hours then off for 15 (off meaning doing maintenance, training, other qualifications, and if you have time, eat and sleep). The reactor plant supplies everything for the ship, propulsion, electricity, water, steam for heating and cooking, steam for the catapults, just about everything. It's a tough job, but very important.

Shore duties are pretty much the choice of instructor duty ( I did both a tour as a prototype instructor and a Power School Instructor) or a maintenance command. Instructor duty was great, I liked it alot.


I could go into ALOT more... but do you have any specific questions?
 
I am a NUC guy...Hold a couple of Navy Unit Citations...Just kidding! Actually, the shaprest people in the Navy are likely the Submarine force and nukes specifically. A lot of education, training, committment and dedication is required to do that job. A friend of mine from High School was #2 in his class at Annapolis and went onto be a VP at Electric Boat in Groton. I wish I had spent more time in the books than goofing around with sports, girls and airplanes in high school!
 
This is for you Nukes, whether you were on the Enterprise or not...


MobileChernobyl.jpg
 
I'll tell ya what Navy nuke guys do - they earn a ton of money when they get out. At a hiring conference for former military people I attended recently, the offers coming in for nuke guys were very impressive.


What about former hooker's?
 
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