Submarine Sea Stories | Ever Wonder What It's Like To Spend The Cold War Under Water With 100 Other Guys?

Bob Schuetz grew up in New Jersey and chose the ROTC when his parents couldn't afford college for all 4 kids. He joined the Navy and fell in love with submarines during his summer cruise and switched his major to Nuclear Engineering from Chemical Engineering. As all potential officers do, he interviewed with Admiral Rickover and eventually commanded the fast attack submarine that bore the father of the nuclear Navy's name. He became friends with the Admiral's wife (she called him the Admiral too) and shares some fascinating stories from those day as well as leadership tips!

Bob Bailey had to get out of New Mexico. He was running with the wrong crowd and "ran away from home into the Navy." He started out slow and was not the most squared away sailor, but built his career and matured into a leader that knew how a great tactical sonar man acted. He once flew into the air during the emergency blow and lived to tell about it. Here's his story. 

Joe Miller grew up in Virginia Beach surfing and staying away from Navy. It wasn't until he was married and laid off, that Joe reconsidered his decision and joined Uncle Sam's navy as an officer.  Joe shares many stories that his wife was tired of hearing that you will love. 

David Rifkin never planned on joining the Navy. He found the salary for a community college professors not quite enough. He consented to an interview with Adm Rickover and was accepted to the Navy Nuclear Power program. David worked his way up the ranks, supporting his sailors and officers making decisions while commanding the USS Billfish, SSN 676. He is still active the USSVI as the base commander in Jacksonville, Florida. Who knows, it might be time to take a trip down there for a visit.

Daniel Newcomer started his submarine career aspirations in 8th grade. His dad was a traveling Baptist preacher and when he was onboard the USS City of Corpus Christi was exposed to a family tour that both surprised and shocked him. Now Daniel reconnects with his submarine brothers and enjoys reminiscing about his times in the smoke shack. He also has reconciled with his Dad. I guess his dad came around to the fact that submariners are good folks deep down.

Kevin Loewe couldn't find a job in his native St. Louis, so he proposed joining the navy out of necessity. That began an over 22 years stint of active duty service as a radioman aboard both boomers and fast attack submarines. Kevin shares several stories that you won't want to miss, including the mash potato story!

Jim Glunt grew up tough suburb of Pittsburgh, Pa where the smoke from the steel mills blocked his view of the night sky. He had to grow up quick also and began working at the age of 9. He had to help his Dad, a steel mill worker, put food on the table for Jim sisters and him. Joining the military seemed like a way out and he took it. He got his first airplane ride and his first view of the ocean. He served onboard the USS Groton as a machinist mate (nuclear trained) and he also became a diver, when a shipmate filled out the forms for him. After the military, Jim worked at different jobs and noticed that the ocean was awfully close to one of the plants he worked at briefly. That plant was called Fukushima. 

Wood Frampton grew up around the enlisted club on base where his Dad was a supply officer. He’d have french fries and watch the sailors get into fights. But that didn’t deter him from signing up for the Navy after a stint in the Coast Guard.  He eventually became a missile tech, operating the C-4 missile launching system for Trident subs.  He learned a lot from his 16 years in the Navy and is thinking of retiring to the Philippines with his new wife. He lived there as a child and thought he would never return. Wood in the NavyWood todayWood’s Dad

Greg started his military career in the 8th grade (crazy story) and continued over several decades until he retired as a Chief Culinary Specialist. Now he teaches High School kids how to cook! Listen to this episode chocked full of the challenges of cooking on a round-hulled constantly diving and rising killer of the deep!

PJ Clarke made a rash decision to join the submarine service. He was promised that the galley was open 24/7. That was enough to get him to volunteer. Serving on the Snook and the Billfish, his career spanned 9 years and included West Pacs and spec ops that would make Tom Clancy’s novels look tame. He put in the time and effort to get qualified in submarines and learned what he could accomplish anything he put his mind to.  

Rob Tiffany grew up in West Texas and set off to become a Navy pilot after seeing Top Gun. Of course, that didn’t work out, but he found the submarine service and had some great mentors. He ended serving on the USS John Marshal that was outfitted to serve as a seal delivery submarine. Rob talks about his seal friends and the rest of his career. Rob got into computer programming and ended up finding work in several high tech startups. Currently, he is serving as Chief Technology Officer for Hitachi and he credits a lot of his success to his time in the submarine service. robtiffany.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/robtiffany/  

David grew up on the West Coast of Scotland and was surrounded by water. His Mom said he always talked about joining the Navy, but he doesn’t remember why. He joined as an Artificer Apprentice in 1983. This position was created back in the Victorian Era as the amount of technical work required on ships increased. David learned the book information and then he learned from a salty guy that he didn’t know it all. From then on, David’s real education began. David did some “sneaky” patrols and eventually became an officer, commanding the very place where he learned to be an artificer. Pretty cool.

Dan Eddinger grew up on a farm in eastern Ohio. He played in the woods a lot and really didn’t have a plan after high school. He did fall in love with his high school sweetheart and decided to join the Navy (and he kinda forgot to tell his girlfriend). But all was forgiven (they got married and still are married today), and they began their nuclear Navy, submarine career together. Apparently Dan had what it took to become an officer and 20 years later, he retired. After several technical and leadership positions in the civilian world (Target Store Manager too), Dan decided to use his skills to start a company, Field Vets. Field Vets connects contract companies with vets that need work. They can learn tower maintenance, cable TV installer or other technical jobs that pay well and could lead to more opportunities. Check out field vets, it is free for vets and their is no obligation! Contact Dan Eddinger on LinkedIn.com for more information. https://www.linkedin.com/in/daneddinger/ fieldvets.com

Neil Midkiff got a tour of the USS Iowa when he lived in Rio de Janeiro as a child from the Naval Attache, Captain Andrews. At that point his mind was set, get in the Naval Academy and become a naval officer. While in the academy, he saw a picture that showed Captain Gilmore order his sub to submerge when they came under fire, even though he knew it meant his death. Neil was assigned to the USS Jack, SSN 650, and an incident in the Mediterranean when they were trailing a Russian submarine that cost the Captain his command. Enjoy! By U.S. Navy photograph – http://www.navsource.org/archives/08/08604.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10248486

Matt Tate grew up in the mountains of West Virginia and landed a job at the Greenbrier as a caddy by the age of 12 (he lied about his age). After doing that for a while and trying college, he joined the Navy. He barely passed the nuclear power aptitude test and eventually ended up with Bill Nowicki in the same Nuclear Power school class. Matt recalls some tough nights of studying and some fun when Bill decided to create a character called Reactor Dan. Matt went on to get married and stayed in the Navy for 20 years. He learned a lot and I would say the Navy helped him become a life-long learner.

Hector Rodriguez thinks everything happens for a reason. He grew up in East Oakland, California in a rough neighborhood. He loved sports so he played basketball and dreamed of playing professional sports. He was always bored in school and daydreamed his way to college. His parents payed for him to sit in the cafeteria and BS with his friends. At 22 things changed and he headed to the mall and found the Navy recruiter and was picking his jobs when the Twin Towers we’re hit on 9/11/2001. He ended up choosing signalman on a carrier, but switched to machinist mate and ended up on the USS Norfolk. Hector recounts his time on the sub, the diverse group of folks he met and the way his life was changed. Great stories!

*FOR MATURE AUDIENCES* Lee Ellis grew up on a farm in rural Georgia, but when he saw an airplane, everything changed. Even as a child, he longed to have control of the skies. After going to the University of Georgia, he trained to become a pilot and ended up going to Vietnam. He was captured by the Vietnamese after being shot down and spent many years in a Vietnamese prison camp. Lee tells the story of his time in captivity and what he learned about leadership and his new book, Engage with Honor.  Click the link to get access to Lee’s books and some of his media appearances. http://www.leeellis.us

Stu Hubbard is the son of a Navy Mustang and became one himself. At the age of 17, he approached his Mom and Dad about enlisting which started his 20-year adventure in the Navy. Starting as a destroyer Sonarman he quickly learned that submarines were the place to be. He went from submarines to the Navy Medical Service Corps, finally serving the U.S. Marines. It wasn’t a straight path – but what a great ride. Stu and his Dad Stu and Glen   Stu gets Dolphins Tacked-on Stu in a bunker President Bush 41

Michael Goldstein grew up in Cleveland Heights, OH and was fascinated by submarines.  He won a science fair contest at the age of 14 and was invited to New London to a special tour (see below).  I let him tell you the rest of his story. I dropped out of college after three years in 1966 and enlisted in the Navy, although the Army offered me a commission as a 2nd LT in the infantry. Note the year for my obvious choice. I went to Great Lakes the day after Thanksgiving, entering as an E-3, and spent the winter in Hell for 13 weeks in boot camp. For some interesting reasons I opted for language school and began a 30 year active duty and active reserve career in the Naval Security Group. Three years active duty in Rota after boot camp, language school, and USAF Security Service school at Goodfellow AFB, TX, and did one submarine trip as a spook. You haven’t aired a boat-rider spook interview yet. I left active duty as an E-5 Communications Technician in 1970, went back to college, and transferred to active reserve

Listen up bubbleheads!  Shannon Cason is an award winning storyteller and he tells his backstory and explains his motivation to share his life on stage. www.shannoncason.com Shannon Cason on Snap Judgment Homemade Stories on iTunes