How did you end up in Submarines?
 
Don Gentry asked that question on his SubmarineSailor.com

It seemed like a good idea at the time
I grew up in Nashville, and I played at college for a couple of years  after finishing High School. In 1972, I got tired of working the  graveyard shift, loading produce on trucks, so I went to see the Navy  recruiter. I had a high enough draft number that I was draft-proof, but a lot of guys weren't so lucky.

In order to get a better deal, I told  the recruiter that the Air Force had promised me my own plane. He told  me that the Navy would give me my own boat, AND the oars that  went with it. He tried to talk me into going Nuc Power, but my cousin  was a Nuc ET, and had already warned me against it. I did sign up for  advanced electronics, a decision I've never regretted.

I got my  choice of Boot Camps (San Diego, Great Lakes, & Orlando) and picked  Orlando. It was there I decided I wanted submarines. I went to FT"A"  school in Great Lakes. It was there that I actually committed to  submarine duty before I could go to FT"A" School, Part 2, Underwater.  From there, I was sent to Sub School and "C" school in New London. Once I had an 1192 NEC, I was limited to 10 boomers and the Tulibee. By the  time I reported to my first boat, the USS Theodore Roosevelt (SSBN-600)  I'd been in the Navy for a year and a half, and was 3rd class. Another year later, and I finally went to sea.

Larry


The Stories
 

Sea Stories

Larry’s Home Port

cpo
Dolphins