European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 16, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse Patrolling the deep in the Simon Bolivar by Robert Kaylor United press International mar. Mike Dehaemer stands amid a wild ring array of dials and gauges in his control compartment that could be spelling out the end of the world. One by one. Red lights Wink on. "1 so. Assign. Prepare. process repeats itself 16 times once for each of the nuclear tipped Poseidon missiles aboard the . Navy submarine Simon Bolivar As technicians work among die upright steel launch tubes in a compartment a few Yards away to take the Steps that would ready each of the 34-foot missiles for firing. Other crewmen two decks below Man computers that feed the missiles their instructions. It is a Drill they have been through dozens of times before. It is like the real thing except that no missiles arc fired. There Are elaborate safeguards to prevent that happening by Accident or we had actually launched a missile said Dehaemer. 38. Skipper of the Bolivar you would have fell a Small bump As though you were sitting on your car and someone jumped on the the Bolivar is one of 41 Fleet ballistic missile sub marines that. Prowl beneath the surface of the world s oceans on 70-Day patrols. They go from two bases in the United states at Charleston s.c., and Bangor wash., As Well As overseas ports in Spain Scotland and Guam. From patrol stations beneath the surface the submarines arc always ready within a few minutes notice to Send their deadly warheads to targets in the soviet their missiles Aren t As accurate or powerful As land based icbms. Military planners regard the sub marines As important to . Defences because they can go beyond reach of an enemy in hiding places hundreds of feet deep just How deep the Navy declines to say. Kach submarine spends about two thirds of Hie year at sea. Separate Blue and Gold Crews alternate on the patrols during which a submarine does t normally even poke the slender Black sail that protrudes two stories from atop its Hull above the surface. The pay for this duty is better than in the surface Navy running from about $60 extra each month for an unskilled Seaman to As High As about 250 More for the highly trained technicians nukes in the language of missile submariners who work on the Bolivar s nuclear Power Plant. There is also ample time off Between trips to compensate for the Long stretches underwater. But says chief Petty officer James l. Boggs of John son City. Tcnn., who has 17 of the 70-Day voyages under his Belt the patrols seem to get longer As you do More of at 425 feel in length and 33 feet wide the Cigar shaped Bolivar is big for a submarine. It carries torpedoes and still has the familiar periscopes but much is different from those undersea boats that Are familiar from world War ii movies. Like the older submarines however first priority on space goes to the machinery that makes the Bolivar a self sufficient fighting ship. The lubes that House the 40.000 Pound missiles take up most of the room in the Cen trial portion of the ship. There is also the nuclear propulsion Plant equipment to purify the air so the submarine never has to surface sonar gear so it can listen for ships and other submarines torpedoes and launch Tus piping everywhere and signs Hal warn danger High not much space is left for 140 crewmen. People live in and around on this says one. Wherever they can find a bunks Are in three High Liers with about two fed of headroom for each. Thai and a Liny locker Are All Hal most of the crewmen can Call their own. There Aren t any windows to look out of. No night or Day Only a routine of six hours work and 12 hours off. It in t Long before Midnight and noon Don t mean anything. We Don t normally Send radio messages to avoid giving our position away says Cha Emir. Commanders on Shore Don t know exactly where their Crews Are. Or sometimes even whether they Are alive and Well. Neither do families at Home. There also in t any to newspapers or letters from Home although crewmen do periodically get 20-word messages from their families via the same Low frequency radio link that would bring the order to fire missiles. It is received by trailing a wire Antenna through the sea. Isolation helps put the Crew of the Bolivar in a world All their own. With a language to match. They Wear poop suits one piece Blue coveralls that Are unique to nuclear submariners. They talk about skimmers their term for the surface Navy and corrosion in the ship s nuclear Power Plant on which constant War is waged in the engine room. On a recent trial cruise in the Atlantic off its Charles ton base everybody on the Bolivar was Busy with drills and had Little free time. But crewmen say one of the big Gest problems on patrol is boredom. Work eat sleep watch a movie. There s Little else to do. Aside from the air conditioning there Are few sounds in the living quarters except the popping and groaning of compartment Walls As the submarine changes depth and the Bull is pushed inward by the pressure. Some sailors play Nickel and dime poker Small stakes gambling that is officially allowed to pass the time. Others study Navy technical courses and some work toward the High school diploma they never got. I take about eight Cartons of cigarettes on a patrol and measure the time by How Many Are left said mess Cook David Gutierrez 18, of Chicago. They go stale after a while. When we finally surface at the end of a patrol the fresh air seems strange. You be forgotten what it s morale starts to go Down about two weeks out says cmdr. Tom Ryan the Bolivar s executive officer. It Hils Bottom around Halfway night that s when we have a big meal lobster and Steak usually and a party with skits and a Talent patrols Are rough on families As Well and have caused occasional breakups. My wife gets Down in the says quartermaster John Honaker. 23. She sees our next door neighbor go to work each morn ing and come Home at night and wants to know Why i can t do the because of the Rigours of submarine duty there s a Dif Ferent life style. There s no doubt Navy discipline runs the ship but it s Low key. Aside from drills and when orders Are Given you Don t hear the word sir very often. Special events help break Monotony. On its last patrol the Bolivar bad an unpopularity contest i which crewmen paid 10 cents per vote to name their candidate for Tow Job of cleaning up the Galley and washing dishes. There were More than 4,000 votes bringing in $400 for the ship s recreation fund. Ryan won hands Down. So the second highest ranking officer aboard spent a night doing the Navy s equivalent of up. You would never see Hal happen on a surface said one Sailor. Fabled submarine food in t quite As lavish As it used to be because of Economy moves but the Navy still spends More to feed submariners than other sailors. The Bolivar s Crew found in had to Start a weight watching As with other kinds of weaponry there is pressure to become bigger and belter. The Bolivar. 12 years old. Worth about $500 million in today s dollars and with Poseidon missiles that have a Range of about 2,900 Miles faces obsolescence. In late 1979. The first of a new generation of submarines the Trident is scheduled for its first patrol. In will be the world s biggest submarine Al 625 feel Long Cost around $1 billion and carry 24 missiles with ranges of 4,000 Miles. The plan is to convert Poseidon subs to fire the new missiles. Trident has faced some opposition through the years because of Cost and criticism in in t needed. Congress has accepted the program although How Many of the new submarines will be bought still must be thrashed out. Skipper Dehaemer on deck at Charleston base. President Carter a former nuclear submariner him self is known to feel submarines Are perhaps the most credible part of the nation s nuclear deterrent. Why bigger submarine and miss Lei Navy officials cite a need to stay ahead of soviet technology which they say is getting better. We believe the so Viets today Don t have the capacity to attack or de stroy any significant number of the Force lays vice adm. Robert . Long the Navy s top submariner. We Are trying to take All the Steps we can to maintain thai status quo and. That Means longer Range missiles quieter operation improved sensor equipment to detect with Poseidon missiles . Submarines crossing the Atlantic now have to reach mid Ocean before they on reach targets As far Inland As Moscow. Navy officers contend greater Range will increase by Twenty fold the area in which their submarines can hide around the world and do away with the need or bases outside the United states. More sound deadening insulation around the Power Plant is one reason for bigger submarines. Long say plus the fact that a bigger number of missiles on one launching platform is More Cost effective. . Intelligence sources say the russians who now. Have about 88 missile submarines to 41 for the United states and Are allowed More sea based missiles under the Salt 1 agreement Are ahead in some missile technology. While their warheads Are not As sophisticated the soviets already have at sea some missiles with a Range of up to 4.200 Miles and Are testing a Model that can Fly an estimated 4,600 Miles. Officials say this will allow soviet submarines to be in Range of . Targets from Waters just off their bases on the North russian coast. The United states will not be in the same league until a Trident ii missile is developed inthe mid-1980s. The big . Advantage now is the ability to operate quietly so that present russian listening equipment cannot detect american submarines. It is guarded jealously. Constant improvements Are made in sound insulation technology that is considered so sensitive visitors to the Page 14 the stars and stripes monday m9j
