Dangerous Ground

the division would remain on board each night. Jerry noted that the senior man after Foster, TM1 Moran, also had the two most inexperienced men: TM3 Lee and TMSN Jobin.

Jerry handed the paper back to Foster. “Thanks, Senior Chief.” He kept his tone casual and stepped out of the way so that Foster could head forward.

After Foster disappeared, Jerry headed for the torpedo room, to familiarize himself with the spaces if he couldn’t do anything else. As its name implies, the room was designed to store and fire torpedoes and cruise missiles. There was little space for humans to walk around and work in, but to Foster’s credit everything was well organized and properly stowed. The only things out of place were a coffee cup and a beat-up paperback book on the starboard torpedo storage rack.

Jerry was opening cabinets when Senior Chief Foster returned. The look on his face made Jerry start to feel like a burglar, but then he remembered that this space was his responsibility.

“Is the WEPS happy with the duty roster?” Again, Jerry kept his tone casual, matter-of-fact.

“Yes, sir.” Foster replied.

“You said you were going to test the fire-control circuits next.”

“Yes, sir, I have to supervise a test of the fire-control circuit interface with the port tube nest.” Foster sounded like he was in a hurry, but Jerry refused to be rushed.

“Do you have the PMS card for the check, Senior Chief?”

Foster went over to a card index and removed a stiff 8x10 card. Filled with text and symbols, it was titled FIRE CONTROL CIRCUIT CHECK OF THE mk67 torpedo tube system.

Jerry had studied the Planned Maintenance System (PMS) at the Academy and at submarine school. It was the Navy’s way of standardizing the routine maintenance work on all the equipment aboard a ship. Before it was installed on any ship, a team of engineers studied each new piece of equipment. How often did a component need to be cleaned or lubricated? When did it need to be checked or replaced? Once the bright boys had listed what checks needed to be done and when, they’d figure out what skills were needed, what tools and materials should be used, and even how long it should take.

All that information, in excruciating detail, was printed on the card Jerry held in his hand. It was a weekly check that required the following tools, and the following personnel.

“Senior Chief, you said you were going to supervise the test. According to this card, a first class should be able to perform the check.”

Foster replied, “Well, yes, but I want to make sure..”

“Is there a problem with Moran? Does he have the skills?” Jerry wasn’t demanding, but he was insistent.

“Yes, sir. Absolutely,” the senior chief answered firmly.

“Then you don’t need to be there. We have to start the turnover. You know it, and I know it, so let’s begin. I want to see the division’s spaces.”

Foster glared at Jerry, “Certainly, Mr. Mitchell, as you wish. Let’s start over here with the starboard tube nest.”

It was hardly the best tour Jerry had ever had, but he had to concede one thing: Foster knew his stuff and he knew it cold. As they walked around the room, Foster kept pointing to pipes, valves, and other mechanical components, spitting out facts and specifications at a rapid rate. So rapid, in fact, that Jerry couldn’t keep up. He had had some basic instruction on the Mk67 torpedo tubes in submarine school, but everything there had been on paper. Now Jerry was trying to merge some of his basic knowledge with chunks of metal that were all clustered on top of each other and interwoven with piping and electrical cables.

The four torpedo tubes were nearly identical. Broken out into two nests or groups, tubes one and three were on the starboard side and had been modified for ROY testing back in the late-1990s. Tubes two and four were on the port side and were standard 688-class torpedo tubes. As with every U.S. Navy attack submarine built since the early 1960s, the torpedo tubes were moved aft from their traditional position in the bow, and on 688-class submarines, angled out at seven degrees. This arrangement was necessary because the fifteen-foot bow sonar sphere prevented bow-mounted tubes. Each tube nest had its own ram ejection pump located beneath the torpedo tubes. These pumps used high-pressure air to drive a slug of water into a tube, which would forcefully eject a 3,700-pound Mk48 ADCAP torpedo from the sub.

In the middle of the torpedo room, directly between the two tube nests, was the Mk19 weapons launching console. From this position, a torpedo-man’s mate could operate all of the four tubes’ various functions. Everything from opening the breech door, flooding a tube, even firing one could be done from this console. Foster pointed out, of course, that all the automatic functions on the console had a manual backup and his torpedomen could work these in their sleep.

Behind the torpedo tubes, in the middle of the room, were the three two-leveled torpedo stowage racks where up to twenty-two weapons could be stored. Normally, a 688-class boat would leave two slots, or “stows” vacant, so that torpedoes could be removed from the tubes for maintenance. With four weapons in the tubes, a 688 would usually go to sea with a mix of twenty-four torpedoes and Tomahawk cruise missiles. Memphis, however, was not a normal 688. The Manta control station, located at the port, aft end of the centerline stowage rack, reduced the number of weapons that could be stored by four.

Integral to the outboard torpedo stowage racks was the reloading equipment. Loading trays on the inboard side of the two racks were designed to pivot, so that they could align themselves with the canted tubes. Hydraulic rams would then push the weapons into the tubes. Moving weapons on the racks, or indexing weapons, was also done with a complex system of hydraulically driven gears and linkages. Again, if necessary, loading could be done manually with a block and tackle and lots of manpower.

Jerry knew Foster was intentionally moving at warp speed, either to show how much he knew about Memphis’ main armament and how little Jerry knew, or to get the tour of the spaces over and done with as soon as possible. Probably both, Jerry thought. Still, he asked his senior chief numerous questions that required Foster to slow down to answer. Most of the questions Jerry asked were honest inquiries for clarification of something that Foster had said or for additional explanation of a system’s function. For some of his questions, however, Jerry already knew the answer and he wanted to compare it to what Foster would tell him.

After a couple of hours, Jerry allowed his first tour of the torpedo room to come to an end. TM1 Moran and two of the more junior torpedomen were well into their PMS check on tubes two and four. Undoubtedly, Foster would want to look in on them; something Jerry wholeheartedly approved of. Impressed by Foster’s knowledge, Jerry was sincerely appreciative for the tour, even if it was given begrudgingly.

“Thank you for the tour, Senior Chief. It would seem that I have an awful lot to learn about the systems that are in this room. I trust you won’t mind if I ask you some more questions from time to time.”

“You’re most welcome, sir,” responded Foster with some sarcasm. “Sir, I would like to go and look in on the maintenance check. Petty Officer Moran has the two most junior torpedomen working with him and I’d like to see how they are doing.” The emphasis on the junior TMs hopefully would free him from this overly inquisitive officer.

“Certainly, Senior, carry on.” Jerry made sure his voice was neutral and polite. Despite Foster’s less than friendly behavior over the last few hours, Jerry knew that he had to work with this man if he was to have a smooth-running division. And he needed that if he was to obtain his ultimate goal: his gold dolphins and a career in submarines.

Just as Senior Chief Foster was preparing to leave, Lieutenant Richards popped out from behind the starboard tube nest and made his way down to Jerry and Foster.

“There you are, Mr. Mitchell. I see you and the Senior Chief have begun your turnover.”

“Yes, sir,” replied Jerry. “Senior Chief Foster has just finished giving me a tour of the torpedo room and it is clear that I have much to learn.”

“Well, that’s a start, at least,” said Richards as he tossed some folded papers into Jerry’s hands. “I need a new watch schedule for your division ASAP, the other one is now OBE.”

“Sir, I don’t understand. I’m sure Senior Chief Foster’s watch schedule was correct for a port and starboard duty section.” Jerry wasn’t entirely certain of this, but defending his leading chief was the right thing to do.

“I said it was OBE, Mr Mitchell, not incorrect. The XO and the COB have convinced the Captain that a Port and Starboard watch rotation isn’t necessary and would likely have a negative impact on the crew’s performance