10 Jun 2000, 2000LT (11 Jun, 0700Z)
"I can't believe he forgot again." Megan Hunter sat on the limb of her favorite banyan tree, the cell phone covered so that her mother might not see it. "He's always gone for my birthday. I'll bet that Mom buys a present for me from him and he won't even know what it is." Tears of frustration and anger poured down her cheeks.
Across the water on Ford Island, Sally Johnson lay across her bed with her phone clutched against her ear. "Yeah, Dads are like that. Mine does the same thing." She rolled over and grabbed the large fluffy teddy bear that rested on her pillow. "He tried to make up for it this year. Bought a stuffed bear at the Exchange on his way home from the office. Guess he didn't know that I had asked Mom for it the week before. Still got home late and forgot my party."
"I thought mine would remember this year," Megan complained angrily. "It's my sixteenth. But he's off on some silly exercise." She shifted around on the limb, trying to find a more comfortable position. "I hate the Navy. I'll never marry a Navy man when I grow up. I won't even date a sailor, as if Dad would let me date."
11 Jun 2000, 1810LT (0910Z)
Sam Stuart and the chief machinist, Chief Richey, pulled white Tyvek coveralls and booties over their poopie suits while discussing the inspection and repairs they expected to make on the main engine bearings. A lanyard attached every item that they needed to the belt on their suit and everything that could come loose was double secured with tape.
Stuart said, "Chief, you take the starboard reduction gear and I'll take the port. Here's hoping we can get a side back up."
They squeezed through the small access covers into the tight recesses of the reduction gear covers. They saw that they had a problem right away. Both high-speed pinion bearings were firmly welded to their respective shafts. After an hour of sliding around inside the hot, oil coated housing, they emerged, the Tyvek coveralls coated with a thick golden layer of warm oil. They didn’t find any other damage.
Chief Turston stuck his head inside the clean tent and reported that repairs were completed to number two oil pump and they were ready to start it.
“Good, just in time to check normal oil flows to all the bearings. I’m still worried about the shaft bearings. If those are damaged, we are SOL,” Stuart replied.
Minutes later the reduction gear covers were back in place and the pump started. Oil flowed through the system. Watch-standers carefully checked every bearing to make sure that it had a normal oil supply. Both too little and too much was bad. Too little meant that the bearing was damaged and had restricted flow. Too much meant that the heat had melted off the babbit material in the bearing leaving nothing to support the shaft. The bearing would need to be replaced. Fortunately, all bearings including the vital main shaft bearings had normal oil flows. The only exceptions were the two high-speed pinion bearings. Neither had any oil flow to them.
11 Jun 2000, 2030LT (1130Z)
Stuart wearily reported, “Captain, I have good news and bad news.” Sweat dripped from his brow, forming a large puddle on the steel deck.
"Go ahead."
“First, the good news. All the shaft bearings and main reduction gear bearings are fine. We have normal oil flows. Number two lube oil pump is back on line.
"Now, for the bad news. Both high-speed pinion bearings are seized. We only have one replacement onboard. It will take us about twelve hours to roll one out and put in the new one. I am disconnecting the port main engine now and making preparations to replace the starboard bearing. After starboard repairs are complete, we will be limited to twenty knots until we can fix the port bearing.”
“Very well, Eng. Keep me posted as you go. If I can get you another bearing, is there anything else that you will need?” Hunter asked.
“No sir. We checked that. We have all the other parts here. What kind of magic do you have in mind? The nearest replacement is at the Pearl Harbor Shipyard,” the Engineer replied.
“Don’t know yet, but we'll see what we can do. Come forward when you get a chance. I want to sit down with the department heads and plan out the next couple of days.”
“Aye, sir. I’ll have things rolling here in about an hour."
11 Jun 2000, 2050LT (1150Z)
“Well XO, the first combat submarine kill since World War II. I wonder how Dick O’Kane felt after his first kill on TANG. I can tell you that it sure isn’t what I always imagined,” Hunter said thoughtfully.
The two were standing in the passageway outside the XO's stateroom. It was almost like nothing had happened between them. Almost, but not quite.
"I know what you’re saying about the kill, Skipper. I always thought that it would be like running in a touchdown to win the Army-Navy Game or something. But there’s just this feeling that we’ve done something not quite clean, but something that had to be done,” Fagan answered after a moment.
Both pretended that the shouting match had not occurred, neither was quite successful.
“That KILO skipper must have had ice for nerves. Even with
