Here’s a website for all you nukes to check out when you get a chance

Surfing Websites

I was trolling the Internet one evening for some good Navy related sites. On most occasions, I do not come across anything extraordinary.  In a few instances I encounter content which made it worth the effort to check out the various homepages.   

In the same way, I would like people to be able to find this blog and take something away from it after reading the entries. The casual reader may be challenged to believe some thought goes into the topics discussed and into writing these entries keeping in mind the people this blog is written for and what ExNavyNuke.com is intended to be about.  I would be very disappointed if any prospective reader found reading these postings a waste of time, O.K. enough digression for now.  

The posting I am thinking of was about a nuke that left the Navy and took the time to reflect on what he wished he had done differently looking back at his days as a nuke.

I will not kill the thunder of the details of the posting. Here is the link if you wanted to read another Ex Nuke’s rambling for yourself Read More: . After checking this site out please do not hesitate to check out Navynukejobfinder.com. Tell Dustin I sent you.

Reading Dustin’s posting made me give some thoughts to my time as a nuke. Perhaps I will dedicate a future posting to the things I feel I could have done better upon reflection on my time as a nuke. 

How did I wind up doing this for a living after my time as a nuke?

What did you do after serving as a nuke?

After leaving the service nukes may work in industries related to their nuclear training. Some typical paths include getting an Electrical Engineering degree on the GI bill and embarking upon careers in utilities, electricity or electronics related fields.  By tradition, in the old days guys would work in the nuclear power field as reactor operators, or in industries involving electricity (motors, pump), electronics, and semiconductors. My case was usual once I transitioned into a position as a product support engineer working on semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

However, in many instances once their nuke tour was finished the Ex Navy Nuke wound up doing something entirely different than their training and sea tour. One example is a Reactor Operator who ended up as a micro-biologist after going back to college on the GI Bill. I know of another nuclear electrician who would up becoming an architect and an ELT who is now running a marketing company.

Without a doubt many ways exist to making a living whether you are using your nuclear training or not. I find it fascinating on many occasions it is more interesting to look at where guys have gone after getting their DD214’s rather than the path got us into the MEP’s office in the first place.

Are you doing something drastically opposite what you did after your time as a nuke?

Who else but nukes would you expect to work here?

Diablo Canyon Power Plant

I was on a sales call at the Pacific Gas & Electric’s nuclear Power Plant at Diablo Canyon in San Luis Obispo, California.  My goal was to get them to purchase one of our partner’s auto transformers.   As with any highly engineered product in order to ensure the unit could be installed upon arrival we would need to go in and measure the cement pad to ensure our application engineers would be able to design a transformer of the correct size.

Diablo Canyon happened to be a nuclear facility; therefore, we would need to clear security in order to access the location where the transformer would go.  In order to get to the front gate you had to drive seven miles on road overlooking the Pacific Ocean and once you got parked in the Parking Lot and made your way to the administration building you had to pass hordes of Ex-Marines carrying high caliber automatic weapons.

The weather on morning of my arrival was a bit windy when I arrived so I took my Navy issued Pea coat along. It is the ONLY item of clothing left from my original sea bag which was issued to me during my first days in boot camp. The balance of my clothes including the dungarees and all went into a dumpster and soon as I walked through the Makalapa gate at Pearl Harbor for the last time.

As I crossed the checkpoint one of the staff asked if I had ever been in the Navy. Once I confirmed I had served he happened to be an ex nuke which surprised me at first. Later I thought, “I am at a nuclear power facility, where the hell else would you find ex nukes?”

Finally, he asked me if I might be interested in getting a job at Diablo Canyon. The situation was slightly awkward since I boss happened to be standing right next to me.  Once we went into the facility and made our measurements we returned back through the various security checkpoints to where we started. After we started the long drive back to the San Francisco Bay area I thought,” what would I do in a nuclear plant 12 years after my EAOS date and after having entered the dark side of technical sales and marketing?” What would the possibility be of standing some watch as RO after getting qualified?

Then reality kicked back in, since I had temporally forgotten I had been there and done that already thank you very much……

Image courtesy of http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/03/17/BUA01IDTUO.DTL

5 tidbits about going to college after being a nuke

Image of an Ex Navy Nuke going to class

Once your time as a nuke is complete using the credits gathered from power school and active duty it would seem attending college and completing your degree would be the next logical step.  I am sure many of you believe college will be more challenging than going through nuke school.  Here are five reasons you may be surprised how different your college experience may be from your time as a nuke once you enroll for classes.

1) There are no military requirements such as inspections with the exception of a ROTC program.

2) No one is going to make you sign a book documenting how many hours you study every week.

3)  Nuke school has been mentioned as compressing the knowledge covered in four years of college into 18 months. Now that you are enrolled in a university you can take as much time as needed to complete your coursework.

4) The GI bill will pay for a lot of college, in many cases, no loans will be required.

5) In college you will be studying something you are interested since you are footing the bill. We all remember some topics you never understood why the navy was teaching you but the nuke curriculum is not about what you wanted to learn since they are paying you.  Now in college the selection of topic is yours.

The path is clear. Get your degree finished and enjoy the ride while you are attending classes in what interests you. Your country appreciate you honorable service and you certainly have earned the right.

Hey Shipwreck, on some days it WILL suck to be you

Submarine moored 

In any job there are good days and awful days. From my experience as a nuke on many occasions the bad days were highlighted with moments which sucked at the time but were quite humorous upon recollection later.  Throughout my sea-tour miserable days came in various flavors. When you were non-qualified the problems resulted from being unable to stand watch. Later once your qualification had been completed the long days were caused from engineering department issues. Then on other occasions your forward brethren wound up being the cause of your headaches. 

One of the favorite horror stories as a nuke occurred on a day after duty which included the Mid-watch SRO. After I had been cut loose by my chief I made by made my way up the hatch. At the time, the submarine happened to be moored outboard of another boat so you had to go across the other brow before going ashore. I had bought a bike to get to and from the boat from my barracks room. In accordance to base regulations in order to ride on base all personnel needed to wear helmet.  So I decided to get a head start by putting on my bike helmet before I traversed the brow. The only problem included the fact I still needed to salute the ensign as I went over. As I threw up my hand salute up the COB of the other boat runs across the brow and begins screaming about me for saluting with a bike helmet on. (For the record I had my command cap under the helmet)  He “recommended” I go back across “his brow” and return and salute like a “friggin’ squared away sailor”. The topside sentry who witnessed this scene play out had the sorriest look in his eye as I strolled made my way a second time.  All of the guys on his boat knew what a prick this guy was and felt sorry someone from another boat had to experience his wrath. Once I saluted the flag I went ashore, put on my bike helmet and rode back to the barracks.

Once I returned to my barracks room I went to the calendar the I kept on my desk which I used to mark off the last few days in the Navy after which no more idiots could scream at me for anything.  Thus another fine Navy day became history and, more importantly, I was now one day closer to EAOS.

What will you life as a nuke be like?

To become a nuke or not , that is the question at hand...

The basis for this posting was a summary of a question posted on forum which was stated as follows: “If you've gone through the nuclear pipeline, please tell me what being a nuke was like for you and what I should expect. What's the work like? How readily do the job skills taught relate to private sector work, both in and out of the nuclear industry? Essentially, I'm looking for the things I can't learn from the recruiters or the Internet?”

My take is after reading what is available on the Internet is most of the information is 90% correct while, in the recruiters, case 90% of what they say is crap.

Here my tidbits on what you can look forward to 1) Count on long hours during your journey through the pipeline but the effort will be worth the trouble down the road. Think long-term. 2) There will be lousy and stressful times after which you may want to go to your command doc and get a psych discharge out. The feeling will pass 3) If a military career is not your choice then get out with your first rate training and use your GI bill to prepare for your future as a civilian.  4) if you wash out before you get to a boat as a nuke your life is not over, many “nuke wastes” forged successful futures, but remember you have joined the navy so if the nuke program does not work you will still need to finish the time you signed up for 5) after your service you will become part of very select club, and after you last duty day this is not a bad thing. 6) The life as nuke and navy life are not one that the same. 7) The nuclear industry was making a comeback before Japanese tsunami, and might prosper down the road; a prepared person may be one who is nuclear trained.

In conclusion, before making your decision about becoming a nuke make certain you understand fully what you are signing up since once you sign there is no going back.