{"id":40883,"date":"2024-05-02T07:23:43","date_gmt":"2024-05-02T07:23:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/02\/inside-a-navy-submarine-navigating-the-arctic\/"},"modified":"2024-05-02T07:23:43","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T07:23:43","slug":"inside-a-navy-submarine-navigating-the-arctic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/05\/02\/inside-a-navy-submarine-navigating-the-arctic\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside a Navy Submarine Navigating the Arctic"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/11\/us\/politics\/00dc-submarine\/00dc-submarine-facebookJumbo.jpg?fit=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Inside a Navy Submarine Navigating the Arctic\" title=\"Inside a Navy Submarine Navigating the Arctic\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">U.S. Navy sailors aboard nuclear-powered submarines have long trained in the Arctic, learning to hunt their Russian counterparts in case of war. But America\u2019s sub force is sharpening its combat skills at the edge of the world as Russia expands military operations there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">One day in March, the black metal sail of a 360-foot attack sub armed with Tomahawk cruise missiles and torpedoes punched through the dense ice of the Beaufort Sea during Operation Ice Camp.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">For many of the 152 sailors on board the U.S.S. Hampton, it is their first patrol.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In the sub\u2019s nerve center, where sailors navigate the boat and stand watch over sonar, radio and weapons consoles, Master Chief Petty Officer Jacob Green mentors the junior officers and crew members as they carry out their duties.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Everyone calls him \u201cCob\u201d \u2014 for chief of the boat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Operating a sub in the Arctic is especially challenging. First, navigation. In some areas, shallow waters force the crew to thread a narrow path between twin threats: the ice above and the ocean floor below.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ice keels \u2014 huge chunks of overturned sea ice pointing downward \u2014 are also a hazard here. This was the case when Cmdr. Mike Brown and his crew aboard the Hampton transited through the Bering Strait.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cWe operated the boat 20 feet off the bottom with 40, 60 feet of ice above us and we were able to dodge the ice keels,\u201d Commander Brown said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Second, water condensation that comes from the freezing ocean waters against the boat\u2019s hull creates the risk of small electrical fires on the submarine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Since a loss of propulsion could mean getting stuck under the ice, keeping the sub\u2019s small nuclear power plant in top form becomes a matter of life or death.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As on any sub, space is at a premium.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Beds often have to be shared as the sailors work in shifts (rotating bunks is called \u201chot racking\u201d). Cooks frequently bake fresh bread so they don\u2019t have to store premade loaves (the supply officer is called \u201cChop,\u201d like pork chop). Menus must be meticulously planned for the duration of the underwater mission. In emergencies, surgeries can be performed on the wardroom table.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The small dining areas for officers and sailors are among the few places where the crew can unwind together and study the minutiae of submarine operations for hours on end.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Crew members play the strategy card game cribbage to pass time, and so, they say, as not to let time pass them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But time does pass, and all of the sailors will miss milestones in the lives of their families and friends. When they do finally return home, they will be unable to talk in detail about their efforts at sea because most of what they do is classified. <\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some sailors spend their downtime on smartphones, reading old messages or watching TV shows and movies downloaded before the patrol. \u201cDay 31 is sometimes the lowest morale day while underway,\u201d said Capt. Mickaila Johnston, an undersea medical officer. \u201cApp downloads expire: Spotify, Netflix, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Being \u201cunderway\u201d on a sub, the sailors say, is like working in a small office space with no windows, no way to leave, no Wi-Fi and zero cell service. Crucial military decisions are made entirely on the boat, with no outside communication.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The layout of the boat resembles an elongated maze of extremely dark passageways no wider than the aisle on a school bus. Sailors must turn parallel when walking past each other. The companionways between two primary decks are so narrow that only one person at a time can use them. Nothing and no one is ever far away.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Commander Brown leads an all-male crew. A ban on women serving in the submarine force <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2010\/04\/30\/us\/30brfs-WOMENALLOWED_BRF.html\" title=\"\">ended only in 2010<\/a>, and many female officers are rising through the ranks aboard subs like his. None are yet senior enough to command a submarine.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">On this particular day the Hampton has risen from the depths for Ice Camp \u2014 a three-week mission testing the crew\u2019s ability to fight in one of the most unforgiving places on Earth.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Several miles away other service members and researchers have built Camp Whale, a clutch of winterized tents and a small command center on a large ice floe that itself moves about a half mile an hour on the frozen ocean.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Life there is rugged. No showers. No running water. The outside air dips to 40 degrees below zero. Above, the northern lights sometimes shimmer after sunset.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Teams are flown by helicopter back and forth between the subs and the camp when physical contact with the subs is necessary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThe goal here is twofold,\u201d Commander Brown said in an interview. \u201cIt\u2019s geopolitical. It\u2019s also just building the proficiency of being able to operate under the ice. I have a crew full of sailors that by and large have never been here, have never been under the ice. And so one of my primary focuses is to train the next generation of sailors.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">U.S. Navy submarines run classified missions around the world every single day. Attack boats like the Hampton might collect intelligence on enemy warships or eavesdrop on unfriendly governments, while much larger ballistic missile submarines stay submerged for 90 days at a time, carrying enough nuclear warheads to destroy entire countries.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Before long, it is time to break through the unforgiving Arctic ice again.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As the crew concludes its mission in the Beaufort Sea, the sub heads north before surfacing at the North Pole.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">These submariners will then press on, continuing their voyage under the icy sea in silence.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">John Ismay<!-- --> contributed reporting from Washington.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/04\/30\/us\/politics\/inside-navy-submarine-arctic.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. Navy sailors aboard nuclear-powered submarines have long trained in the Arctic, learning to hunt their Russian counterparts in case of war. But America\u2019s sub force is sharpening its combat skills at the edge of the world as Russia expands military operations there. One day in March, the black metal sail of a 360-foot attack [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":40884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/04\/11\/us\/politics\/00dc-submarine\/00dc-submarine-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[3206,39916,5190,13788],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40883"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40883"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40885,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40883\/revisions\/40885"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40884"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}