Posted: Apr 09, 2010 2:16 am
I just found this forum.
1) What were/are the details of your service? Location? Specifics?
I went through school at MIT on a Navy ROTC scholarship, which included two months under water on a ballistic missile submarine. On graduation in 1981, I was assigned to ADM Rickover's headquarters, Naval Reactors, for a five year tour. I spent most of my time there in the reactor engineering operating plants group, where I had responsibility for the reactors on the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier and Trident nuclear submarines.
2) Why did you serve/are you serving?
Partly because I felt it was a good thing to do my duty to help keep our nation safe, and partly because of the scholarship, as there's no way my family could have afforded tuition at MIT. That said, I could have left ROTC after the second year and gotten loans for the remaining two years, so I didn't stay just for the money.
3) In retrospect, would you do it again? Or, for how much longer are you planning to serve?
I would probably do it again. The only reason I'm not sure is because it meant I ended up missing the first decade of the microcomputer software boom, and it would have been interesting to see how I could have ended up if I'd started that a decade earlier.
4) Have you had any memorable experiences, and if yes, would you mind sharing them?
Yes, but they are classified.
5) Has your service resulted in any sort of trauma or permanent damage?
Not really. I have a few minor medical issues that probably resulted from the low quality of medical care in VA facilities, but as I said, they are minor.
1) What were/are the details of your service? Location? Specifics?
I went through school at MIT on a Navy ROTC scholarship, which included two months under water on a ballistic missile submarine. On graduation in 1981, I was assigned to ADM Rickover's headquarters, Naval Reactors, for a five year tour. I spent most of my time there in the reactor engineering operating plants group, where I had responsibility for the reactors on the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier and Trident nuclear submarines.
2) Why did you serve/are you serving?
Partly because I felt it was a good thing to do my duty to help keep our nation safe, and partly because of the scholarship, as there's no way my family could have afforded tuition at MIT. That said, I could have left ROTC after the second year and gotten loans for the remaining two years, so I didn't stay just for the money.
3) In retrospect, would you do it again? Or, for how much longer are you planning to serve?
I would probably do it again. The only reason I'm not sure is because it meant I ended up missing the first decade of the microcomputer software boom, and it would have been interesting to see how I could have ended up if I'd started that a decade earlier.
4) Have you had any memorable experiences, and if yes, would you mind sharing them?
Yes, but they are classified.
5) Has your service resulted in any sort of trauma or permanent damage?
Not really. I have a few minor medical issues that probably resulted from the low quality of medical care in VA facilities, but as I said, they are minor.