D. Clayton Meadows' Of Ice and Steel.Com

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"OF ICE AND STEEL poses a thought-provoking cataclysmic undersea contest across a vivid fabric of space and time!"
--Joe Buff, author of SEAS OF CRISIS and STRAITS OF POWER

OF ICE AND STEEL

In the waste of the Arctic ice, a deadly relic lies, frozen and forgotten. When a new Russian revolution brings man kind to the very brink of oblivion, the sleeping relic is loosed on an already frightened world. Ships begin to disappear. The super powers accuse one another, as all nations, draw their battle lines. A nuclear devise is stolen, to be delivered to the most wanted and murderous terrorist in history. It is a time when only a spark is required to ignite a nuclear exchange. One man has the answer. Three men and three submarines must overcome mistrust, and their own demons to explain the unexplainable and deliver the world from a global holocaust.

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This is my official qualifications certificate. I would venture to say that this rather small bit of paper is equal to a collage degree. The qualification process is a timed event. The newly reported crew member has one year to complete the process. It begins with the basics the new member needs to ensure that he can save the ship and himself if trouble arises. Areas covered in the first phase are Damaged Control. From the day he steps on the submarine a man has the ability to kill every man on board and destroy the ship. Damage control is vital! He learns the location of all fire extinguishers, all alarms, tool rolls, how to repair pipes, where to shut off power to this or that. Once he feels he has the needed skills he gets a "check out" from a senior enlisted crewmen. If he passes the check out, he can move on the next phase, Ship Systems. In this Phase he must learn know by heart every system on the ship. He must know not only his watch station but other stations as well. To sum it up he has to learn the entire boat! He learns about the reactor systems, the emergency diesel, torpedo tubes, torpedoes,and missiles. He has to know it all. On a submarine a cook can cross connect the trim and drain system. A sonar operator make the ship ready to snorkel. A torpedoman can operate the fire control system. A nuclear trained electrician can load a torpedo tube.

While all this learning is going on the new member "Nub" still has to qualify his watch station, and do maintenance, and about a thousand other things. Once his Qual Card id complete. He must now go before a submarine qualification board. One Officer, Once Chief and usually two First Class Petty Officers will ask him questions, that make the candidate recall what he had learned and think out of the box. When and if the board are satisfied with his knowledge they recommend to the Commanding Officer that the man be qualified in submarines,

It is a very proud day when the skipper pins on your fish! God knows you worked hard for them! Now after months of study, work, and pain the member is welcomed into the community of the submariner. He can now watch movies, listen to music. He has passed the test and made the grade. No matter what is career choices are in the future he will be till the day he dies a member of a select few. He is a SUBMARINER.

A very great day! In this picture I am being capped to Chief Petty Officer. Unlike other branches of the service, the Navy holds the rank of E-7 as sacred. The saying that Chiefs run the Navy is true.The Chief community is very particular about who they let in, as it should be. To make the rank of Chief a person must have displayed an almost perfect record of achievement and duty. He/She is given a test that is specific to his job (Rate). If he/she passes the test, their record is sent to a reviewing board. This is where it all happens. You are evaluated on your entire time in the Navy. If the board selects you, the process is now turned over to your soon to be fellow Chiefs. You go through a traditional initiation. The details of that are a highly guarded secret. What I can tell you that this process teaches the new Chief that he is now the one the Captain relies on to be the role model and technical expert. He is given object lessons in the need to take care of his people, and to be brave enough to voice an opinion or act when no others will. It is a highly regarded position that is unmatched by any other nation, or service.

This was an honor! The Colonel had come to town to speak at a prayer breakfast. It was very early in the morning, but I managed to get close enough for a hand shake and a plug of my book.

He smiled and asked me if I had read his new book. Well I hadn't, but he agreed to give OF ICE AND STEEL a read.

He is a very honorable man, and really goes out of his way to bring the stories of our military to light. He has more than once put his personal safety aside in order to get the truth, and even to help wounded.

This man is a true American hero.

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The day I left my last boat. The CO presented me with this picture. I think it was taken by a British helicopter as we were entering the Firth of Forth on the way to Faslane Scotland. On the side you can see the hump that runs along the entire upper deck. This is the towed array fairing. Under the faring is a pipe that holds the delicate array. A reel of wire is housed just forward of the Chief's Quarters and when ordered the wire is deployed. Jets of water are used to push it out. The wire travels down the tube, then inside the after super structure then along the outboard side of stern planes and out a tube. It works!

Also note the lack of fair water planes this class employs retractable bow planes. Handy for under ice operations. If you look close enough you can also see the outlines of the twelve Vertical Launch missile tubes. I had a lot of good times on this ship, worked my ass off, but it was worth every minute. I would not trade my time on Springfield for a million dollars, but I would not give you one red cent to do it again.

D. Clayton Meadows

Of Ice and Steel.Com

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