Christmas Tours

bysubcpo14

2.1K followers

Updated 6 years ago

During the height of the cold war in the 80s, I had the pleasure of being a member of the USS Billfish (SSN-676) which was a fast attack submarine based out of New London Connecticut.

Our national security goal was to field a 500 ship navy but to get to that number we had vessels that had the ability to get underway and we had vessels that were welded to the pier.

As a single male in his early 20s with the world just waiting for me I was on a Big And Black And Never Come Back vessel that was underway 300 plus days per year.

For security reasons, I can never say where we went or what we specifically did but I can tell you that it was the time of my life.

We all must grow up and I believe I finally did in my early 30s being married and having a family that includes fur babies.

To this day, I would consider deploying under the deep blue sea if the opportunity presented itself again.

The one negative about being stationed on the USS Billfish was that we had a Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years deployment schedule that required us to be away from home during this period.

When young and single, the occasional mail call with cookies and news from home helped fill the gap as did the radio transmitted Family Gram of approximately 20 words you received once a month.

Unluckily, the married crewmembers were away from their brides and young children during this special time of year and you can never make up this time and it was tough for them.

I experienced immediate family absence in the mid-90s and the tour ended up being my last deployment when it took me months to re-bond with my bride and daughter after I returned. The fur babies acted like I never left.

I would like to remind everyone that there are many people that experience similar separations during the holiday season due to work, school, recent deaths, etc. and we should all be considerate of this fact.

Please take the time to spread a little holiday cheer no matter your beliefs since a smile and greeting is not only inexpensive but requires fewer muscles.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas & Happy New Years. It is great being fifty plus going on fifteen.

Jay Patterson