Waller - Big Red: Inside The Secret World of a Trident Nuclear Submarine

Douglas Waller has done it again! In this real-life version of Crimson Tide, Americas best military journalist takes us on an unforgettable patrol to meet the men responsible for the U.S. Navys ultimate deterrent force. Packed with both personal and technical details, if you want to learn any more about the worlds most awesome weapons platform, youll have to join the Navy!

Richard P. Henrick, author of Crimson Tide

Excellent.... A richly drawn account that is eminently readable.

Undersea Warfare magazine

An eye-opening look into the top-secret world of nuclear submarines.... Informative and readable.

Library Journal

Submariners are a special breed. Because they serve their country in a shroud of secrecy, they often fail to get the recognition they deserve. Big Red gives us an astonishing peek inside the daily life of a submarine and a portrait of the men who make heartbreaking personal sacrifices in order to serve their country. Reading it, one can only develop awe and admiration for the men of the Silent Service.

Jonathan Mostow, director and screenwriter of U-571

Highly recommended.

Booklist

Surprise nuclear war launched from the sea remains the horrific threat of a next world war. Blind Mans Bluff uncovered the men and spy missions designed to do anything to prevent that. Now Big Red is a deployment with the men who trudge over missile bay doors on their way to work, and who sleep yards away from the warheads they must be ready to fire should the unthinkable ever happen.

Sherry Sontag, coauthor of Blind Mans Bluff: The Untold Story of American Submarine Espionage

Big Red should prove a good read for the general public and the non-submarine family.

Submarine Review

Military buffs and would-be submariners will thrill with patriotic pride.

Kirkus Reviews

Waller brings the reader into the exclusive submariners club as he details USS Nebraskas weapons, propulsion, communications and on-board electronic gadgetsas well as the lives and careers of the crew.

Publishers Weekly

If you havent thought much lately about where your federal tax dollars are going, or what it means to be the worlds last superpower, or even about such metaphysical questions as the meaning of God, buy this mans book.

Baltimore Sun

If you have ever been uneasy about the fail-safe aspects of a Trident submarine, this is the book for you. With their 24 missiles and 120 nuclear warheads, the Ohio class submarines are the most awesome weapons of destruction ever devised. Waller recounts the intense procedures that the captain and crew go through in the event of a signal to launch missiles, including the instructions and authentication messages. These elaborate safeguards make impossible the scenario of a rogue captain unilaterally starting a nuclear war.

Roanoke Times & World News

Douglas C. Waller

Douglas C. Waller is a former correspondent for Newsweek and Time. He has also served on the legislative staffs of Senator William Proxmire and Congressman Edward J. Markey. He is the author of four other books on military history, including the bestsellers The Commandos and Wild Bill Donovan. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Also by Douglas C. Waller

The Commandos
The Inside Story of Americas Secret Soldiers

Air Warriors
The Inside Story of the Making of a Navy Pilot

A Question of Loyalty
Gen. Billy Mitchell and the Court-Martial That Gripped the Nation

Wild Bill Donovan
The Spymaster Who Created the OSS and Modern American Espionage

INSIDE THE
SECRET WORLD
OF A TRIDENT
NUCLEAR SUBMARINE

DOUGLAS C. WALLER

Copyright Douglas C. Waller 2001

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or part in any form. For information, address International Creative Management, 730 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10019.

ISBN 978-0-7867-5490-8

Distributed by Argo Navis Author Services

To Marjorie

There is no place like Nebraska

Dear old Nebraska

Where the girls are the fairest

The boys are the squarest

Of any a schools I knew

There is no place like Nebraska

Where we are all true blue

Well all stick together

Through all kinds of weather

For dear old Nebraska

NEBRASKA FIGHT SONG

Lt. Cdr. Duane Ashton, former executive officer

Lt. Cdr. Alan Boyd, executive officer

Lt. Al Brady, navigator

Lt. J.G. Dave Bush, main propulsion assistant

Ens. Ray Chesney, bull ensign

Lt. Joe Davis, supply officer

Lt. Fred Freeland, weapons officer

Lt. Cdr. Harry Ganteaume, engineering officer

Lt. Steve Habermas, communications officer and Catholic lay leader

Lt. Ryan Hardee, nuclear weapons officer

Lt. J.G. Rob Hill, reactor division officer

Cpt. Jerry Hunnicutt, deputy squadron commander

Lt. Brent Kinman, drill coordinator

Ens. Mark Nowalk, junior ensign

Lt. J.G. Chad Thorson, damage control assistant

Lt. J.G. Bob Tremayne, tactical systems officer

Cdr. Dave Volonino, ships captain

Marvin Abercrombie, departing A-ganger chief

Shawn Brown, assistant drill coordinator

Marc Churchwell, master chief from the squadron

Steve Dille, senior engineering chief

Stacy Hines, missile chief and watch chief

Bob Lewis, new chief of the A-gangers

Rich McCloud, mess chief

Sean McCue, missile chief

Dan Montgomery, communications chief

Bob Philbin, medical corpsman

Todd Snyder, sonar chief

Jeff Spooner, weapons chief and diving officer

Tom Standley, senior navigation chief

Dave Weller, chief of the boat

Quentin Albea, yeoman and planesman

Jason Barrass, sonarman

Jason Bradfield, sonarman

Jason Bush, fire control technician and planesman

Eric Chambers, sonarman and lookout

Chris Cornelius, navigation petty officer

Paul Dichiara, missile technician

Jason Dillon, storekeeper

Matt Douvres, sonarman

Jason Duff, cook

Ben Dykes, sonarman

Ashley Fuqua, fire control technician and lookout

Richard Garvin, fire control technician

Tony Holmes, senior electrician

Tom Horner, radio operator

Calvin Ireland, missile technician

Kevin Jany, missile technician

Todd Jenkins, throttleman

James Johnson, sonarman

Don Katherman, missile technician

Keith Larson, torpedoman and planesman

Jason Lawson, missile technician

Don Lee, A-ganger

Frank Levering, Jack of the Dust

Eric Liebrich, radio operator

Mark Lyman, missile technician

Rodney Mackey, contact plotter and Protestant lay leader

Seth Magrath, A-ganger

Ed Martin, reactor petty officer, minister, and barber

Greg Migliore, radio operator

Greg Murphy, missile technician

Shawn Olmstead, electrician and barber

James Penn, storekeeper and watch chief

Reginald Rose, storekeeper and planesman

Brett Segura, machinery petty officer and watch chief

David Smith, torpedoman

Ed Stammer, navigation petty officer