Where It All Began

Geoff is feeling nostalgic. He is visiting a place where one of the biggest adventures began 46 years ago that set him on a path that would determine the rest of his life. This place is out on the end of Point Loma in San Diego, California. The submarine base there was where Geoff was sent by the US Navy after he completed his initial training. He was a third class Electronics Technician and was sent to the head quarters of ComSubDevPac (Commander Submarine Development Pacific) for eight months before nuclear power school would start. Little did he know, but he has come to realize many years later, that this was a test. He and the other six young men who were sent here were being evaluated to see if they would be right for undergoing the year of training to come. The short story is…he passed, and went on to that year of training and then three years as a reactor operator on the USS Snook (SSN 592) also stationed out of that same port in California.

After arriving in San Diego, it became apparent that the job these men were sent here to do was somewhat menial. Essentially, they were janitors in the command building high up on the hill overlooking the base. Unbeknownst to Geoff and his mates there was a secret underwater vessel also attached to this command, which was manned by a small crew on a floating drydock ship. After about a week of somewhat depressing mopping and sweeping, the bunch of them were called into a meeting and were told about the other crew. Turns out they had heard there were seven third class petty officers up on the hill and, this crew, which consisted of second class and above, wanted to share in the bounty of pee-ons. They wanted two volunteers to come work on the ship instead of in the command building.

Geoff and one of the other guys jumped at the chance. At least that is how he remembers it. There may have been a bit of a hesitation. This was passing up a pretty easy shore billet and converting to ship life, which could contain a lot of unknowns. But, as he looks back he thinks, this was what he had joined the Navy for. Not to sweep floors in a building but to, probably, sweep floors on a Naval vessel. It became much more than that, and the entire story is one for another post.

It turns out, it was the best decision of his life. The secret vessel, the Trieste, has been long ago declassified and retired to Bainbridge Island in Washington State and the Point Loma sub base has changed a lot since 1968, but that decision affected the rest of Geoff’s life. He put in the year of nuclear power training, three years of duty on a submarine in the South Pacific, and then was able to get into a BSEE program in a top level university (Michigan Technological University in Houghton, MI). He is pretty sure that his Navy service gave him an edge as his high school grades were not very good.

He excelled in college thanks to his training in the Navy. He had learned how to learn in the total 20 months of school he had attended in the Navy. His service and his good grades helped him get an excellent job in his career field. There he met his wife, which led to two wonderful sons and three even more wonderful Grandkids. It has been a wonderful life and the turning point occurred right here, on hallowed ground.

So this place calls Geoff back at times and, although he cannot get as close as he would like, it is nice to see again.