My Veteran's Day post...

Here's a fair-to-middling article about sub service. I'll never think of it as heroic, we just had a job to do. Quite often that job sucked on toast, mostly due to the long term discomfort and isolation from the rest of the world. The majority of us were never shot at, quite often a deployment was like a long bus ride with all the windows painted over. But other than that, the article is fairly accurate:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/10/us/veterans-in-focus-silent-service/index.html

It didn't involve a lot of physical danger. But it was a bit different. I'll close by quoting a SEAL Team member who rode on our last boat (we were set up for covert ops). After going through the same routine training as our helmsmen/planesmen this elite warrior of almost 20 years experience got out of the helmsman's chair, looked at the Control Room party and calmly stated, "You motherfuckers are all crazy". Then he went below to the Chief Petty Officer's Quarters (Goat Locker) for a cigarette and cup of coffee.