To the men and women who wear the dolphins: thank you for your service! past, present or future, you are not forgotten. We back at home go about our lives just a little easier knowing you're out there, watching our backs.
From a retired food service specialist. My hats of and I salute y'all. I love how food service has progressed through the years. The Chefs on the Toledo are truly top notch. Thanks for taking care of the men and women. God Bless!
I served on two surface fleet ships. One a Spruance class destroyer (the Cadillac of the fleet at the time) and one USS Long Beach CGN-9 class cruiser. We had what i would consider moderately close quarters. I had the distinct privilege of touring a fast attack sub while on deployment. It was of course tied up, I didn't get to go to sea on her. What they lived with for space made what we had on both my ships look like the Hilton... If they get better food they have earned it!!!
When the draft for WWII was eminent, my uncle joined the Navy expecting a soft cot good meals and a snappy uniform.. instead, he became a Corpsman hitting numerous beaches in this South Pacific with the Marines.. so much for ease and comfort!
My uncle served in the Navy in the late 1940s/early 1950s aboard diesel electric subs. He loved it. The big hazard on diesel electrics was hydrogen generation when charging batteries.
Dad served on the USS Diodon (a Balao-class smokeboat) in the late 50's. He still talks about eating steak and shrimp and (while in Yokosuka harbor) standing topside watch near the open after battery hatch and smelling the first batch of cinnamon rolls being baked.
When the WWII draft was imminent my grandfather decided instead to join the navy as he figured he'd always have a warm bed and three meals a day. Smart man.
My granddad got drafted into the Navy, which was nice except he was seasick most of the time. Also, being on a ship is a cushy job until it's hit like Mr. White said. Going out in an oil fire or drowning are some of the most excruciating ways to go.
I befriended an old Navy WW2 vet. He joined and gained weight - the great depression had been hard on him. In Navy boot, he gladly ate anything in the chow hall that others would would snub their noses to. To him, food was food.
Men are not joining the Submarine Service to meet chicks! The Submarine Navy is totally voluntary. Men volunteer to be on Submarines b/c they know it's the deadliest, most elite war machine in the military. FYI, they have begun allowing female 'officers' aboard submarines as members of the crew. Submarine service is no country club. . .
I never was on a ship, but can imagine that the people working on submarines does eat great food whenever the Navy can get to them. I know that the food I ate at Andrews AFB, in the Navy mess hall was fantastic, and they competed with the Air Force to see who served the best food. Both branches do serve great food, and since I was in the Air Force, there was plenty of time spent eating the great food we was served.
SubWay!! My favorite is the Meatball marinera sub, with bell peppers, olives, onion, pepperoni, pepper Jack cheese, Parmesan cheese, on white bread, toasted! Lol
When I was on the USS George Bancroft SSBN643 Blue we did 6 on and 12 off unless you were short handed then you went port and starboard watch. That's when other rates would pitch in and qualify other watch stations while underway. My rate was SK (Store Keeper ) so I qualified several underway watch stations. We had great meals onboard and they made some of the best dinner rolls. I also liked the Mid Rats then there was pizza night to look forward to as well. You knew when your patrol was half way done when you had a special meal on half way night. Keep on punching those holes and GO NAVY!
From what I understand, the Navy has the BEST chow out of all the branches. Like, they serve up some real gourmet shit. Steaks every other night, hearty stews, Nice roasts. Mmmm.
The food in the Navy is the BEST of all the services, without a doubt. The Bubbleheads get even better chow. I had tried to join the Marines, and, they wouldn't take me, so, I enlisted in the Navy. I used to sit down with my chow, and, as I took a sip of my hot, fresh coffee, think, "I could have been stuck out in the desert, eating god damned MREs!"
The Airborne Infantry food sucks. We loved jumping into Hilo, Hawaii or other bases for training 'cause we got fed from the Naval or Air Force chow halls. Seriously high quality food from them!
You're forgetting the Coast Guard. A lot of people don't realize they have Cutters that travel all over. I was a FS on the USCGC Legare. Made some great chow and sailed to South America. The FS's at land units do a great job as well.
For sure! Rode on an Coast Guard C-130 once, but the box meals we were given were fantastic! 6 LRRPS in an entire C-130 from Arkansas to California treated like royalty. We ate like kings and played Nerf football in the empty bird all the way. You rock, Coast Guard!
+Joey Cyr The nuclear sign is because the freezer and refrigerated storage is located along a corridor just forward of the reactor compartment. Signs are posted in exposure limit areas to indicate human exposure limits. Can't remember the exact exposure limits there, been awhile. I served on one of the Toledo's sister ships, The USS Hampton back in the early to mid 90's
You know why you didn't receive a reply?? With your expertise in small quarters, Your obvious talent of organization and multi-tasking and all the bravado and fortitude of what the military brings out in character, Ramsey would have been made a complete fool of by you. He was threatened ...guaranteed... He is not that great of a chef, he is just well marketed. He wouldn't last 5 seconds in the environment you work in. You sir are the real deal in the cooking world. Feed those sailors...They are the best of us.
Never dined on a sub. But spent over 20 years in the navy on many different ships and commands. Most all the meals were very good. some were outstanding. Best was on a supply ship called the USS CAMDEN AOE 2.
Some years ago, I brought a handful of EGRS to Groton Substation in Ct. We were suppose to go on the Nautilus. Instead, we were given the grand tour aboard the USS Toledo, which was docked for servicing. I "bumped" into a crewman, standing well over 6 feet tall looked up and jokingly asked him, "what were you thinking?", referring to his size. His reply was, "I love this duty." My thanks to all who serve in the "Tin can Navy." TSG(USAF) ret GP Marquis.
Army veteran here. We never ate food. We always had "chow". Really though my respect to all the branch cooks. Coming in from the field and getting hot chow was always a treat.
In the late 1930s my father joined the CCC Civilian Conservation Corp he severed 5 hitches as a laborer and they moved him to cook school he became a Seargent in the CCC and when America entered WW2 he joined the Army he bacame a Staff Sargent... He and the other cooks Feed 400 men a day from Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge until the end of the war. He received a Bronze star for duty..
Nice work Cookie! I had some really great meals underway. For all you civilians: we are not referred to as “submaREENers.” We are “submaRINers” meaning below (sub) and of the sea (mariner). The sea is where we all return when are days have expired; we join all those who have passed on the Eternal Patrol.
You got it wrong. The fresh vegetables & fruit get consumed 1st so that they don't go bad . From there we go to canned/dehydrated portions . The meals are good throughout the deployment , it's just dependent upon the skills of the cooks on board preparing the meals !
The Picking in the Galley is also great during the end of the fiscal quarter, and during any kind of Inspections! Gots to sway the inspectors with some great grub!
Yup I got a tour of a sub while at yorktown for our ammo onload on our ship. Chiefs are always the cooks on these things, because of the demand and morale needed in these tight quarters, maybe another first class to help out, and one food service attendant.
Just saw this video today on a sci-fi facebook group, poster thought a navy chef on a submarine would be a good place to start for imagining what being a cook on a starship would be like. I got to say, I got to up my game in that department. Thank you Chief Gardener for this glimpse into your world.
Thanks for cooking segment aboardUSS Toledo (SSN fast attack). Writing, with assist from SUBFOR master chief culinary specialist, first comprehensive submarine cookbook for the public. My way of educating about the men of The Silent Service who, by the very nature of their missions, receive little recognition.
in the army as a E-4 at a duty station my drinkin buddy was the mess sgt E-6 i ate omlets&hamburgers in the field plt sgt wondered why i volinteared for KP i'd run the field kitchen instead of guard duty
If you got out of the rack at 6:00, the meal being served in the crew's mess was the way you knew if it was AM or PM - breakfast or dinner. At 12:00, it was lunch or Mid Rats (Midnight rations) soup and sandwiches. The red lit Control Room told you it was dark on the surface.
* *R Jeanette* * - Did you even watch the video? He was talking about the newscaster. He was aboard the sub, overnight. He's a WIMP! I did over 20 years, US Navy. Watch the clip again and know why I'd be throwing him Hostess Ho Ho's from the upper-deck.
Cooks in the USN work such long hours that they are one of the few rates that do not stand watches-that should tell you how hard Mess Specialists work! Hats off to ALL USN cooks!-(ex)IC2 Waldron
Seems reasonable to me. He'd only sleep 5 hours if he made morning breakfast. He has to get ready for bed after work and in the morning, get ready after waking up.
Chef Ramsay only understands restaurants in cities, not a submarine with a 50 square foot kitchen! He'd be begging to get the hell out of there and lose his shit from claustrophobia!
I was an A-ganger on 2 ballistic subs..... Our mess specialists had the hardest job on the boat. Worst hours! Most loved and first responders to casualties. Fuck red October! Fiction. MS made the moral of the boat!
The vast majority of people think that the skipper holds the power aboard a USN ship on a cruise...false. The mess/culinary specialists and their chiefs hold the power, as they control the cookies. I’m serious. Fresh cookies and pies and donuts are the most bartered items...especially towards the end of a cruise.
im watching this because I had a friend sworn in yesterday as a culinary specialist for a submarine. no way in hell you're gonna put me in a tiny little submarine underwater for 9 months straight id lose it big time... thats like solitary confinement...
On a carrier, the fresh eggs, milk and decent stores run out in a few weeks at sea. Officers buy their own stores, and don't know what the hell powdered eggs are. Glad to see at least the bubble jockeys are eating well.
The only time we had powdered eggs on my sub was after 60 days at sea. Eggs don't need to be refrigerated. A cool place will keep them for a long time. And there are a lot of cool places in the belly of the submarine.
RT: Rule of thumb: Fresh milk runs out on the 4th day at sea. Eggs last a long time. Never had powdered eggs in the Navy from '78-2005. That's a 60's and earlier item. The officers do buy their own groceries, but often/usually most of it is the same as what is fed the sailors.
Tiara, A submarine captain said in another video: “Women on board submarines are problematic. As a woman I’m sure you can understand that.” At sea, sailors wear much less in the way of a uniform. I do not think you would want to go to that level with over 100 men. I do not think submarine men would want to either. On some subs the one shower for the crew is located on the mess deck (the eating area). Maybe someday they will have submarines with all female crew. I wish you success.
What happens to all the organic and non-organic waste if the sub is at sea for so long? Cans seem to take a lot of space/weight per serving. Is there a more efficient storage container? Just want to know if things have changed between 2009 and 2018.
Great question. Believe it or not, everything gets smashed and loaded into a Trash Disposal Unit (TDU) bag, weighed down, and discharged to sea while at "Periscope Depth". (Don't forget to take the lids off the bottles, wouldn't want those imploding and giving away our position.)
Submarines work on 6HR Shifts. 1st) Watch. 2nd) Clean, Work, Train, or extra Sleep 3rd) Sleep. Each 6HR shift has rotating persons. 6HRS + of sleep was plenty - If not too much.
@@mikethompson4854 Underway on a USN ship one is LUCKY to get 5 hours of sleep-duty (where you can be up for 24 hours) is typically very third or fourth day-USN was my LAST choice but I made the best of it and it treated me well:)-(EX) IC2 Waldron
