Customer Reviews

Big Red: Three Months On Board a Trident Nuclear Submarine

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a former submariner and SSBN crewman, I was greatly looking forward to this book. I've long hoped for a book that I could hand to friends and family, one that would serve to explain to them what the life was like.

And I was vastly disapointed in 'Big Red'.

It's glaringly obvious that the author did not in fact spend 'three months onboard a Trident submarine'. In fact, it appears the book was assembled only from interviews, with no first hand experience at all. The book only covers a week or so of refresher training. It barely mentions refit, and does not cover the off-crew portion of the cycle at all. The actual patrol period itself is covered in only forty pages (out three hundred plus) at the end of the book. (And the bulk of those are given over to Halfway Night and the transit to NSB Kings Bay.) If this book was written to cover an airline flight from Los Angeles to New York, it would begin with pushing the throttles forward at the end of the runway of the Los Angeles Airport, and end with the planes wheels leaving the ground.

The book is filled with numerous minor technical errors. In referring to the DPER, the author gravely informs us that it is named 'deeper'. DPER is an acronym that is pronounced 'deeper'. On several occasions he mistakenly refers to the Nebraska's sail as a 'conning tower'. When the CO issues the order to 'warm the main engines', the author goes off into a two paragraph description of the power plant, but leaves off the final two sentences that would actually explain what the order meant. A complete list of the errors would stretch to almost the same length of the book, while correcting them would increase the length of the book hardly at all.

Annoyingly, this book continues the all too common pattern of largely ignoring the enlisted crewmen in favor of concentrating on the CO and a few officers. In a segment of the book dealing with repairing a simulated failure, two paragraphs are devoted to depicting the Engineer rushing forward and discussing the problem and it's solution with the CO. The crewmembers who actually performed the troubleshooting, and who would do the work of the repair are dismissed in two sentences. Such writing does a vast disservice to the teamwork that is a submarine crew. Historically enlisted crewmen are partners with the officers onboard a submarine, and this book fails to illuminate that relationship.

Lastly and most disappointingly this book utterly lacks any sense of history, proportion, or Naval and Submarine force traditions. The reader of this book could easily be forgiven for believing that the USS Nebraska is the only submarine in the fleet, the author completely fails to connect events and objects onboard the submarine with history or the rest of the fleet. During a man overboard drill, the author informs us that the crew of the Nebraska have nicknamed the dummy 'Oscar'. He fails to mention that this nickname is Naval tradition of long standing. During 'angles and dangles' the author informs us of why the CO intends to perform this drill. He does not mention that the 'angles and dangles' drill is a standard one in the submarine service dating back decades. Along with the technical errors in this book, I don't believe that the manuscript was ever read or commented on by a knowledgeable, unbiased observer.

'Big Red' is worth reading for the content it does have, but the reader should be aware of what was left out as well.

I spent many years on Trident SSBN Submarines and went through nearly every evolution that one can do including new construction, refit, torpedo and missile launches, patrols and 'unique' operations. I found Mr Waller's book to be lacking in depth, access, and in many cases, technically inaccurate. I found his generalizations and stereotypes of the crew, enlisted and officer alike to be bordering on the offensive. While it may be a lively read for a civilian, it serves as only an introductory course to life undersea. It is quite obvious that Mr Waller did not spend 90 days underwater on the Nebraska as his story consists mainly of anecdotal evidence, much experienced secondhand and only includes any amount of depth in the first brief portion of a patrol upon which 'riders' like himself would normally be part of. A full SSBN patrol is a physical, emotional and pyschological endurance marathon that is unlike any other experience. I would recommend this book to people unfamiliar with the submarine service for it does provide entertainment and insight. I would not however recommend this as a factual account that accurately reflected the experiences of life on patrol.

I believe one of the most extraordinary accomplishments of the Author, Mr. Douglas C. Waller, is his gaining permission to spend the length of time that he did on a Trident. However based on my reading I would not bet heavily on how much of the entire cruise he actually spent on the ship. The book does not read as though he was onboard for the entire cruise. I thought there were far too few details about what he experienced that would seem to be essential to communicating to other civilians what life on board The Nebraska is like. Where did he sleep for 3 months, how was he affected mentally/emotionally by the strain that even the most experienced of the crew endure every time they go out? I rarely felt as though I was reading an eyewitness account. This book seems to hit some highlights, reviews some major events very briefly (like the refit), and just does not read, as a first person account should. I suppose it's possible the Navy restricted what he was allowed to divulge, as he certainly cannot have the security clearances the crew requires, but definitive time he spent on the boat would not seem to qualify as a secret.

This is not like the books and movies, "Red October, and Crimson Tide", however a good deal of dialogue during a missile firing simulation lent credibility to the latter of the two movies I mentioned. This is fairly dry reading unless you choose to really read about what this 1.8 Billion dollar weapon is capable of, the complexity that is almost beyond comprehension, and the fact that this ship that would stretch higher than The Washington Monument is crewed by only 162 men with an average age of 27. The age may seem surprisingly low, but after you meet members of the crew, I did not find one who did not appear very highly capable despite their sometimes-young age.

There were some issues I enjoyed reading about and whether they were or were not possible and why. And even if theoretically possible why the likelihood of their happening is essentially zero. Can a captain fire missiles without the concurrence of The President? How many people must actively participate in a launch that is sanctioned, how do those who do so feel about what they may someday be required to do? Is it in fact possible for a ship to be without the ability to communicate with Washington? And finally when the seemingly endless steps that are required to authenticate and prepare for a launch are complete, what discretion does the Captain have if he has any at all?

The discussion on gay males serving aboard the ship was the most intelligent I have read. Politicians who know less about Submarine life than they do about most other topics they make decisions about also were not spouting it. The same can also be said as to the validity and the practicality of women serving on a Nuclear Submarine. Neither issue is without their problems, however to read intelligent solutions as opposed to moronic declarations from Politicians on photo opportunities was a pleasant change.

The passage in the book that is the most riveting is the simulated missile launch. If you can imagine the launch preparations as real, and imagine what is going on with the people participating, or perhaps how you might feel, this book is as intense as any imagined novel.

A good book for those who want to know more, but perhaps do not know better. This is a light treatment of what goes on at times, not a diary of a three-month voyage.

Veteran stage and screen actor Len Cariou is studied perfection in this reading of "Big Red," a spellbinding recount of 90 days on board a Trident nuclear submarine. A Tony Award-winner for his performance in Broadway's "Sweeney Todd," Cariou masters both inflection and emphasis in this true-to-life tale.

Author Douglas C. Waller who penned The Commandos was granted access to one of our military's best kept secrets - a Trident nuclear submarine equipped with 24 strategic missiles and over 120 nuclear warheads. He was on board the USS Nebraska for a three month patrol through the Atlantic Ocean.

While we are at peace, Tridents are primed to launch a nuclear apocalypse should the President order them to do so. Waller reveals the protocol for starting World War III, and enters the lives of those who man the world's deadliest weapons.

The diplomatic correspondent for Time magazine, Waller tells an amazing story, and Len Cariou reads it to a T.

Douglas Waller has a real talent for immersing you in the world of the present-day American submariner. He deals not just with the technical nuts and bolts of the nuclear powered Trident submarine Nebraska, but he gives you a real feel for the crew, both individually and collectively. I suspect that this is a somewhat sanitized view of life under water; after all he did live with these men for an extended period of time, undoubtedly shared confidences with them, and almost certainly grew to like and admire them. He probably wouldn't produce a "reveal all" expose as a result. Yet having stated that caveat, to the uninitiated at least the book nonetheless rings true. This a valuable contribution to our understanding of why the American military is usually so successful, and offers an insight into how it maintains the United States as the last remaining superpower. In many respects, Waller's writing does for the undersea navy what the likes of Anna Simons ("The Company They Keep: Life Inside the U.S. Army Special Forces") have done for other branches of the military. Not only is this a good, entertaining read, but it is an excellent study into the sociology of a very unique, small, but surely very important social group!

I really enjoyed this book. Being in the Air Force, it was a look at a different world. I have to give the author a lot of credit because much of the mission he was not able to see, I'm sure, but had to get that information academically, not first hand. It started out a little slow, but picked up once at sea. I enjoyed the fact that some of the flubs were left in, and it wasn't sanitized too much. The book was interesting, and gave me an appreciation of the men who serve aboard these awesome machines. This book is a perfect airplane or trip book for those who like military non-fiction.

Big Red
Three Months On Board
A Trident Nuclear
Submarine
By Douglas C. Waller
Harper Collins
Doug Waller is probably the best military writer alive today in the non-fiction category.
His earlier book, "Air Warriors: The Inside Story of the Making of a Navy Pilot," was must reading for anyone who has the slightest interest in military aviation.
Now he's come out with a fascinating 330-page insider's report on another aspect of the military spectrum. It's called "Big Red" because "Red" is the USS Nebraska, SSBN-739, a top secret "boomer," a nuclear-powered, long-range, ICBM-carrying undersea warship which patrols silently and secretly for up to three months at a time.
Somehow, Waller persuaded the Navy brass to let him ride along on a three month patrol and write down what he saw and heard. In this book, you'll find out that the nuclear threat portrayed in the popular film "Crimson Tide" couldn't happen, and why. You'll also learn that boomer sailors may be among the hardest working crews ever to take to sea; in the modern Navy, anyway.
For 90 days, they exist on 18 hours days, of which 12 of those are either standing watch, working their specialty, studying, practicing, eating or reading manuals. In between, there are drills, drills and more drills. From battle stations to man overboard to launching missiles to fire in the torpedo section, sub sailors are constantly called upon to perfect their craft.
All this without even a window to look out of.
What possesses a man to seal himself inside of a metal tube for 90 days, twice a year, out of touch and out of reach of family, friends and loved ones, only to face endless seven-day weeks of training, studying, drilling and worse - with no privacy? Isn't it like being in prison with the possibility of drowning?
After you spent time with Big Red, you'll better understand these modern heroes and feel a lot more secure about whose fingers are on the nuclear buttons.
Waller's writing is fast-paced, conversational and fun to read. An amazing book.

Overall, this isn't a bad book. Personally, I chose to read it because I wanted to enlist in the Navy for subs after I got out of grad school, but my lousy hearing kept me out. I was quite interested in the technology and I felt I could read a little between the lines in this book and appreciate what an amazing engineering achievement the submarine is.

I'll defer to the folks who served on these as to whether it's an accurate statement of life on a sub. While I'd occasionally tire a bit of more descriptions of the crew and their mental state, part of me realized that was one of the author's tools to describe the whole package (i.e., the sub and its people as a weapon platform). The interactions of the people are as important as any of the other stuff, as it's a system designed to be operated by imperfect people and get good results.

I also wanted accurate reporting, not another adventure story. It appeared to me that the author tried to report things correctly and factually without sensationalizing. If I wanted a sensational adventure, I'd go read "Clear the Bridge" again, in my opinion the best submarine story out there (and it also happens to be true).

One of the things I came away with was the enormous investment it took to create these beasts, including the huge amount of work, checking, testing, etc. in developing the all the written procedures. This was intimated by the author mentioning that there were huge stacks of books ready to be consulted that addressed every contingency and problem area. Anyone who has designed and written software (or, e.g., manufacturing procedures) can appreciate how much work it takes to generate and debug such stuff.

Of course, being a scientist/engineer, what I really wanted was descriptions of all the technical stuff, such as the power systems, weapons, sonar, etc. Of course, all the interesting stuff would have been vetted out by the Navy before the book could be released. Still, what was left was still quite interesting.

I bought this fascinating book to prepare for my next holiday. With extreme sports yesterday's news for adrenaline junkies, and the defence spending cuts by the British government leading to the explosive growth of the Armed Forces action holiday industry, I followed the smart money and booked a two month break on a nuclear powered sub. And this well-researched and humorous book gave me the perfect preparation in gripping fashion. Some common misconceptions are dispelled and fascinating insights are provided (cool chunky woolen roll-neck sweaters actually are still provided as standard for submariners, even though gayness is discouraged), as the author takes the reader into the chilly world of the deep.

I should have expected the type of book this turned out to be. After all it is probably difficult to inject a lot of excitement in a book that details a boat who's main purpose is to avoid other ships and basically hide. All this during peace time. The book detailed this authors three-month trip on a nuclear missile submarine as it tooled around Atlantic. There were no exciting cold war cat and mouse games; no cool espionage inspired missions, or any massive equipment failures to review so the author stuck to the different workings of the boat. I found the real value in the time he spent talking about how certain tasks are done on the submarine and how they go about a typical tour. Yet this interesting detail can only go so far.

What I did not like is the amount of time the author devoted to the background of the crew. I may be a bit hard, but who cares about the personal life of every other sailor. I wanted to know how the boat operated what they did and maybe some good old sea stories. The book delivered on two of the three. I think the author could have made the book far more exciting if he would have forgotten the home life of the sailors and gave the reader some interesting stories from when the cool war was hot for these subs, surly there was one or two stories that could be told. Overall the book was average, if you are interested in how these massive subs work then you will find it interesting if not a bit slow. If you are looking for a true life Hunt for Red October then keep looking.