Old 688's never die...they just get overhauled...
...like the USS OLYMPIA (SSN-717). Slated for ERO (Engineered Refueling Overhaul) from early '06 to early '08.With yours truly as the RC Division Leading First.
Got the orders today. I report on 8 September, do a few months of sea time getting requalified, and then it's on the blocks for pretty much the bulk of my tour there. Worked out best with the dental "reconstruction" I'm having done, but geez...ERO...radcon isn't my friend (on the plus side, my division gets all new gear, gear that I'm very familiar with...I installed it on shore duty, and had it to operate on my last boat).
This will be the oldest boat I've served on...previous boats were new construction (TUCSON, SSN-770) and an even newer boat (CHEYENNE, SSN-773), with a qual ride during new con on HAMPTON (SSN-767) when she was barely out of new con herself. Oly is an oldie...commissioned in 1984, she's legal drinking age when my other boats are barely 10 and 9 years old, respectively.
At any rate, I'll still be here, still
I'll close with something funny my wife said when I told her what boat I was going to (keep in mind we got married not long before the commissioning of my first boat)...in noting Oly was going in for ERO, she said "well, at least you'll be home".
I had to laugh...I don't think she understands the definition of "overhaul" or "shiftwork"...
posted by Robert Schumacher @ 12:32 AM
10 Comments:
Congratulations... I think. I always figured DMP was like new construction with radcon, so I know you'll have your work cut out for you. And, sorry in advance for any jokes about your boat's namesake city...
Jokes about namesake cities? Hmmm...I'm not too familiar with Olympia (I'm assuming it's named for Olympia, WA?)
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Well, that didn't work well.
At least in overhaul your namesake town won't have to worry about you making a visit...
Warning, language
I remember that now...that was a couple of years ago, wasn't it (the snub the city gave to the boat)?
I don't think anyone here has any questions on my feelings of the Iraq war, but what Olympia, WA, did was downright shitty (pardon the sailor-speak). And the proposed law on the page you linked was just plain silly...totally wrong level to be addressing that sort of issue, IMO.
I have been on two boats that can't visit their namesake city (and I never got lucky enough to be on the delegation for trips)...Cheyenne and Tucson are landlocked. Cities that have boats/ships named for them should consider themselves lucky to be able to host the boats, as many can't due to geography. Olympia, WA, tried to make a statement in the most wrong way possible, and (thanks to your reminder) the council members that voted for that silly resolution will have a standing invitation to smooch my personal sanitary system.
That being said, I hope time has showed them the error of their ways.
Joel, you sure hit the nail...and it's a bit worse.
January the boat goes in for dual media discharge. April/May is when the ERO starts (they didn't combine 'em on paper due to one being an SRA type availability, and the other (ERO) being a CNO availability...different money pots...but they are running 'em together and doing it in the same dock, etc., so to the boat it's the same big avail). It's scheduled to end in early '08.
RC Division gets all new equipment...everything I own will disappear a couple of months after going into ERO (including RPCP, all instrument cabinets, APD's...the whole lot, even some RCP's), and it all gets replaced with new microprocessor gear. I think only rod control stays, but for a refueling it's largely irrelevant. The boat gets an upgraded core, too, and all new CDM's, so rod control may change out, too.
So for about a year I have no maintenance and no gear. Oh, new records, too. Just like new con. Guess RC Div will know a lot, as we'll have lots of study time.
I've worked DMP's and ERO's from the yard side, and from what I saw it's a bitch coming in and going out for the crew, but the middle is pretty ho-hum. Once the gear/fuel gets ripped out, the yard has a ton of work to do to get everything ready to go in, and that takes about 12 months in the middle of the avail.
The bad thing is my dislike of radcon...intense. Guess I'll get over it :)
did you actually write this will be the "oldest boat" you served on? holy moly, i must really be getting old. i don't think they'd even laid the keel on the oly before i got out of the navy. i just checked and they laid the keel in march 81. i had been a civilian after 8 1/2 years for one whole month
Bo, you are really dating yourself. Do we need to do radiocarbon dating on ya? :)
I bet I'm the only one on this blog with false teeth right now, though...
I just got this in a news roundup at work today.
The question of whether declaring the city a nuclear-free zone would clash with a possible visit from the nuclear-powered USS Olympia next July is moot, at least for next year.
Duh...overhaul! :) But it looks like the question still hasn't gone away.
Speaking about RadCon woes and wondering where all the Hot components go that are removed and replaced in Overhaul. Check this out:
www dot mosnews dot com/news/2005/08/20/radioactivelitter dot shtml
(Sorry I haven't learned how to link the cool blogger way yet.)
Yes, Bo, I too have trouble with all these high hull numbers and names that are not Fish or Patriots.
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