“Brothers of the ‘Phin”
25
January 1997 - Petty Officer Peter J. Koester ET3
Koester’s Qualification Certificate.
receiving
his Dolphins aboard USS Providence
from
CDR Rich Medley.
The Submariner - Only a submariner realizes to what extent an entire ship depends on him as an individual. To a landsman this is not understandable and sometimes it is even difficult for us to comprehend, but it is so!
A submarine at sea is a distinct world in herself, and in consideration of the protracted and distant operations of submarines, the Navy must place responsibility and trust in the hands of those who take such ships to sea.
In each submarine there are men who, in the hour of emergency or peril at sea, can turn to each other. These men are ultimately responsible to themselves and to each other for all aspects of operations of their submarine. They are the crew. They are the ship.
This is perhaps the most difficult and demanding assignment in the Navy. There is not an instant during his tour as a submariner that he can escape the grasp of responsibility. His privileges in view of his obligations are almost ludicrously small, nevertheless, it is the spur which has given the Navy its greatest mariners - the men of the Submarine Service.
12
May 2003 - Petty Officer Sklenar and Seaman Johnson are welcomed as ‘Brothers
of the ‘phin’
aboard
the USS Providence while moored in La
It is a duty which most richly deserves the proud and
time honored title - Submariner.
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