Submariner gets $100,000 reenlistment bonus

[seemslikeadream]

March 25, 2005
by JOC (SW/AW) David Rush
Commander, Submarine Force U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs


Chief Electrician's Mate Robert Cruanes, reactor control division leading chief petty officer stationed aboard USS Bremerton (SSN 698), is slated to receive $100,000 by staying Navy as part of the Enlisted Supervisor Retention Pay program.

According to the Navy Personnel Command, nuclear-trained Sailors with at least six years of service but no more than 10 can get as much as $65,000. Sailors eligible for the Enlisted Supervisor Retention Pay can get even more, up to $100,000 if they meet the requirements. The Enlisted Supervisor Retention Pay program is separate from the Selective Reenlistment Bonus and is designed to keep senior enlisted supervisors in critical jobs. Those who accept the supervisor bonus are not eligible for the Selective Reenlistment Bonus.

"I would have reenlisted with or without the bonus," Cruanes said. "This was icing on the cake."

As a submariner who holds a nuclear Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC), Cruanes credits the Navy's latest bonus increase for senior Sailors with addressing the gap the Navy saw in leadership in the 12-17-year career mark.

...

"The bonuses for the nuclear ratings have always been there since I have been in the Navy, but it seems like they are getting better and better," he said. "My first bonus was $12,000 and for my second I got $60,000. That time we were in the Persian Gulf, so it was tax-free."
more
http://www.dcmilitary.com/navy/seaservices/10_12/features/33918-1.html

[DS1]

1. I think the guys getting shot to pieces should get more

but that's just me. I've always been biased towards the ground forces.

[Dolomite]

5. I think I might rather be shot at or blown up

compared to the horribly numerous and unimaginable ways there are to die as a nuke on a war sub.

[tinanator]

6. how numerous, how horrible?

I cant imagine theres a comparison to make.

[Dolomite]

13. It's the slow deaths that freak me out, off the top of my head

being boiled alive on the outside by escaping steam, being cooked from the inside from severe radiation exposure, suffocation from being locked in a dark watertight compartment, etc. And then there's smoke inhalation and drowning which would probably be preferable to all of the above.

The reality is that Navy guys live in some very dangerous environments.

[DS1]

16. Or bleeding to death from a femoral artery wound

or being trapped inside a burning hummer, or being in a tank with your guts splattered all over the walls after a Sabot round created an incredible overpressure then vacuum, suffocating as your tank's halon system blows 50 pounds of the stuff into the air to stop the fire - thus shutting down all lung/oxygen exchange. Or stepping on a landmine and feeling your legs smash up inside your abdomen, or losing half your brain in a firefight.

I'd sooner drown than burn, and if a sub gets hit, it's typically imploded in an instant, no?

[Dolomite]

17. Yes, that would suck too

but most submarine deaths in recent history have occurred as the result of accidents, not implosion. Also, the danger never takes a rest because these environments are as hazardous in peace as they are during times of armed conflict.

Not trying to beat chests here - just saying that I doubt $100K would be enough to get me to do the job of a snipe in an underwater coffin.

Also, what's a nuke submariner going to blow $100K on? Tanning salon membership? He gets a free tan at work everyday!

[MADem]

18. Remember the Kursk?

Those poor bastards lived for some time, knowing there was no way out.

Ironically, a Halliburton subsidiary got the bodies out and salvaged the vessel.

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/submarine/

[DS1]

23. Yes, I remembered that when I was replying, which is why I wrote

typically, instead of always ;-)

[rppper]

33. thank you dolomite......

as a submarine vet myself, i often make fun of my own wartime service during the gulf war.....it was minimal and not very taxing i have to admit, I've never tried to kid anyone about it.....BUT, i can also say i have been through some flooding and fire emergency's on two of the boats i served on that give me nightmares to this day. examples.....

when the power goes down on a sub all the fans go first...the temp in the engine room, even without a fire, soar from around 80 degrees to around 150 in a matter of minittes....

a pencil sized hole in the hull at 500ft below surface will flood in around 3k gpm.....more than the combined pumping power of the ships two main pumps and the axillary pumps.....

a fire in any compartment on a sub, no matter how large, will fill it with smoke in a matter of seconds, potentially killing anyone sleeping between watches or unaware of the fire. there are hydraulics lines everywhere on a sub that have the potential to burst and flame up.....

there is always the potential for contamination via the reactor or the nuclear warheads carried on the ssbn's. the atmosphere on a submarine contains amine, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, fumes from the diesel, cigarette smoke, OTTO fuel from the torpedoes(which becomes hydrogen cyanide when exposed to flame), asbestos, paint fumes, burnt food....you name it.....there have never been any long term studies done on the effects of this atmosphere on the sailors that serve onboard them.....

lastly, there is always the fear of sinking.....once you have passed the test depth of the boat...it's maximum depth...the hull implodes...slowly, compartment by compartment...people and machines are crushed to death by the pressure of the surrounding ocean...google "USS scorpion" to see what deep water does to the hull of a submarine. we lived with that though every time we dove a boat.....

nukes get good bonuses because they deserve them...and i am saying this as a coner(forward, non engineer)...they are the first on and last off the boats. nuke school is the hardest naval school to graduate from....10% make it. they are also plucked up by firms like GE and Westinghouse as soon as there EAOS is near. this has always been a huge problem for the navy dating back to the earliest nuclear boats. more power to them.....

[Hobarticus]

7. Ummm....okay. eom

[AllegroRondo]

2. Considering what it costs to train these guys

its worth it to pay them big bucks to stay in. They could easily be making much more in a comparable civilian job.

[Hobarticus]

4. These techs are a bargain, compared to the open market...

Worth every penny to keep them in.

[northzax]

15. exatly what open market?

there's not a lot of private nuclear power plants out there. In 6 ytears, this guy has recieved $172,000 in signing bonuses. Where else is he really oging to go that's going to give him a $100,000 signing bonus and the best toys on the planet to play with? GE? maybe, but then he'll just be contracting back to the gubmint. Electric Boat? Russia? France? not a lot of nuclear submarines looking for techs out there.

[Hobarticus]

26. Yes, his skills make him eligible to get hired on private subs, only.

Whatever.

:eyes:

[northzax]

28. he's a nuclear tech

tell me about the market for nuclear techs. I'm serious. Besides power plants, who needs nuclear technicians? I'm being completely serious.

The only things I can think of are power plants and working as a contractor for the gubmint. What else is out there for someone who runs a nuclear reactor for a living?

[Hobarticus]

30. So this is the only thing he can ever do, ever again?

His training makes him only eligible to pursue a narrow career as a nuclear tech, is this what you're saying?

[northzax]

32. the concept on the table was that the Navy had to pay him

this much money to compete with the private sector. I wassimply trying to get a sense of what, in this case, the private sector is?

Pilots have an obivous niche, programmers, mechanics, civil engineers and even officers (leadership skills) have obviouls connections to lucrative outside gigs.

THe military always claims in recruiting that they will teach you technical skills that will translate into the civilian world. Often times, that simply isn't the case. Not a lot of people need Patriot Missile Batteries, or have radar systems that need operators.

If this particular sailor could make more money as a nuclear technician in the private sector, and there are tons of jobs for people like that, then I say pay him what it takes to keep him. I'm just trying to get a sense, as someone who has no idea what a nuclear technician may do in the private sector, what the market is like.

[rppper]

34. it's not about nuclear...it's the tech.....

an electrician on a sub runs the reactor control panel, which directs how much steam goes to the turbines.....steam can be made by oil fired furnaces, coal furnaces, etc, etc....you see where this is heading? they control and repair the turbines and the generators.....those are not nuclear and they are a part of every electric producing station in america......navy nukes always get hi 5 and 6 figure jobs when the get out of the navy, especially the electicians.

[DELUSIONAL]

35. G.E. sold this division, which was resold to General Dynamics

So the sailors now would most likely go to work for GD when they leave the Navy.

[quispquake]

3. But Captain America & Plasticman still have to work for free...

sorry, Friday morning...

[tinanator]

8. and Superman and Green Lantern

aint got nothin on me

[oneighty]

9. I have a problem with that

Instead of a 'Bonus' why not give the man a Commission?

Get him out of the enlisted ranks and into the officer corps. He would be honored,and rightly so.

180

[Columbia]

11. Because they want him to work

Not push paper.

[oneighty]

21. Chiefs work?

In my nine year navy time I met ONE chief that actually performed the hands on skills that he learned in the same Navy schools I attended.

I believe a commission for this #100,000 chief is a proper reward and would keep him committed to the U.S. Navy for life.

180

[Dolomite]

14. The short answer: Chiefs work for a living

anyways, this is the type of guy that they will eventually move into a Warrant Officer program. Doubt it will take long.

[MADem]

20. He would have to take a pay cut n/t

[unhappycamper]

10. I don't know if commissioned officers get a bonus

[MaineDem]

12. Aviators do (nt)

[MADem]

22. If they are offered one!

Aviation Career Incentive Pay never kept up with airline signing bonuses, way back when, anyway. The very creation of the bonuses was an attempt to stem the exodus of military pilots to the airlines.

Nowadays, though, with the airlines in survival mode, ACIP might look more attractive than it once was.

[Corgigal]

19. Air Traffic Controller did

I got 20,000 back in the 80's.

[gizmo1979]

24. wow where do I sign.

I once got 1000 dollars to reenlist as a ballistic meteorologist.About 550 after taxes.I think I was robbed!Dam Squids!

[NickB79]

25. Wow, and to think I turned that down when I was 18

Scored very high on my ASVAB test, had a navy recruiter come to our highschool to talk to me, and wanted me to go into their Nuclear Technician program down in Florida. Two years there, then a 4-yr tour on a nuclear-powered ship or sub. I would have been finished with that last summer if I had gone.

Eh, on second thought, there's no way you'd get me to be crammed in a sub for months at a time with 100 other men. Plus, the recruiter was a fucking sleazeball, he kept telling me how great it was to sail from port to port because you could find so many hookers cheap :wtf: My momma didn't raise that kind of son.

[theHandpuppet]

27. Considering the outrageous salaries paid to pro athletes...

... just to hit or throw or ball, I have no problem with our servicemen and women getting substantial bonuses. The same should go for our police and fire personnel.

[lovuian]

29. I think he deserves it!!!

:bounce:

[Ezlivin]

31. Our nukes were getting 20K+ for re-upping

That was 27 years ago and I'm sure that the cost of living has gone up slightly.

:)

On a related note, one of the guys on my boat reenlisted, got the $20 grand, bought a brand-new Corvette then told the Navy he was gay. Since this was the first time anyone had done this, no laws were in place. He was given a Medical Discharge and released. He married a beautiful woman and took a job at a power plant in Hawaii.

We had many hours of pleasure relating this story to each other on our boat. FTN and all that....