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Stu Hubbard is the son of a Navy Mustang and became one himself. At the age of 17, he approached his Mom and Dad about enlisting which started his 20-year adventure in the Navy. Starting as a destroyer Sonarman he quickly learned that submarines were the place to be. He went from submarines to the Navy Medical Service Corps, finally serving the U.S. Marines. It wasn’t a straight path – but what a great ride.
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Michael Goldstein grew up in Cleveland Heights, OH and was fascinated by submarines. He won a science fair contest at the age of 14 and was invited to New London to a special tour (see below). I let him tell you the rest of his story.
I dropped out of college after three years in 1966 and enlisted in the Navy, although the Army offered me a commission as a 2nd LT in the infantry. Note the year for my obvious choice. I went to Great Lakes the day after Thanksgiving, entering as an E-3, and spent the winter in Hell for 13 weeks in boot camp.
For some interesting reasons I opted for language school and began a 30 year active duty and active reserve career in the Naval Security Group. Three years active duty in Rota after boot camp, language school, and USAF Security Service school at Goodfellow AFB, TX, and did one submarine trip as a spook. You haven’t aired a boat-rider spook interview yet.
I left active duty as an E-5 Communications Technician in 1970, went back to college, and transferred to active reserve USNR. Graduated in 1971 and entered law school, finishing in 1974. I’ve been practicing law for 40 years, but a year ago I did a partial and very interesting career change, which I’ll explain below.
Made E-6 (then Cryptologic Technician) in the reserves. Took the Chief’s Test twice, was selection board eligible twice, and twice no one made chief: there were no billets. I went to the powers that be and told them that I had 11 years enlisted service, was a lawyer, and if they didn’t give me a commission I would get out. They gave me a direct commission, and I went from E6 to O-2 in a five minute ceremony.
I was CO of our Naval Reserve Security Group unit in Cleveland and traveled to other cities where billets were available, retiring as LCDR in 1996 after 30 years service. Unlike most other Naval Reserve communities, in SECGRU we ran an active duty mission out of the reserve centers. I did one 2-week active duty for training at the sub base in NL in the mid-80’s.
I am now working in the nuclear energy field with the eGeneration Foundation (www.eGeneration.org). I had been a Senior Attorney with the Cleveland Electric Illuminating Company and the first CEI attorney at our Perry Nuclear Power Plant in Perry, OH while we were building it. At eGeneration Foundation I am Director of Government Affairs and Director of Strategic Alliances.
We have here in Cleveland a beautifully restored WWII submarine, USS Cod (SS-224) (USSCod.org), and I sometime lead tours of the boat.
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Listen up bubbleheads! Shannon Cason is an award winning storyteller and he tells his backstory and explains his motivation to share his life on stage.
Shannon Cason on Snap Judgment
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Tim Sullivan was an outlier. He went against his parent’s wishes and joined the Navy on a whim. He became a striker, which means he started painting the boat. In fact he painted his name on the fairwater plane and really made a name for himself.
Checkout Tim’s book on Amazon! Hot Run by T. Steven Sullivan
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Tom Conlon was born and raised in the garden state of New Jersey. As a boy, submarine TV shows excited him so he joined the sub service when he was old enough.
While never good in school, Tom found he loved learning from his shipmates. He served as a torpedoman aboard the USS James K. Polk and the Francis Scott Key and was discharged in 1973 after 7 years of service.
After the Navy, he continued to learn and take as many classes as his employer, the US Postal Service would allow.
He also wanted to give back to the submarine service and rose to the rank of Sub Vets (USSVI) National Commander.
Tom also gives back to his community, teaching elderly residents how to use computers one morning a week.
Certainly a submariner to look up to!
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Andrew Fletcher went three years in college and freaked out when he had $5,000 in debt. He ended up joining the Navy and trained as a Sonarman, one of the most important jobs on the boat (read Hunt for Red October if you don’t believe me).
Andrew discusses why surface ships ARE targets for submarines and some cool stuff you may not know about the noisy ocean.
I know you will enjoy this episode!
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Nancy Yockey Bonar became fascinated with submarines thanks to her brother, Captain Harry Yockey. You’ll love Nancy’s explanation of submarine living is like when compared to a 3 bedroom house with 135 house guests!
Tee Shirt to help the show and look cool doing it.
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Ken Westhaver grew up in the tough streets of South Boston. He wanted to be on a submarine so bad he could feel it. Thrown aboard the Minneapolis / St. Paul was the beginning of a career that took him to the Constitution (Old Ironsides), a tank and finally to the Boston Police where he currently serves as a detective.
Enjoy this fun filled interview.
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Darryl Jackson grew up on the tough streets of Newark, New Jersey. He was a standout athlete in school, but ended up in trouble with the Navy being a great choice to avoid possible jail time. He had a few rough years, but with good mentors, he turned it all around. A sailor of the year and quick learner and made chief and now mentors troubled sailors and his future looks brighter than ever. He wife Lisa makes sure of that.
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Raul Robles is a chief on a mission. He has 15 years serving aboard fast attack submarines and deep submergence rescue vehicles. Raul balances his work and home life with his wife, Amy Robles and their 3 year old daughter.
Amy has a popular blog womanenriched.com and a podcast, The Family Knot, targeted toward military spouses.
