From CTM2 Paul W. Hartnagel
USS Groton SSN-694 I.O. Cruise Summer of ’80 (the first Persian Gulf Conflict, remember the hostages in Iran?) Anyway we were playing five card draw Poker and TM1(SS) J.D. Flemming taught me that a FULL HOUSE (Aces over Kings) CAN BE BEAT BY TWO PAIR!
A pair of red sevens and a pair of black sevens, and he drew three cards!

From FT1(SS) Bob Rogers
I was a crewman in the SONAR Division. I remember when you rode the USS GROTON on the first I/O run in 1980 and I walked into the Radio Room. I was in training as “Radio Operator of the Watch”. You were sitting there listening to “something” using some headphones. I asked what you were listening to. Your “EXACT” answer was…
“I can’t tell you…. But the score is 4 to 3!!”
I never asked again after that!!

From EN2(SS) Myron Howard
I only made one run on BREAM (SS-243) in 1959 out of Yoko that had some guys that “weren’t there”. Made other runs but that was the only one that had a SN that could tell the XO to leave the radio shack. Kinda impressed this snipe.

From TN(SS) Ric Hedman
I was a plankowner on USS Flasher SSN-613. Rode her until June of 68 when I got out. We use to carry any number of the invisible people with us. One trip was after the USS Pueblo AGER-2 was captured and everyone wore shirts that said, “If Captured, I’m a Cook!”

From ETCS(SS\SW) Gene Brockington
As a Forward ET on three submarines, (Flasher, LaJolla and Salt Lake City), I spent a lot of time with the CT matmen before the SpecOps and with the Direct Support Operators during the SpecOps. Learned a hell of a lot from those guys, including some Russian and Mandarin Chinese. Gained more knowledge in a couple of hours on the “stack” with those guys than in all of the ESM schools I’d attended. We even had a couple of matmen with us long enough on two of my boats to earn their submarine dolphins.
Those were the days….

From Steamer STS2(SS) 63/73 Redfin, Triton, Haddock
I was on the Haddock when Deep Sea 21 went down.
http://www.willyvictor.com/Korea.html We flanked down from up north when we got the word and had some of you guys on board. As you can imagine, it was not fun. With 10 years on 3 subs it was the only time I “Manned Battle Stations, Torpedo” and it wasn’t a drill. Don’t know if the spooks did, but we got an AFEM out of it. Of course, that never made the papers. The only spook name I remember from the Triton was Empey. He was an insane First Class who got off on messing with o’ scopes and false recordings of us sinking. He also qualified in subs in 50 days or so.
Played poker with a few on Haddock and they spent a lot of time in Sonar because we had the cherries.