Index

accidents. See nuclear reactor accidents; safety issues

accountability: of leader, 95–99; in reactor reinspection, 57–58; Rickover on, 31, 38–39, 57–58

active sonar, 41

Airbus, 153n17

aircraft carrier maintenance, 155n5

aircraft carriers, 129–30, 131, 157n3

Akhromeyev, Sergei F., 137

Allyn Mountain, 100

Alonzo Stagg Field, 15

American Medical Building Corporation, 83

Ames, Aldrich, 110

Anderson, Bill, 24, 28, 29, 30, 141n5, 142n3

antiwar movement, 87

Argonne National Laboratory, 17

arms race, 142n5

asymmetric warfare, 9, 29, 142n5

Atomic Energy Commission, 16, 19, 122

Atomic Submarine (Blair), 140n2

at risk advantage, 110, 156n5

attack submarine, 103, 110, 128, 131, 154n2

Aurand, Evan Peter “Pete,” 26, 28, 30, 142n6

automotive industry, 147n4

“balance of terror,” 21

ballistic-missile submarine, 33, 96, 109, 150n3

Barb (SS-220), 160n13

battery charging: diesel versus nuclear submarine, 42–43; Operation Baker process, 43–45

battery explosion, 43, 145n6

Bay of Pigs invasion, 135

Beach, Ingrid, 142n7

Beach, Ned, 29, 142n7

Bednowicz, Eleonore A., 4

Berlin airlift, 135

Berlin Blockade, 8

Beshany, Phil, 151n2

best practices, 73

Bethesda Naval Hospital, 55

B-girls submarines, 162n2

Bremerton naval base, 155n6. See also Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

Bureau of Personnel, 63

Bureau of Ships, 4, 143n3; nuclear and nonnuclear division animosity in, 161n17; safety issues and, 32

Bureau of Ships manual, 144n4

Bush, George H.W., 137

Calvert, Jim, 143n8

Cavite Navy Yard, 4

Chief of Naval Operations, 91, 153n13, 153n15

Chief of Naval Operations fellowship, 86

Chiles, Hank, 111–12, 157n9

Chiles, Kay, 157n9

China, 135, 136

Civil War, 7

Cochran, Jim, 163n13

Cold War, 71; nuclear submarine role in, 154n2; postwar impact on U.S. Navy, 130–32; Theory X and, 137; U.S. submarine advantage in, 136–37, 156n4. See also Soviet Union

Columbia University, 3–4

command at sea, 125

commanding officer training, 94–96

command presence, 119–20, 125

communication codes, 23, 141n3, 164n2

communication system, shipboard, 144n3

communist bloc, 135

Condition Baker, 40–45

containment theory, 137, 164n3

Cooper, Dan, 131–32, 163n10–12

Cromwell, John, 140n7

Cuban Missile Crisis, 135

culture. See naval culture

Cusk (SSG-348), 15

Damn Yankees (play), 155n2

Darter (SS-227), 12–13

DD-963 class destroyer, 153n13

Dealey, Sam, 140n7

Decatur, Stephen, 100

Deming, W. Edwards, 73, 147n4, 150n4, 150n6

Department of Energy, 16, 122

desegregation, 28, 83, 152n8

designator selection process, 64–65

deterrence, 45, 160n14. See also nuclear response

Dick, Ray, 161n20

diesel submarine: battery charging, 42–43; cultural change in, 160n13; decommissioning of, 162n2; nuclear submarine culture and, 9–10, 12, 40, 46; officer characteristics, 9–10; role of, 123; standard operating practices, 146n7; vulnerability of, 8. See also submarines

Dolphin (AGSS-555), 162n2

domain knowledge, 11–12

Donovan, Robert D., 37

dry docks, 83–85. See also naval shipyards

EADS, 153n17

Eisenhower, Dwight D., 5, 142n5; North Pole mission and, 28–29; response to threat environment, 8–9

electrical system breakers, 151n8

Electric Boat shipyard, 143n3, 153n18, 156n2

engineering duty officer, 106–7, 120

engineering excellence, 125–26

engineering officer training, 94–95

Enterprise (CVN-65), 101, 102, 103, 147n3, 155n5

Equal Rights Amendment, 148n2

escape procedures, 35–36

escape trunk, 36, 144n6

Fast, Dick, 85

Faubus, Orval, 28

Fermi, Enrico, 15–16, 17, 52

FFG-7 class destroyer, 153n13

fid, 144n7

Finch (AM-9), 120, 158n7

Fluckey, Gene, 140n6, 140n7, 160n13

Folta, Ken, 38

France, 150n7

Franco-Prussian War, 7

functional commands, 9

funding. See military funding

Gehrig, Lou, 120

General Dynamics, 5, 153n18, 156n2

George Washington Carver (SSBN-656), 20; battery charging, 43–45; hull thickness, 91; sea trials, 33–38

Germany, 150n7

Getting, Ivan, 141n2

Gilmore, Howard, 140n7

Global Positioning System, 141n2

Goat Locker, 151n9

Gold Star Bridge, 101

Gorbachev, Mikhail, 137

Gorki (USSR), 137

Great Britain, 136

Grenada invasion, 135

Groton Submarine Base, 100

Guardfish (SSN-612), 115, 150n2, 157n10

Haddo (SSN-604), 52–58

Hagerty, James, 28

Haver, Rich, 112

Hicks, Bill, 104–5

high-low mix, 130

Holland, John, 139n3

House Armed Services Committee, 143n4

hull thickness, 91–92, 122

human radiation sickness, 53

Hunter, Catfish, 82

HY-80 and HY-130 steel, 91, 153n16

inertial navigation system, 21

innovation and process, 72–74

innovative individuals, 150n6

Institute of Nuclear Power Operations, 13, 155n4

intelligence briefing, on Soviet submarines, 111–12

introversion, as personality trait, 118–19

Iraq War, 141n9

Johnson, Bill, 21

Johnson, Louis A., 143n4

Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, 16

Keenan, George F., 164n3

Kelso, Frank, 132, 146n9

Kennedy, John F., 21, 33, 142n5

Khrushchev, Nikita, 8, 140n4, 142n7

Kodak, 56, 58

Korean War, 8, 135, 143n4

Kotter, John, 158n6

Lake, Simon, 139n3

leaders and leadership: accountability, 95–99; assigning for success, 76; definition of, 158n6; diesel submarine officers and, 9–10; different styles of, 92; domain knowledge of, 11–12; management versus leadership, 19; in organizational change, 45, 47–48; “start-ups” and, 25–26; technical expertise and, 27–28. See also managers and management

Lehman, John, 153n18

Little Rock High School, 28

littoral submarine, 131–32

Lloyd, Rebecca A., 163n13

Long, Russell, 66

Long Beach (CGN-9), 13, 101, 102, 103

Loon rockets, 141n8

Machinery History record, 86, 152n5

Magellan mission, 29, 142n7

Maginot line, 150n7

main circulating pipe valves, 83–86

Maine (SSBN-741), 164n14

managers and management: assigning for success, 76; coordinating to death, 159n10; definition of, 158n6; innovation and process, 72–74; versus leadership, 19; objective assessment of job suitability by, 62–63, 68–69; procedures and processes, 72–74; Rickover aversion to term, 161n17; as role models, 99; routine versus nonroutine operations, 72, 80–81. See also leaders and leadership

Manhattan Project, 5, 16

Masters, Ruth, 4. See also Rickover, Ruth

McKee, Kin, 86, 87, 89, 90, 152n5

McMahon, Brien, 16, 17–19

Medal of Honor, 10, 140n7, 160n13

military culture. See naval culture; submarine culture

military funding: Eisenhower in limiting, 8–9; of Nautilus, 17; of nuclear fleet, 16, 130–31; ship overhaul, 155n5; of submarines versus surface fleet, 111; of Trident submarine, 89–91

minesweeper, 107

minority recruiting, 88

Minton, Dave, 115, 150n2, 157n10

Minton, Davie, 115

Minton, Marilyn, 115

missile gap, 33

missiles: Air Force and Navy rivalry for, 153n12; Polaris underwater, 90; on submarines, 141n8

Motorola, 73

Mount Decatur, 100

mutual assured destruction (MAD), 136

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), 162n23

National Reactor Test Station, 51–52

Nautilus (SSN-571), 5, 13, 59–60; Condition Baker on board, 44; cost of, 9; deterioration of, 101; final home of, 100; funding of, 17; hull thickness, 91; Polar mission and, 24–25, 29–30, 141n5, 142n3; radiation levels on, 52; as “start-up,” 25–26

naval culture: animosity toward submarine in, 111; different styles in changing, 92; engineering in, 125–26; introversion and extroversion in, 118–19; leadership in changing, 45, 47–48; nuclear versus diesel submarine culture, 9–10, 12, 40, 46; objections to Rickover’s management style in, 70–72; procedures and process in, 72–74; resistance to change in, 7–8; safety issues and, 31–32; service rivalries, 33; submarine culture change in, 125–26; in surface fleet, 128–29; warfare specialty competition in, 153n13; women in seagoing positions, 162n4; women in submarine force, 132–33; Zumwalt and, 83, 88, 153n17. See also submarine culture; U.S. Navy

Naval Observatory, 153n15

Naval Reactors. See Office of Naval Reactors

Naval Sea Systems Command, 153n14

naval service. See U.S. Navy

naval shipyards, 32, 33, 54; cost overruns at, 153n18; maintenance complexities at, 101–2; Naval Reactors representative to, 115; operational cost of yard periods, 103; production officer’s report, 104–6; teams reporting to Rickover, 114–15, 155n7; watchdog groups in, 108; weekly progress reports at, 104; work documentation, 104–5, 156n9. See also dry docks

Naval Special Projects Office, 90

Nevada (BB-36), 157n4

Newport News shipyard, 33, 153n18, 156n2

New York Times, 28

Nicaraguan secret war, 135

Nixon, Richard M., 59

Noonan, Audrey, 132

Norfolk Naval Shipyard, 101

North Atlantic Treaty Organization assets, 138

North Pole mission, 24–25, 141n5, 142n3, 143n8; impact of, 29–30; as response to Sputnik, 28–29

NR-2 underwater research vessel, 91–92, 153n16

nuclear chain reaction, sustainable, 15

nuclear fleet: cultural change needed to implement, 46–47; development of, 5, 16–19; funding of, 16, 111; problem solving on board, 22–25; resistance to, 6–7; Rickover advocacy of, 129–31; submarine as premier platform in, 122–23; success against Soviet Union, 109–10; surface ship decommissioning, 128–31, 157n3; training requirements for, 130; yard periods and, 101–2

nuclear radiation: American fear of, 49–50; inverse square law of, 56; safe dosage for human exposure, 52; Soviet submarine levels, 52–53

nuclear reactor accidents: as metric of success, 2–3; Soviet versus U.S., 3, 126

nuclear reactor support valves, 161

nuclear response: land-based, 156n3; against Soviet ballistic-missile submarines, 156n5; submarine-based, 21, 136–37

nuclear submarine: atmosphere, 21; battery charging, 42–45; 688 class, 13–14; Cold War role of, 154n2; commanding officer training, 23; cost-effectiveness of, 9; crew rotation, 20; as deterrent, 45–46; hull thickness, 91–92, 122; main circulating pipes, 85; maintenance complexity of, 102–3; post–Cold War operations, 131–32; radiation levels on, 51–54; radioactivity release and, 123–25; resistance to development of, 6–8; routine versus nonroutine processes on board, 72, 80–81; in Soviet sub tracking, 110, 137; technical control of, 32–33; U.S. superiority, 136–37. See also submarines

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 5, 15, 120

observing evolutions, 147n4

Office of Naval Reactors: accessibility of, 144n4; commanding officer orientation at, 23; in reactor inspection, 56–58; Rickover impact on, 127–28; training at, 94–96

Office of Naval Reactors shipyard representative, 115

officer fitness report, 151n11

O/I 62 electrical system breakers, 151n8

oilers, 129–30, 130

O’Kane, Dick, 140n7

Oliver, Dave, 13, 38; in circulating pipe valve solution, 83–86; in commanding officer training, 96–99; Nautilus tour, 101; nuclear surface ship decommissioning and, 130–31; O/I 62 process and, 74–80; postnaval career, 117; radiation exposure and, 51–52; Rickover interview of, 148n3; Rickover management style and, 59–61; shipyard production schedule investigation by, 104–7; in Soviet submarine tracking, 111; sports injury, 114–16

Oliver, Linda, 133, 152n4, 152n8, 160n13

Oliver, Tim, 79, 141n4

1MC communications system, 144n3

Operating Instruction 62 (O/I 62), 74–80

Operation Pacific (film), 141n3

oral testing, 95

Owens, Bill, 132, 147n5

Paris summit, 142n7

Pate, Zack, 97, 98, 99, 155n4

personality cult, 47, 48

PERT (program evaluation and review technique) chart, 155n8

Petropavlovsk port, 110

Phi Beta Kappa society, 65

Plunger (SSN-595), 103, 107, 111

Polaris submarine, 20

Polaris underwater missile, 90, 141n8

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, 143n3, 151n8

Poseidon missile program, 141n8

Powers, Gary, 142n7

presence, 45, 129

Pringle, Don, 92

process and innovation, 72–74, 121–22

process control, 121

process coordination, 159n10

production officer’s report, 104–6

Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, 112; capacity, 101; maintenance complexity at, 102–3; overcrowding at, 103–4; production officer report data and, 104–6

Quality Control, 147n4

racial tensions, 82–83, 152n8

radiation exposure, 52. See also nuclear radiation

radiation film badges, 52–58

radiation shielding, 51, 122

radiation sickness, 53

radioactivity release, 123–25, 161n17

Ramage, Red, 140n7

Rayburn House Office Building, 52

Reagan, Ronald, 107, 110, 111

recruitment of minorities, 88

Regulus missile program, 141n8

repeating rifles, 7

replenishment operations, 130

Revolt of the Admirals, 143n4

Rickover, Hyman G.: on accountability, 31, 38–39, 57–58; on action versus knowledge, 135; on atomic energy team, 19, 122; biographies of, 139n2, 157n2; career designator, 4; certification of officers by, 147n5; communication with commanding officers, 97; on consistency, 127; control of nuclear program and, 16–19; in culture change, 47; death of, 116, 127; early career, 2, 3–5, 107; on education, 27–28, 142n2; financial impropriety accusations, 153n18, 156n2; incident response preparation and, 24–25; on leader’s responsibility, 95–99; as midshipman, 146n2; in naval hierarchy, 152n10; Naval Postgraduate School speech, 159n10; personality, 11–12, 118, 140n2, 146n2, 146n9, 157n4, 158n5, 158n7; on Polar mission, 143n10; in process development, 73–75; public trust in nuclear power and, 50–51; recruitment of officers by, 46; relationship with Zumwalt, 88, 89, 91, 92, 152n9; on rules, 11; on science, 140n2; sea trial participation, 31–32, 32–33, 35–38; on Soviet submarine tactics, 112; on sports, 112; on women in technical fields, 163n13; in World War II, 159n8; yard period progress reports to, 104

Rickover, Ruth, 4, 139n4, 140n2

Rickover interview process: author and, 148n3; candidates for, 65, 149n6; confrontational approach in, 66; failure rate, 66; Navy culture’s objections to, 63; officer development and, 62–63; value of, 66–67; Wilkinson and, 14–15

Rickover management style, 150n4; accepting correction, 80; accountability, 31, 38–39, 57–58; beyond the horizon thinking, 122–26; hard work as component of, 118–21; independent check systems, 155n7; objections to, 70–72; process versus innovation, 121–22. See also leaders and leadership; managers and management

risk evaluation, 26

Rockwell, Joseph P., 158n7

Rockwell, Ted, 140n2

S1W reactor, 52

S1W training prototype, 147n3

safety issues: annual safety drills, 128; battery charging, 42–43; Condition Baker, 40–45; culture as factor in, 126; escape procedures, 35–36, 144n6; leaders’ accountability for, 98–99; Navy culture and, 31–32; nuclear power and public trust, 50–51; O/I 62, 74–80; proper supervision and, 75; psychological stresses, 34; radiation dosage levels, 52–58; radioactivity release, 123–25, 161n17; on surface ships, 129; surface versus submarine, 70–71

San Diego Union, 58

Sawyer, Diane, 139n1

Schratz, Paul R., 146n9

science, versus intuitive thinking, 140n2

Scorpion (SSN-598), 44, 70, 145n6

Seadragon (SSN-584), 147n5

sea trials: of George Washington Carver, 33–38; Rickover participation in, 31–32, 32–33; torpedo-room evolutions, 37

Seawolf class submarine, 131

Seawolf (SSN-21), 34, 60, 70, 144n5

service rivalry, 33, 143n4

shipboard casualties, 33

shipyards. See naval shipyards

Six Sigma, 73

60 Minutes interview, 139n1

Skate (SSN-578), 143n8

Smedberg, William, 150n7

Smith, Bill, 73

sound wave travel, 41

Soviet submarine bases, 110

Soviet submarine detection, 111

Soviet submarine tactics, 112

Soviet submarine tracking, 110, 137

Soviet Union: collapse of, 131–32; containment theory and, 137, 164n3; missile gap and, 33; NATO assets encircling, 138; nuclear fleet development in, 5; nuclear fleet’s success against, 109–10; nuclear reactor accidents and, 3, 126; nuclear response to actions of, 21; as postwar threat, 8, 135; submarine radiation levels and, 52–53; submarine threat presented by, 110, 136; as technological rival, 28–30; U-2 shootdown by, 142n7

space race, 28, 29

Spruance class destroyer, 54, 153n13

Sputnik, 28, 29

spy rings, 110, 156n6, 164n2

start-ups, 25–26

Stewart, Potter, 158n6

strategic bombing, 143n4

Street, George, 140n7

Subic Bay Repair Facility, 4

submarine crew rotation, 20

submarine culture, 40; excessive behavior and, 141n4; nuclear versus diesel, 9–10, 12, 40, 46, 141n4, 150n5; standard operation practices, 146n7. See also naval culture

submarine culture change, 125–26

submarine force: post–Cold War, 131–32; women in, 132–33

Submarine Group Seven, 140n6

Submarine Museum, 100

submarine officers: at-sea time, 154n2; characteristics of diesel, 9–10; characteristics of nuclear, 160n14, 161n21; commanding officer training, 23, 96–99; designator selection process, 64–65; diesel versus nuclear, 9–10, 12, 40, 46; leadership versus technical expertise, 27–28; Rickover certification of, 147n5; training, 94–96; watchstanding, 21

submarines: building program, 49; first, 139n3; hull thickness, 91–92; role in World War II, 8; women crewmembers, 132–33, 148n2, 164n14; yard periods and, 101–2. See also diesel submarine; nuclear submarine

Submarine Sanctuary, 140n6, 160n13

submarine training prototype, 147n3

suicide rate, 69

supply and logistics, 9, 130, 152n3

support bases, 129–30

surface fleet: culture on board, 128–29; decommissioning of nuclear, 128–31, 157n3; funding of, versus submarines, 111; nuclear power debate and, 83; perception of submarine force by, 70–71; retirement of World War II–era, 153n13; safety issues and, 70–71; ship vulnerability, 129; yard periods and, 101–2

Takao (Japan), 12

Taylor, Elizabeth, 83

Tenneco, 153n18, 156n2

test depth, 36, 37

Theory X, 137, 164n3

threat environment: in American acceptance of nuclear power, 49–50; during Cold War, 135–36; Soviet Union in, 8–9

Three Mile Island incident, 13, 50, 155n4

Thresher (SSN-578), 31, 32, 34, 47, 70, 85, 143n3

Time magazine, 89, 120, 152n7

torpedo-room sea trial evolutions, 37

training: of engineering and commanding officers, 94–96; of nuclear fleet personnel, 130

Trident missile, 90, 141n8, 153n12

Trident submarine, 89–91

Triton (SSRN-586), 29, 142n7

Truman, Harry S., 5

Trumpetfish (SS-425), 41

tug boats, 84, 152n3

underway replenishment, 152n3

United States: nuclear reactor accidents and, 3; public trust in nuclear power in, 50–51; racial tensions in, 28

University of California-Los Angeles, 15

U.S. Air Force, 33, 143n4, 162n23

U.S. Naval Academy, 119, 146n2

U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, 121

U.S. Naval Postgraduate School speech, 159n10

U.S. Navy: designator selection process, 64–65; in funding of nuclear fleet, 16; minority recruiting and, 88; officer fitness reports, 151n11; post–Cold War, 130–32; resistance to nuclear power in, 6–8; Rickover advocacy for all-nuclear, 129–31; service rivalries and, 33, 143n4; warfare specialty competition in, 153n14. See also naval culture

U-2 shootdown, 142n7

valve stem, 160n15

Verdon, Gwen, 101

Vietnam War, 71–72, 82, 87, 135, 150n3, 153n13

Vladivostok port, 110

V-1 rocket, 141n8

Waits, Tom, 59, 147n2

Walker-Whitworth spy ring, 110, 156n6, 164n2

Warner, John, 83, 90

War of 1812, 100

Washington Post, 132

watchstanding on board nuclear submarines, 21

Wayne, John, 12, 141n3

Wegner, Bill, 23–25, 62, 147n5

Wilkinson, Eugene P. “Dennis,” 34, 155n4; author and, 13–14; in lobbying effort, 17–19; Reminiscences, 157n11; Rickover interview of, 14–15; in World War II, 12–13

Wilkinson, Janice, 13

Williams, J. D., 164n2

women: in seagoing positions, 162n4; in submarine force, 132–33, 148n2, 164n14; in technical fields, 163n13

World War I, 7

World War II: Rickover in, 2; static defenses in, 150n7; submarine losses in, 140n8; submarine role in, 8, 9–10

yard period: operational cost of, 103; progress reports on, 104; surface ship versus submarine, 101–2. See also naval shipyards

Z-grams, 83

Zinn, Walter H., 17

Zumwalt, Elmo, 130, 151n2, 152n7, 153n15; author and, 86–87; in cultural change, 83, 88, 153n17; in desegregation of Navy, 152n8; relationship with Rickover, 88, 89, 91, 92, 152n9; Trident submarine funding and, 90–91

Zumwalt, Mouza Coutelais-du-Roche, 152n4, 152n8