True to Bybee’s word, the typical day of instruction ran from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. with an hour for lunch. During that time, the instructors made sure to pack as many lessons as possible in the student’s day.
“It’s something we really have to do,” said MM1(SS) John Roberts, one of BESS’ instructors. “Three weeks seems like a long time for some people, but when you have as many things to teach about as we do, you need all the time you can get. We practically go through every system and major piece of equipment on the boat. It’s a lot of info.”
Learning all that information requires a longer than average school day for students. After taking a break around 4 p.m. to relax and eat dinner, nearly all students return to the schoolhouse at 6 p.m. for three hours of night study. Rare exceptions to night study are given to students who are excelling in the classroom.
Add that to a 5:15 a.m. muster for breakfast, and BESS students know they are in for a long day.
“For those couple of weeks, the day was nothing but school,” Drawns said. “Then you throw in night study, and you have only a little bit of free time during the week. But no matter how much you hate night study, you really need it.”
That night study comes in handy for the students during each of their three major tests during the course of the school. All Sailors in the school must pass the tests to complete the submarine school training.
It’s only after conquering the escape trainer and running through the schoolhouse that the students are able to challenge rushing waters and burning fires.
It’s a moment they are more than happy to see. “After doing nothing but sitting in a classroom for a few weeks, it was welcome,” Bybee said. “The entire time you’re just looking forward to the trainers. You almost sit there and dream about fighting fires and patching up leaks.”
When the class reaches that point, the group splits into two and alternates a two-day period in each trainer. For each, the first day is purely a classroom day. Instructors use this time to go over basic scenarios and rules with the students. The second day of training is when all the action takes place.
For students in the fire trainer, that means dressing out in full battle dress and going through several different firefighting scenarios, including the use of fire extinguishers, hoses and self-contained breathing apparatuses.
The entire time, the Sailors are fighting actual fires limited to a control room. “That added a new twist for us,” said Bybee. “The heat coming off of those fires was great. It was simulated, but it was real. We had faced nothing like that before.”
The heat from the fire may have been real, but instructors are nearby to ensure each evolution is conducted safely. “We want the students to get a real feel of what would happen in an actual submarine fire,” said Firefighting Instructor MM2(SS) Laurence Georghan, “but, with BESS classes, everything is very structured and rigid. We need to make sure everything is done without anyone getting injured.”
While ensuring safety, the instructors build the training to a peak with a scenario that tests what the students have learned in the day’s earlier sessions. “After we take them in and let them know what they are using,” Georghan said, “we hit them with a situation where fire will break out, and they must decide what kind of agent to put the fire out with. We’re there to make sure nothing goes wrong, but in that situation, the BESS students are definitely more in control than before.”
By the time the day is finished, the students should be able to combat the flames of various types of fires if the need ever arises.
Those finished with the firefighting portion are only half done with the week, however. What awaits them in the wet trainer is more than 20,000 gallons of water spraying out of 12 leaks in a simulated arrangement of an SSBN 650-class lower-level engine room.
For those not used to waist-high water, the damage control exercise can be a harrowing experience. “The water level rises so fast,” Nims said about his time in the wet trainer. “It definitely opens your eyes about what could happen down there. You know it’s all controlled, but it can get pretty scary.”
But in the end, the young BESS Sailors know it is training they may eventually use, whether they want to or not. “We definitely need to know it for when we get out to a boat,” Bybee said. “I’m hoping I never get to use it, but knowing my luck, it will come in handy.”
