"My name is Sonarman 3/c Eric Loudermilk. I'm from Pascagoula, Mississippi. And when my grandchildren ask me what I saw of the Third World War, I'll be able to look them in the eye and say "The bottom of the bunk above me, and a CRT sonar screen.
"I'm talking about the war, y'understand. Not this BS that's been going on since '99 or so.
"I was a sonarman with the USS Olympia, a nuclear attack sub based out of Holy Loch, Scotland. I thought it was funnyI'd joined the navy to see the world, then gone into subs so I could spend six months of the year in a steel pipe six hundred feet underwater. It was a funny world.
"We stayed deep, ran quiet, and only made our presence known when we popped whatever Warsaw Pact ships we could find. I can't talk much about that.
"The Oly never got sunk. It was back in '97, and we'd just come off a rough patrol in the Barents Sea, and we'd put into Holy Loch for a refit. I drew three days' liberty, and I took it in the Highlands. My first night out of Glasgow, the Loch got nuked. No more Olympia. Typical. We cleaned Russki clock when we were at sea, and some pencilneckgeek commie missile crewman wastes the boat in port. It's not a fair world..."
Submarines are the deadliest weapons afloat - er, well, you know what I mean.
Enlisted
Entry: Intelligence+Education 11+
First Term Skills: Submariners in most Western navies will cross-train in their own rate, plus learn a different job as well.
1. Take one of the following Sets of skills. The term in parentheses is the character’s Rate, part of their Naval Rank.
2. Take a skill from the second term skill list at a level of One. This is the character’s cross-trained skill.
3. In addition, all Submarine characters take Firefighting: 1
Second and Subsequent Term Skills: A total of four levels from any one or a combination of the following:
Contact: One per term, Military. Roll 1D10 for 8+ for the contact to be foreign.
Special: The titles in parentheses are the character's "Rating". See the section entitled"Rank". (Use the rating in which the character took the TWO level first term skill...)
Any character in the submarine service reaching "Senior Chief" Petty Officer rank may roll against Formidable: INT to become "Chief of the Boat", the highest ranking enlisted man on board. Chief of the Boat gets an immediate extra level of Leadership.
In addition, any non-reactor-operator characters who reach the rank of Chief in any rating may roll against DIF: INT to qualify as as the Diving officer, in charge of maintaining the sub's diving trim. If the roll succeeds, the character may take Seamanship: 1 and Leadership: 1.
(Thanks to Michael D. Bice for the invaluable feedback).
Officers
Entry: Intelligence 6+, OCS, Military Academy, or Commission.
First Term Skills: Characters receive the following during the first term:
In addition, in the US Navy all officers receive Nuclear Reactor Operator: 1
Second and subsequent terms: A total of three from any of the following or a combination:
Contact: Three per term, Military. Roll 1D10 for 7+ for contact to be foreign.