Dissect on the "black cucumber": how is the service on a nuclear submarine

One of the users of "Pikabu" under the nickname myironcomp, who turned out to be a submariner officer, spoke in detail about the pros and cons of serving on a nuclear submarine, about which little is known and which is often romanticized. Then the words of the author.

So, I am a submariner officer, I serve in the Northern Fleet. Since the topic arouses such interest (although for me, as you understand, this is already commonplace, and all romanticism disappeared when I received the first stars), I will tell you about the service on the submarine.

Let's make it interesting for you, I'll start with the pros. The first plus, and it's very fat, is the salary. I think that submariners in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation now receive the most, the exception will be pilots (those who fly) and various special forces (SSOs, etc.). FSB, FSO and other services do not take into account. So, the salary of a submariner officer is about 130-250 thousand rubles, depending on the position, length of service, etc. if there is a full selected northern coefficient (to serve 5 years in the North).

The second plus is a year in two. In my case (I graduated in 2011), I will choose the minimum pension at the beginning of 2019. Seven and a half years on the submarine — and you're a pensioner. During this time, you choose 15 years and plus 5 years of the institute. The minimum pension in my case is 15 thousand rubles (tariff category: 12). If you continue to serve, then in the rank of lieutenant commander and if you have 15 years (calendar) in the North, you will receive ± 30 thousand rubles.

The third plus is vacations. Those who serve in the North have various holiday allowances. For example, I have 35 main + 15 northern + 15 (365th order) + 5 road + 20 OUS = about 80 days. Another question is how you will be given it. It is rare to take a full vacation, and sometimes part of these days you are "forgiven".

The fourth plus is the ration. Every month, if you don't stand on the allowance, but eat at home, we are entitled to a ration. They give a good set of products — butter, eggs, meat in briquettes, chicken, sausage, flour, vegetables, etc. If your wife knows how to cook (because you won't have much time for it, but more on that below), you can live normally on this ration, buying only some nice things.

The fifth plus is housing. We submariners usually live in remote corners of our vast. Upon arrival at the first place of service (the village of Vidyaevo) I was given 11 keys with tags with addresses written on them, and I went to choose my office accommodation. You can get an apartment in Gadzhievo, Polyarnoye, Zaozersk, etc. I can't say about TOPH, I haven't been there.

The sixth plus is the team. The submarine has its own atmosphere, there are no extra people (almost), each person is a specialist. There are no conscripts on boats for a long time, after the tragedy on the Kursk. Of course, cohesion depends on the command, but having been on four crews, I can say for sure: our relations are better than on the surface fleet (I was on the "Peter", I was on the "Ustinov"). Example: if the boat is tidied up, then everyone is cleaned, contract sailors shoulder to shoulder wash the deck with old midshipmen and officers.

Now we need to dispel the pink clouds and move on to the minuses, or rather, the hardships of service on the submarine. The first disadvantage is that you will only sleep at home. Your work will become your home for you, even if it's easier to get off on a submarine than on NK (ships), you will be late to leave. Weekends are passable, do not wait for days off. Constant training and exercises, and the general stupidity is corrected by the number of repetitions.

If you are lucky and you got on a running crew, you will spend a lot of time at sea, and it's hard there. Imagine being locked up in a punishment cell, with no windows, artificial lighting, low ceilings and air recycled from your carbon dioxide and farts, with people you see every day. Your service at sea turns into groundhog Day. Watch — breakfast — watch — lunch — exercises — dinner — sleep — watch, and so on every day. This is not an NC, where you can go out on the tank, smoke and, having inhaled fresh air, calm down.

Being a submariner means risking your life every day. How many emergencies there were at sea, and it is impossible to count. It would seem, well, the wiring has shortened, well, what's the big deal? There is no room for error in a confined space. That is why we are constantly training, bringing actions to the automaton. Once every three months (if on the shore) we go to the UTK (training complex), where we burn, drown and fight for survivability.

And once a year we have a "wet torpedo boat", with my height, a very strange event. You climb into the torpedo tube and crawl, then water is supplied, and you, having reached the hatch and given the signal, float up in the pool.

At sea, you have no connection with your family and friends, the boat is gone, and you don't know what's up there. The posts from the category "and you would be able to give up the TV, Internet and smartphone for a certain amount of time for a certain amount" amuse. I know exactly how much and for what amount I could — I have to. You don't get paid extra money for going to sea — this, in my opinion, is the third minus. People take risks, deprive themselves of everything and everything, and they get 500 rubles a day for it, it's so funny to me. Therefore, almost every submariner who has served and walked in the sea would like to serve on a "sludge" — a boat that for some reason does not go to sea.

The fourth disadvantage is the living conditions. You will wash once a week (prosharenye more often), the ceilings are low, there is limited space everywhere, the GGSKA (loudspeaker communication) is constantly buzzing over your ear, mechanisms, shields, etc.

Well, for even counting — the climate in the north is quite harsh. In summer and early autumn it is beautiful, moss blooms, dwarf birches are covered with dwarf leaves, and the sun shines, but does not warm, for almost 24 hours.