by H.B. Auld, Jr.

The USS NAUTILUS (SSN 571) was launched 70 years ago today:  January 21, 1954.  Thus opened the beginning of the era of nuclear-powered sea vessels for the US Navy that stands today.

The NAUTILUS was launched from Groton, CT, where it was built and christened.  It was commissioned the following September.  During its 26-year career, it set records, made history, and sailed on sea-going missions only dreamed of before.   The project to plan and build a nuclear propulsion power plant for a submarine was led by then-Captain Hyman G. Rickover, often called the “Father of the Nuclear Navy.”  From then until later-Admiral Rickover retired, not a single naval officer entered the Nuclear Navy serving ashore, afloat, or in the Submarine Service without the express permission and approval of Admiral Rickover.  Naval officers withstood a brutal interview process where one wrong misstep or word could eliminate them from nuclear consideration.  Many young Ensigns who withstood and passed Admiral Rickover’s withering interview later went on to serve as four-star admirals themselves, some of them as the US Navy Chief of Operations.

…examples of the legendary application process….

The following stories are examples of the legendary application process to become a nuclear officer under Admiral Rickover. Real or apocryphal, they illustrate the difficulty in becoming a US Navy nuclear officer under Admiral Hyman G. Rickover:

               ONE:  Admiral Rickover invited a group of Ensigns to breakfast in his stateroom one morning.  During breakfast, he observed one Ensign salting his eggs.  He asked, “Ensign, how did you know those eggs needed salting?”   “Sir,” the Ensign answered, “I assumed they needed salt; all eggs need seasoning.”  “Ensign,” Admiral Rickover replied, “You are dismissed.  I want no officer working for me who assumes anything.”  With that, the Ensign immediately returned to the surface fleet.

               TWO:  Admiral Rickover, during an especially tough interview, asked an Ensign: “Son, I won’t have an officer working for me who loses his temper.  I want you to make me mad. Go on, do it.”  The Ensign walked over to a beautifully detailed wooden model of the USS CONSTITUTION sailing ship.  He picked it up, admired it, then dashed it into hundreds of pieces on the floor at Admiral Rickover’s feet.  The Admiral quietly stared daggers through the Ensign for several minutes while he pushed his own temper back down.  When he knew he was composed, he quietly told the Ensign.  “You passed.  Now get out of my office!”

               THREE:  Admiral Rickover always kept a jar of hard candy on his desk.  Whenever an interviewee would enter, Admiral Rickover would always genially offer the Ensign a piece of candy.  Later, at the end of the interview, Admiral Rickover would again offer the same Ensign another piece of candy before his departure.  It did not matter if the Ensign took a piece of candy or not.  The admiral wanted to see if the Ensign would change his mind and take or refuse candy he had already taken or refused at the beginning of the interview.  He wanted no Sailors in the nuclear program who would be indecisive and change their minds.

The latest nuclear-powered submarine is the Fast Attack Virginia-class submarine USS HYMAN G. RICKOVER (SSN 795), commissioned October 14, 2023. 

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