Over the weekend it was released that a sailor aboard the USS Nebraska had died. Rumors in these cases usually fly from the start because that’s just human nature.
The Nebraska is homeported in Washington, where we used to live. We have a handful of friends who have been on the boat over the past few years, one of DH’s oldest military friends was on it when the class they were in all got out of school. They were who we hung out with during the last part of school though once we lived in the same area we didn’t keep in as close of contact. The sailor’s name has not been released yet though the cause of death has.
It is accidents like this – and it was an accident – that scare submariner wives. I can’t imagine getting a call and the other person saying “Something happened, it wasn’t your husband and I can’t tell you anymore.” I don’t know what the ombudsman said to people (an ombudsman is the connection between the wives and the boat) but those all had to have been hard calls to make.
My thoughts and prayers are with the crew of the Nebraska and the friends and family. The submarine community often feels very small as you run into someone you know just about anywhere, and certainly on the bases each of us end up transferred to. Chris’ job changed completely and we ran into someone friends of ours know! It is a small community, one that pulls together to support each other during the times the support is needed.
