(Note: The author writes works of fiction)

We are at the Naval Station, Newport, Rhode Island, and for the last three months we have been in dry dock. The crew is busy with daily life on the submarine, some of them are getting new billets, so we see friends leaving and new recruits arriving. With a full complement we carry 15 officers and 115 enlisted.

I am a sonar specialist assigned to classes at the Navy War College, founded in 1884. My job is to learn about the latest developments in our listening devices and how to identify different propeller sounds, including the number of blades and type of craft.

Our submarine is a Virginia Class, nuclear cruise fast attack, USS Wahoo, length 460 feet, beam 34 feet, with speeds much faster than the listed 28 mph under water. The maximum depth is 800 feet, our range is unlimited and so is our time submerged. We carry a large range of armaments including defense weapons: ballistic missiles, tomahawks, torpedoes, and harpoons to name a few.

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