Divers inspecting Narwhal at AUTEC when a visitor shows up

I did a det at AUTEC! We worked our asses off, but it felt almost like a mini vacation.

That’s cool! I remember being a young sailor in a Jax-based HS squadron and going on the AUTEC det with our SH-3H Sea Kings w AQS-13E dipping sonar. Conv weps load team member (MK 46 Mod 5). Trailers, shorts & T’s w boondockers; 50 cent rum & cokes at the club after work. 😎

It disturbs me we no longer take such chances on revolutionary submarine technologies. A notable one is the lack of integral PWRs, we should have had them before the Russians, saving significant amounts of weight and space which could then be put toward more capability or shrinking footprint.

Blue shark. A thick one too.

We had a swim call at AUTEC. A whale joined us. I borrowed a diver mask watching it swim in the clear water. After the swim call I was the OOD as we got underway again and the sun was setting on the horizon the whale surfaced one more time as if to say goodbye.

Almost ghostly images.

🎯👌👏👏👏

Glad that it didn't like rubber packaged food 👀

That Blue said "damn, that's a BIG Daddy, I want no part of that"

Ahh AUTEC. Our secret "submerged" sub base under an island in the Bahamas.

Hope we get a Virginia with her name!

Dumb question: Why is it resting underwater?

That was the most silent boat of the time. How did divers find it.

AUTEC is not a place you can wander around freely... sadly