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begin to tell you how sorry I am about what happened to your fathers.”
    “Thanks, Chief,” replied a sleepy Nick.
    “This morning you’ll learn how to dive and drive a Trident submarine like a pro,” the Chief continued. “Here we have every aspect of the control room completely simulated using the most high tech gear you’ve ever seen.”
    “Is this like an Xbox?” Chrissie asked.
    “Even better,” Chief Gartrell replied. “Instead of playing a game on your TV, you’ll be right in the middle of the action. Do any of you remember movies like Jurassic Park?”
    “Sure, those dinosaurs rocked,” Nick responded.
    “The same Silicon Graphics technology used to make that movie is used here,” the Chief added.
    A giant simulator was supported in midair by hydraulic columns, allowing it to shift from the right to the left and pitch the bow up and down. It could simulate the calm feeling of gliding through the water at five knots, as well as the sudden shock of a collision. The Admiral and the kids entered the huge floating box to discover an exact replica of an Ohio-class control room. There were chairs and steering wheel-looking yokes for the Helmsman and Planesman, as well as control panels everywhere with colorful flashing lights.
    “Admiral, why don’t you be the Officer of the Deck for this exercise?” Chief Gartrell spoke as he walked behind the control panel.
    “I’d be delighted,” replied the Admiral.
    “Annie and Chrissie, you two sit in those chairs so you can pilot the sub,” the Chief directed. “Annie, as the Helmsman, you’ll steer the sub to the port and starboard, and you’ll dive and rise by pushing the yoke forward or pulling it back toward you. You also have the job of controlling the speed of the sub by twisting the engine order telegraph - that’s the knob over there. You will take your steering and speed orders from the Officer of the Deck and your depth orders from the Diving Officer.”
    “Chrissie, as the Planesman, you’ll control the ship’s bubble or pitch by pushing down or pulling back your yoke. You’ll take your orders from the Diving Officer.
    “I feel like I’m sitting in a 787 cockpit.” Annie giggled as she sat down next to Chrissie.
    “Mike, sit over there and man the Chief of the Watch station.” The Chief pointed to a panel to the left of the Planesman’s station. “You will bring water into and send water out of the sub to control buoyancy. You’ll also be able to move water fore and aft to keep the sub level or to help the Planesman with the angle of the sub.”
    “Nick, go sit over there and man the fire control panel. You will plot firing solutions based on the speed and bearing of your submarine, as well as that of your adversary. You’ll flood torpedo tubes, open and close the outer doors and fire wire-guided torpedoes when ordered.”
    “You mean these torpedoes have actual wires attached to them?” Nick asked.
    “That’s correct,” Chief Gartrell replied. “Thousands of feet of wire is spooled out of each torpedo allowing you to remote control it from the sub. Once the torpedo is near its target, you can have it go active and begin pinging to home-in for the kill.”
    “That’s so cool!” Nick exclaimed.
    “Caroline, I want you to be the Diving Officer,” the Chief continued. “You will stand behind Chrissie and Annie, and it’s your job to achieve and maintain the depth ordered by the Officer of the Deck. If we’re at periscope depth, it’s your responsibility to ensure the ship doesn’t broach the surface. When the Officer of the Deck orders you to make a particular depth, it’s your job to get there smartly.”
    “Smartly?” Caroline repeated with a perplexed look on her face.
    “Quickly,” translated Chief Gartrell.
    “Alright everyone, we better get to work if you ever want to be trusted with a two billion dollar submarine,” the Chief barked, as he walked behind the computerized control panel. “Man battle