Everyone that had a role in a launch knew exactly what the implications of such actions were, and the seriousness associated with them. Not that anyone on a Ohio class ever actually did their intended job, or we wouldn't be having this conversation. Some of us fired test shots off Cape Canaveral. But that's it.
We joked. We kidded where we could to pass time and blow off steam. But when push came to shove, we knew how to do our job.
We also knew if we ever did our job, we wouldn't have anywhere to come home to. Old or young. There were no cowboys or gung-ho war-mongers. Mostly just family men. Husbands. Sons. We knew full well if we ever launched our wad, everyone we knew and loved wouldn't be there when and if we surfaced.
Having the keys that end the world, spending 3-5 months at sea waiting for the orders to do so, not something to be trifled with.
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