I made several deployments on USS Sea Devil, SSN-664, mostly to the Mediterranean. One stands out; we were scheduled for a 45-day search in the mid-Atlantic, so the CO decided to not do a full 90 day load-out (no unreps on a nuke sub!). But the 1973 Arab-Israeli war broke out just before we left. Shortly after getting underway, we were ordered to make best speed for the Med with no defined end date. And, with only 45 days of food!
We had some exciting times and when the world situation quieted down, we were hoping to get released to return home. We had been out to sea for about 50 days and were considering how much we could further stretch the food. The CO didn't want to ask for a port call to resupply, because a) we weren't officially in the Med and b) we might get tasked to stay a little longer!!
In the end, we were released to return home and arrived in Norfolk after 72 days underwater. One of our last meals at sea was white bread, cheese whiz and a vitamin pill. Upon arrival, liberty was delayed until we finished loading stores for the duty section that night.
Can we have a name for this post?