The Fire Control Officer
that pushes that button and says "Fire",
there's nothing like it.
The gust of air that goes throughout the submarine
reminds you that you just launch a torpedo
at a target and that you will not miss.
♪
There are a couple of things, the Action Stations,
and to hear it, to be woken up by it,
honestly, it is exciting,
especially as a sonar operator,
because that means that I get to go to my console
and we get to be active
and participate with command and the Fire Control Technician.
And we all get to really, really become a cohesive group
with its only goal that is to aim at
and eliminate our target.
As sonar ops, in general, our job is
to collect the noises of the ocean.
Essentially, we listen to everything
that the ocean has to offer to us.
And then we slowly pick at it until the big wall of noise
becomes discernable elements
like whales or geographical events
or even foreign ships and submarines from other nations.
So that in itself is pretty cool, I think.
Once submerged, we are responsible
for the safety of everyone on board,
to make sure that there are no collisions,
but also to make sure that we're ready
to defend ourselves in case we detect foreign aggressors.
They don't give you this dolphin until you've completed
at least 15 days or two weeks underwater.
So I was very excited about sailing because that meant
that I would begin my last step
in becoming a submariner. I have to admit
that I hadn't even noticed that they'd shut the hatch,
or even worse,
I was lost in conversation when I turned around and I saw
that our gauge indicated that we're already
about 17 to 18 metres and we kept going down.
Emotionally, I can say though I tried not to think too much
about our depth because, once you're down there,
you're like in a bubble. You gotta do your job.
Nothing can touch you
and the external world doesn't really exist to you.
♪
My job represents that I'm challenging myself.
It represents that I was capable of accomplishing something.
And there is always that pride that comes from knowing that
there are only a few hundred submariners in all of Canada.
♪
For those who want to find out, if Canadian submarines
make that classic noise that you can hear
from The Hunt for Red October or Das Boot,
there's only one way to find out.
You gotta come down here and see for yourself.
♪