United States Navy submariners deploy for months at a time, spending weeks submerged at sea with no internet and minimal contact with the outside world. Aboard the Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarine USS South Dakota, culinary specialists work tirelessly in incredibly tight quarters to prepare meals for up to 150 crew members. While the sub was in port at Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Connecticut, Business Insider spent two days observing how the cooks manage tight spaces, limited resources, and long hours to provide fuel and maintain the crew's morale.
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00:00These Navy culinary specialists
00:05are preparing 15 pounds of turkey,
00:0810 pounds of ham,
00:10and pulled pork sandwiches made from scratch,
00:14along with mac and cheese, corn,
00:16mashed potatoes, and cookies.
00:19Almost, almost.
00:21To serve a crew of 150 sailors.
00:24Pulled pork, macaroni.
00:27And they only have about five hours to prepare each meal.
00:32You want the soup, too?
00:33But this isn't your typical Navy galley.
00:36This is where meals are made...
00:40on a submarine.
00:42In classified locations deep at sea,
00:45the crew of the nuclear-powered USS South Dakota
00:48works around the clock to monitor...
00:51Emergency ship.
00:52Make my depth 155 feet.
00:54And potentially engage with foreign threats.
00:57We're tasked to go do something, and we go do it.
01:00For up to nine months, they work and live
01:03within the tight confines of their windowless ship,
01:07where every role is critical to the mission's success.
01:11Among them are the culinary specialists.
01:15Oh, yeah.
01:17These crew members have an essential responsibility,
01:21feeding up to 150 sailors
01:24and fueling them for the challenges that lie ahead.
01:27We are essentially the morale of the fleet.
01:29If our morale's low, their morale's gonna be low.
01:31And you can usually taste it in the food.
01:33Business Insider spent two days aboard the USS South Dakota
01:38while it lay in port at Naval Submarine Base New London
01:42in Groton, Connecticut,
01:44observing culinary specialists,
01:46preparing breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the crew.
01:51The USS South Dakota is a Virginia-class submarine.
01:53Specifically, it's a Block III,
01:55meaning it has a few more capabilities
01:57and a few more modifications
01:58than the regular Virginia-class submarines.
02:00And the ship is manned 24 hours a day, seven days a week,
02:03while we're in port, for security reasons.
02:06While some off-duty crew members go home to see their families,
02:10those on board rely on the meals prepared
02:13by the culinary specialists.
02:15It might not be everyone all at once,
02:17but I'm going to feed everyone.
02:19So if I have 150 people on board,
02:21I'm going to feed 150 people pretty much almost every meal.
02:24Because the USS South Dakota is a nuclear-powered submarine,
02:28its time at sea is limited
02:30only by the amount of food it can carry.
02:32About two weeks in, you'll probably run out of fresh food.
02:34That's the unfortunate reality of it.
02:36So we have some food in the outboards.
02:38We have food in every locker imaginable.
02:41If there's space available,
02:42we can kind of quickly put food up there
02:44and not just trap it down.
02:45We'll take that opportunity to do that.
02:46Fully stocked, the sub carries about 90 days' worth of food.
02:51The strategy for keeping fresh food aboard a submarine
02:53is you just accept when you run out of fresh food.
02:55And the second you get an opportunity to get more fresh food on,
02:57you take that opportunity.
03:00Today for dinner, we're having Thanksgiving.
03:02So we're having turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, gravy,
03:06hot rolls for our bread.
03:08So this right here is essentially my menu.
03:11The actual name for it is the Food Preparation Worksheet.
03:14But layman's terms, this is essentially my menu.
03:17This tells me everything that I'm having for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
03:21Today, Petty Officer CSS Wesley Whitson
03:25is preparing 10 pounds of ham and 15 pounds of turkey.
03:29The turkey itself, I'm going to have to actually cut up a little bit,
03:32throw some seasoning on.
03:34With the ham, I literally just unwrap it for a pan,
03:37wrap it up, call it a day.
03:40So yeah, that's good with that.
03:42And then when I'm ready, I'm just going to throw it in the oven,
03:45and then I'm just going to let it bake off.
03:47Really easy, nothing too crazy.
03:50And done.
03:51Yay, one less thing I got to worry about.
03:54Okay.
03:56Manning for us is supposed to be roughly about 7 or 8.
03:59I don't have that right now, so I'm working with what I got.
04:03But because there's only so few of us,
04:05not only are we essentially the manager,
04:08but I'm also the cook.
04:10I am the guy that has to make it.
04:12So I not only have to manage everything,
04:14but I have to make sure that I am actually getting it done myself.
04:16Days will usually take care of lunch and dinner and for the meals.
04:21The night guy will kind of help prep for lunch a little bit,
04:24but the day guys will take over and they'll finish it.
04:27With extended deployments, confined spaces,
04:30and shifts that can last up to 12 hours,
04:33submarine assignments aren't desirable to many.
04:36Not a lot of people wanting to join the military,
04:39but also not a lot of people wanting to join subs within the Navy,
04:42especially as a culinary specialist, as a cook.
04:45And I get it. This job isn't for everyone.
04:48To compensate, the Navy offers an additional $85 to $600 a month
04:54to submarine crew members based on rank and time in service.
04:59Culinary specialists who work aboard submarines
05:02earn a base salary of about $26,000.
05:06Now I just let those set in proof.
05:09So I'll give them roughly about an hour or so,
05:12and then I'll turn it over to actually bake,
05:15and then they should be good to go.
05:17So not only am I the galley watch captain,
05:20but I am also our bulk store custodian, or JOD as we call it,
05:24which stands for Jack of the Dust.
05:26That responsibility for me is to go about
05:28and do what we call breakouts, or shopping, to put it in layman's terms.
05:34They'll look at the menu.
05:35They'll write a list of, like, what groceries,
05:37you know, what food items they need are groceries,
05:39and they'll be like, I need this stuff.
05:41And I'll take it and be like, okay.
05:43And then I just go to where we keep all of our food,
05:45you know, all the storerooms on board,
05:47and then I will break it out for them.
05:49That way they have it available for the next day.
05:51Food is kept in storerooms, small cabinets,
05:54and other locations around the ship.
05:57Because of operational security concerns,
06:00cameras were only allowed in the galley during our visit.
06:03Space is a luxury in a submarine,
06:05so definitely keeping food anywhere where we can
06:07to maximize the amount that we have on board.
06:10So actually in all of these, bench seats will have food,
06:14as well as these backs will have some extra dry provisions.
06:19And that'll be the same for all these bench seats.
06:22That'll have some maple syrup, chocolate syrup, strawberry syrup.
06:26So any kind of random select items like that.
06:28We'll have soy sauce in those.
06:30We'll have seasoning in these outboard ones.
06:32Yeah, so we got bags of soup in there.
06:35Though I am the Supply Officer at CHOP on board,
06:38what that means, I'm responsible for both
06:40the Food Service Division and the Logistics Division.
06:43So the first storeroom I have is the forward storeroom,
06:45or the can room, which, as the name implies,
06:47is just full of cans.
06:49Typically this room is actually a lot more full,
06:51with cans coming all the way up to this front door
06:53and then actually going to the ceiling.
06:55So as we fill this up with more cans,
06:57it's kind of like deciding what we're going to use first
06:59and making sure those are actually put in the front.
07:01When the guys need to get something out of the freezer,
07:03they'll actually put a jacket on, get a headlamp on,
07:05get a beanie on, pretty much just layer up
07:07like they're going to go in a cold area
07:09like this area is below freezing at this time right now.
07:11It's negative 3.9 degrees.
07:13All food aboard submarines is logged and tracked every day,
07:17and the budget for meals is determined
07:19by a daily allowance per sailor.
07:22We can spend anywhere from $700 to $1,000 a day,
07:26and then if we're out to sea,
07:28anywhere from about $1,600 to $2,800 per day.
07:31We operate off of a 28-day cycle menu.
07:34We'll have the same meals every 28 days.
07:36It's definitely designed where it creates
07:38that kind of consistency throughout the week.
07:40So if you're having Italian on a night,
07:42you know it's a Thursday, or if you're having pizza for dinner,
07:44then you know it's a Saturday.
07:46So it helps the crew kind of keep their own pace
07:48and honestly helps them pass the time.
07:50If you're having pizza this underway,
07:52then you know it's already been two weeks.
07:54I can smell it.
07:56Almost, almost.
07:58Back in the kitchen,
08:00culinary specialist Whitson has just one hour
08:04before the crew begins to line up for dinner.
08:07♪♪♪
08:17Whoo!
08:19How's it feel to be done?
08:21Feels good.
08:23Good to know that all I have left is to serve this out,
08:29and then after that, it's just cleanup,
08:32and then I'm done.
08:34I've got a whole lot of work going on.
08:36I'm going home to my wife,
08:38and I'm getting my cuddles.
08:40Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha.
08:42I'm doing great.
08:44Extra ham? I got it.
08:46Extra ham. I got it.
08:48Just for you,
08:50because I know how much you love that pork.
08:52No corn and no soup.
08:54Extra corn, extra soup?
08:56I got it.
09:00It's great. It's great.
09:02I honestly love cooking.
09:04I love being in the galley.
09:06I love working with food.
09:08I love putting out really good meals
09:10and making people happy with them.
09:12I like seeing everyone being fulfilled
09:14and having a good meal
09:16and enjoying themselves with it.
09:18On a sub, there is no Internet,
09:20cell service,
09:22or access to the outside world
09:24other than mission-critical communications
09:26and the occasional e-mail from family
09:28transmitted via secure satellite,
09:30leaving crew members
09:32to find their own ways
09:34of staying entertained
09:36during the little downtime they get.
09:38I'm either reading a book,
09:40watching TV, whether it be
09:42a TV show or a movie,
09:44or I'm playing on my laptop.
09:46My favorite way to pass time underway
09:48was honestly just spending time with my guys.
09:50Maybe if it's just playing chess in Cruisemaster,
09:52or even just listening to music
09:54in my room or listening to music
09:56in the wardroom, just kind of
09:58distracting yourself in a way,
10:00while keeping your mind active.
10:02I think that's the best way to do it.
10:04On every submarine,
10:06the crew's mess is designed
10:08to reflect a piece of the state it's named after.
10:10Aboard the USS South Dakota,
10:12the space draws inspiration
10:14from Deadwood's
10:16iconic saloon number 10.
10:18That's where the crew goes to relax.
10:20It's also where they eat.
10:22It's also where they kind of let their hair down
10:24and study if they need to
10:26or play cards,
10:28play dominoes, play video games,
10:30conduct training. It's kind of an all-purpose.
10:32And that's what the Deadwood saloon was
10:34to South Dakota back in the 1800s.
10:40The next day, culinary specialist
10:42Lupon Jimenez
10:44steps into the galley,
10:46ready to prepare breakfast for the crew.
10:48On the menu this morning,
10:50steak and egg burritos,
10:52pancakes,
10:54hash browns,
10:56and bacon.
10:58It takes three hours to prepare the meal.
11:04And at 7, the hungry sailors
11:06make their way to the crew's mess
11:08for breakfast.
11:10As breakfast
11:12comes to an end,
11:22there's barely a moment to rest.
11:24Jimenez must quickly
11:26shift gears and start preparing
11:28lunch to make sure he can
11:30feed 150 crew members.
11:32Time is, like, pretty irrelevant here,
11:34honestly, because we're just
11:36working by hours. It's 12 hours
11:38on, 12 hours off, and then
11:40once we get off, it's either
11:42go have fun or go straight to
11:44the, straight to bed.
11:46This is about to be the pull port.
11:48I'm putting the meat into the
11:50mixer along with the juices.
11:52It was boiling young to shred the
11:54pork rather than me
11:56taking a long time by hand.
11:58The quicker you get it done,
12:00the less you gotta worry about. But you still gotta
12:02time management to the meal hour.
12:04That way it doesn't just sit
12:06on the line for a very long time, because
12:08that becomes a bad thing.
12:12The meal today that we're having for lunch, the
12:14pulled pork mac and cheese and the pulled chowder, is actually one of my
12:16favorite things to make. Out of all of them,
12:18the mac and cheese is probably my favorite thing to make.
12:22I'm gonna have to give it to Milly with his mac and cheese.
12:24Sometimes he will, like,
12:26make his favorite, which is spicy
12:28mac and cheese. Really spicy for some reason.
12:30I feel like he puts, like, ghost pepper hot sauce
12:32in there or something.
12:34But other than that, it's good.
12:40I'm about to make some
12:42hot roll dough and turn them into
12:44like buns from scratch.
12:46How many rolls
12:48do you have to make?
12:50I wanna get at least around
12:52100, 140.
12:54How many do you have so far?
12:56I would say about
12:58probably 80.
13:00120 will last me
13:02throughout the meal, and then it will assure me
13:04that I have at least a little bit left over.
13:06That's what I'm going for.
13:08That way I don't run out.
13:17Give me a bit more salt.
13:19Do you have potato in there?
13:21No, we don't have potato.
13:23Is it a beehive?
13:25Uh, I don't know.
13:29Please do not put a lot in there.
13:31No, I won't.
13:33I'll leave that up to you if you want to add salt to it.
13:35That's definitely on the thinner side.
13:37Yeah, I can usually only get a little more salt.
13:39That should be good.
13:41As the lunch hour nears,
13:43the wardroom is prepared.
13:46A space designated for the ship's officers.
13:48There's significantly less officers
13:50on board a submarine than there are enlisted,
13:52so they get their own room.
13:54For lunch today, we have pulled pork,
13:56mac and cheese, cauliflower, and green beans.
13:58Great, thank you.
14:00Typically used for work, relaxation,
14:02and socializing,
14:04the wardroom becomes a dining room
14:06during mealtimes.
14:08For the officers, this is their place
14:10to come and eat.
14:12The family-style meal serving
14:14in the wardroom is very history-rich.
14:16While the dinner service
14:18is a privilege for the officers aboard,
14:20it's not uncommon
14:22for them to join the crew
14:24in the crew's mess.
14:26Pulled pork, macaroni.
14:28And that's when you put them together.
14:30Got to.
14:34Mac and cheese is always fun.
14:36I love pulled pork.
14:39I like the mac and cheese and the pulled pork.
14:41Before returning to sea,
14:43the USS South Dakota
14:45will undergo thorough maintenance,
14:47followed by sea certification,
14:49a process that tests
14:51both the crew and the submarine
14:53to ensure all systems
14:55are fully operational for the next deployment.
14:57It is exhausting,
14:59it is tiresome,
15:01and it wears on you real quick if you let it.
15:03But knowing that I'm able to feed people
15:05and that they are happy
15:07with what I put out
15:09and they look forward to
15:11what I can bring to the table,
15:13that makes it worth it for me.