[ dramatic music playing ]
I will start up the pumps.
I’ll start up the turbines in order to propel the ship.
Nuclear Machinist’s Mates are trained to operate propulsion plants on submarines and aircraft carriers.
Piping systems are the main thing that we work with.
So that's pulling apart high-pressure systems that have different fluids in them.
So whether that be high-pressure air or some other gas
inside the piping as well as fluids such as water, oil, fuel.
[MMN:] We’re checking for chloride and making sure that there’s not a lot in it.
[MMN:] We’re testing oil just to make sure that we don’t have any water or sediment in there.
For two years you go to school and you learn about things in a book,
and that was the hardest part for me.
But when you actually get to the boat,
and you can feel and touch and see all the things you’ve read about for two years,
there’s nothing like it.
We pride ourselves in how much we know about the plant
It’s all about knowing what you’re doing, not just looking at procedure.
We always have training on different subjects to improve our knowledge.
And then there’s drills that we run to practice our efficiency,
make sure we’re ready for any casualties that might come up.
[MMN:] Engineering casualty, engineering casualty, high vibes, 1-G-T-G.
[Narrator:] I was woken up at two in the morning for some drills.
[MMN Chief:] Start up the pumps.
[MMN:] TD 1 is open.
With your recruiter you decide to sign a contract to be a Nuke and you get a sign-on bonus for that.
In school they teach you from the very basics, I kid you not, adding and subtracting to nuclear theory.
It’s hard and not everyone can do it,
but a lot of people that didn’t think they could do it, have been able to do it.
Boeing, Tesla, Amazon, Facebook—they’re actively hunting for Nukes that are getting out of the Navy
because they know if they sit you down in front of a book,
and they give you some training on something,
that you will be able to get it right the first time.
[dramatic music playing ]
[ beep beep ]
[Interviewer:] Is that because it’s like a top-secret thing?
[MMN:] No, we can’t answer that at this time.
