Becoming a submariner
May 11, 2025
When I was 18, I was very unsure what to do with my life. My high school years had their bumpy moments (I was expelled from high school) and while I was a good student I had a rebellious streak.
My grandfather, who ran the Naval Underwater Warfare Research Lab during the Second World War, suggested that I join the submarine fleet. The legendary Admiral Hyman Rickover, who led the fleet, would turn me into “a real man.”
I wasn’t sure what a real man was but if it meant being like Clint Eastwood I was all in. Plus, I could be in ROTC and have my college paid for.
I went to the recruiting office at Duke to enlist. I had to pass the Farnsworth Color Test to see if I could distinguish a red light from a green light.
The Farnsworth Color Test asks the test taker to arrange the colors in each line in order of their hue. If you get the sequence right, you get a great score. If your sequence is screwy, you get a low score and you are color bling and can’t join the submarine fleet.
Go ahead and take the test. I dare you to get a good score.
The ability to tell the difference is crucial when one lives in a complex, highly computerized weapon that is a nuclear submarine. The guy below is in a submarine and is color blind. He’s thinking, “There sure a lot of lights. Some could be red, and some could be green. I am not sure – they all look the same. But I’ll push some buttons, and we’ll see what happens.”
As the color test began, the recruiter gentleman in a Navy uniform started to laugh. The following dialogue occurred.
Me: What’s the problem?
Uniform: Son. I have never seen anyone as bad with red and green as you are.
Me: Does that mean I can’t join the submarine fleet?
Uniform: Son. The country is safer if you are far away from nuclear weapons.
I knew I was color blind, but I did not know that I was that bad. And so, my Navy career ended before it started.
If I had passed the test, I would have then taken the 240 item SUBSCREEN psychological test. I might have flunked that test.
With my submarine career over before it began, I turned to Plan B – digital health.