Submarine Commander

While not the most action-packed of submarine narratives, this is perhaps one of the best written of the bunch, and I found it hard to put down. In addition to the WWII patrols, descriptions of the snorkeling mechanism and procedures were interesting, as were the Korean War patrols.

Many naval officers write well, pehaps because they write many reports carefully to those who read carefully. This book is well written. Schratz's report on his corner of WWII and the occupation of Japan is worth reading. His take on the torpedo problem--and the solution he implemented at the edge of his orders--is unique. His report on certain incidents of command and loyalty add to those extant. His explanation on the possible cause of the Tonkin Gulf incident is worth the price of the book. This officer has understanding and insight. He's committed to making a contribution and leaving a legacy. But he doesn't express this directly, and this raises character as an issue. As a naval officer, he's efficient, effective, innovative and exacting. He knows that healthy organizations have fun, including shipboard organizations, so he plays hard, but doesn't let play stand in the way of work and is uncompromisingly severe on those who do. He knows the difference between a wartime navy and a peacetime navy, between bureaucratic tactics that get one promoted and what happens if one tries to use them in battle. He knows better than to use the same plan twice. His conscience makes him uncomfortable when action puts him on the wrong side of his values or when justice and regulations conflict. Basically, he favors thinking and acting "outside the box" whenever the box keeps him from carrying out his mission, broadly defined. He presents himself as a black sheep for doing so; and yet, read carefully, each of his forays into apparent undisciplined self-indulgence have the effect of producing pride, increasing morale, bonding shipmates together, and ultimately placing his superiors in a good light. What's odd is that he doesn't take credit for these as willful achievements, but invites us to treat them as unruly and undisciplined, as if initiative and command were antithetical. It's possible that he's unaware of his own character, but unlikely. What we have here is a man who doesn't want others to know who the inner man is and is willing to derogate himself so as to put others on the wrong track, all except those who love him for himself rather than for his role, to which he refuses to succumb--avoiding numbness. Far from being untypical of naval officers--whom he sees as conformist, he is typical of certain kind of non-conforming officer that American naval tradition produces in abundance: daring, resourceful, unwilling to let protocol inhibit effectiveness or survival, willing to work hard and play hard, willing to cut the Gordian Knot with pleasure. My guess is that, under his flash and feathers, the gentleman is as shy as a violinist. He'd be interesting to meet. If I'm right, he's already read enough comments about his book to wonder, out loud, whether anyone who commits memoirs to paper is a fool . . . while taking secret comfort in the fact that no one has found him out. Well, almost no one.

Unlike the official histories of subs, which come directly from the patrol reports and talk almost exclusively about the captain, this book focuses on the personal side of life on a WWII diesel boat. The author was just a little too junior to be in command at the outbreak of war. He shows what it was like to be on a boat where the CO failed, and what people did to keep the boat going. His discussion of the people side of operating as well as his postwar experience in Japan is more forthright and blunt than many accounts. It doesn't hurt that the author is a "cowboy" CO--I remember seeing pictures of things he did when I was at school and an almost panicky reaction in the more sober and composed officers when confronted with outrageous up angles or special forces operations. The book is similar to "Baa Baa Black Sheep" in tone without the sad outcome that Pappy Boyington had to go through. I bought this book after reading it in the submarine's library. My CO has the book. Some junior officers bought the book. We like it. CAPT Ned Beach wrote a nice blurb on it. Some subs have it in their professional reading libraries. You may like it too.