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[EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net>]

bobf wrote:
> You got it, but I didn't know the term 'boomer'.  This is the way the
> answer was written:  " keep in mind who is the most powerful man on
> the planet. The answer is the captain of a nuclear launch submarine.
> He has the power to incinerate nations."
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> --- On Sat, 12/20/08, EarthNSky <erthnsky AT bellsouth.net> wrote:
>
>
> > Bob, this is too easy for the mother of a submariner.... The most
> > powerful man in the world is the captain of a boomer. :)

The thing is, Bob, that presidents do so as well, but the difference is 
that the boomer moves silently away from the launch site, which can be 
thousands of miles away from the target to begin with.  Presidents 
aren't that mobile, even down in Norad or on AF-1.  Close does count in 
nuclear weapons, you know.  When you consider submarines, there can be a 
'survivor winner'.
My son's job, as you may know, is to run the reactor on a fast attack 
sub, a hunter killer, whose job is to protect carriers and other ships, 
attack enemy targets using Tomahawks and other missiles, and of course, 
to hunt and kill the enemy boomers, hopefully before they launch, but 
they are the avengers after the fact otherwise.  Not pleasant to think 
about either way.  If you have seen the movie, The Hunt for Red October, 
the Dallas is a fast attack sub, Los Angeles class just like my son's 
boat, the Key West(Fast attack subs are named after cities, boomers are 
generally named after states, but there are a few exceptions), and the 
Red October is a boomer, a big honking cyclinder that carries nuclear 
missiles, about 28 of them usually.  They are the ultimate weapon of any 
nation who owns them, and for the most part, the only thing between 
something like the Red October and anywhere on the continent is, my 
kid's boat and a few other underwater boats for company.

Bev
--
The true significance of Sacajawea's involvement in the Lewis & Clark
expedition is that it was the first documented trip in history where men
asked a woman for directions and followed them, allowing them to arrive
at their destination.