Posted: 3/22/05
Fitzpatrick back home after submarine duty
By David Heiller
Argus News Editor
Chris Fitzpatrick of Caledonia has travelled around the world in a fashion that few people can match: on a submarine.
Fitzpatrick, 26, is back in Caledonia after spending much of his five years in the Navy aboard the USS Charlotte, a nuclear-powered submarine based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Fitzpatrickís stint in the Navy ends at the end of this month.
Submariners sometimes call their work the ìsilent service,î because they want to keep secret the technology, tactics and precise areas of operation of their subs.
Fitzpatrick didnít use that term when talking with The Argus on March 17, but he preferred not to answer technical questions about the submarine and its mission.
He found the submarine life enjoyable. He said the best part was getting around to different ìliberty portsî in Japan, Singapore, and Guam.
The camaraderie was great too, Fitzpatrick said. ìEveryone has to pretty much get along.î
Still, the cramped spaces that are often depicted in submarine movies have changed a bit on the Charlotte, he said. Bunks are stacked three high, and each one has about two feet of head room.
The pay isnít bad either. On top of base pay, Fitzpatrick received submarine pay, sea pay, and overseas pay.
Deployments are for six months. That can be hard on sailors with families, Fitzpatrick said. He did two such deployments in the Western Pacific. Eastern Pacific deployments in the San Diego area lasted eight weeks.
Chris is the son of Mike and Carolyn Fitzpatrick, Caledonia. He graduated from Caledonia High School in 1997, went to technical college in Albert Lea for two years, then worked for Graf Electric in Caledonia for a year before joining the Navy.
He is unsure of his future plans.
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