The Rickover Legend
by David Barth
September 9, 1998
On the U.S.S. Lafayette, SS(B)N 616, our ships library had a book about the life of Admiral Rickover, and I had read it. I always suspected that the book was placed
in libraries of all nuclear subs, but I knew of only one other sailor who had read it.
The book presented a fascinating portrait of the Admiral, saying that he personally interviewed every officer who served on nuclear subs. His interviewing technique was
designed to make the interviewee as uncomfortable as possible. First, the candidate sat alone in a reception room where there was a coffee table upon which there
were placed copies of Playboy and Naval Institute Proceedings. Through a peep-hole, the Admiral watched to see which publication the officer would choose to peruse.
Points off if he chose Playboy.
Next, the officer was ushered into Rickover's presence to sit in a straight-backed chair that had two inches sawed off the front legs making it difficult to sit erect.
Questions followed, and they were tough ones. Officers who finished the interview knew they had survived quite a test.
One of Rickover's famous anecdotes was about his operational tactics during ASW exercises when he captained a diesel boat. When spotted on the surface, he
would dive the boat. Surface units would proceed to a point they expected the sub to be, based on the direction it was heading when it dived. However, Rickover
outfoxed them by going to all back full after he was submerged. Surface fleet officers cried "foul", but Rickover's flair for the unusual gave him the edge in such
exercises.
As might be imagined, Rickover's unorthodox approach to nearly everything caused consternation among some Naval officers, and, ultimately, the Navy
tried to retire him. However, that required an act of Congress, and Congress appreciated that Rickover had given the United States a commanding
lead in nuclear power, so it continually promoted him.