One of the guys I use to game with on the Ike had been a submariner on a boomer (his eardrum was damaged, and he couldn't dive anymore and it got him working on a nuclear carrier, go figure), and he played t2k with us. he told us that after they'd fire their missiles they'd go and get rearmed at one of the secure facilities that was 'hidden' from being targeted.
And he also said that if they had live missiles on the boat while they were out at sea, they would only let their missiles fly with authoritization from higher command (the POTUS or a flag officer).
One of the guys in one of my friends gaming group is a USAF missile tech, and i'll send the question to him to find out for us. But from what I've seen and heard, they would continue to tend their birds as long as they can. And when the spare parts (or FOOD) runs out, they would have a proceedure to 'secure' the warhead so it would be safe for long term storage without someone babysitting them.
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Fuck being a hero. Do you know what you get for being a hero? Nothing! You get shot at. You get a little pat on the back, blah blah blah, attaboy! You get divorced... Your wife can't remember your last name, your kids don't want to talk to you... You get to eat a lot of meals by yourself. Trust me kid, nobody wants to be that guy. I do this because there is nobody else to do it right now. Believe me if there was somebody else to do it, I would let them do it. There's not, so I'm doing it.
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