Jim Perks – Learning to look after your crew

You’ve also got to try and understand and teach them a bit about how to interact with their seniors, with Fleet Ops, so if Fleet Ops say, “I want you to go and do this and sail here and sail there and do that” you’ve got to be ready to say, “Hang on a sec, we’ve been constantly at sea, when’s the leave? When are we having a run ashore?”

Simon: There is the ability to question that then is there?

Definitely, and they should. You know they should absolutely look after their Ship’s Company. “We haven’t had a run ashore. Where’s my run ashore?” and more often than not, it’s already been thought of ‘cos funny old thing, the person further up the food chain is also an ex-Captain of a submarine and they’ll get it and mostly it’s because there aren’t enough boats around ‘cos there’s stuff going on.

But nonetheless, you should still keep asking and try and look after your crew and get them home. They’ve got families to go home to, young kids.