Jim Perks – The impact of Covid on Submariners

Covid was particularly difficult for Submariners. Everyone thought we were the world record holders, Olympic gold standard at isolating.

Nothing could be further … I ended up getting quite annoyed about it actually as Head of the Service. No, you’re wrong.

We’re the world record holders and world champions at being isolated in groups of 130. Put us on out own and we are awful ‘cos we’re not used to it.

Simon: Right.

We are used to being isolated from the outside world, not isolated with other humans. It’s just completely alien. It’s the other way round for Submariners. We’re used to being …

Simon: Right, being together in such an intense experience as well, yeah, right.

And that hurt. You know and when we started to deliver Ops it wasn’t the fact that we just stopped doing stuff, tie the ship alongside. No, it’s continuous at sea deterrents here, it’s not going to be broken by a virus so how as a Service are you going to ensure that that happens, and we put some pretty extreme measures in.

We isolated each individual on the Base for 14 days before they even started training and then they didn’t get home. Once they were there that was it, so my God, that put a lot of pressure on family during that period of time.

Simon: Because there was no let up.

We couldn’t afford to let them go home …

Simon: ‘Cos you couldn’t have another 14 days, right.

So that was really difficult to the bomber community, I mean genuinely tough and typical Submariners, you know get back, go to see them, “You alright?” “Well, it had to be done Boss, it’s what we do.”

Don’t make it right but we do it, so that’s why it’s the recognition. They’ll do it, they’ll do anything and most military people will do anything you ask of them. Submarine Service is 100% that group of people at every level, every Rank. It’s up to the leaders to realise that sometimes that’s wrong.

Don’t ask ‘cos if you ask they’ll do it, and if Politicians ask our Seniors, our Seniors will say yes. Just occasionally it would be nice to have a no. Everyone understands it, everyone gets it, so you tell these people this is why you do it.