Admiral Rickover: The Father Of The Nuclear Navy

In the world, there are currently over 140 nuclear-powered ships, each of which is powered by more than 180 miniaturized nuclear reactors. Although most of them are submarines, they can also range from icebreakers to aircraft carriers. While there have been many people to contribute to the research and development of nuclear propulsion, none of them have been more influential than Admiral Hyman George Rickover, known as the “Father of the Nuclear Navy.” Accomplished in his naval career, he was a staunch defender of freedom from all who sought to undermine the sovereignty of the United States, or who would threaten our security. Though a controversial issue at the time, Admiral Rickover was passionate in his insistence for the development of

a nuclear-powered navy, and vehemently for its creation and continued development.
Although Admiral Rickover saw the necessity of nuclear-powered ships, he was up front in his belief that overall, nuclear power is not worth the risk of the dangers of radiation. He said in a testimony to Congress, that billions of years ago, there was such a large quantity of radiation that the development of life was not possible.

Gradually the amount of radiation that was present reduced, and life was able to begin. The use of nuclear power, according to him, was counterproductive to what had taken nature billions of years to achieve, and that every time you produced radiation, that radiation would have very long-term effects, in some cases billions of years later. He further said that he believed that the downfall of humanity would be our own doing, which was why it was so terribly important that we get control of what he called “this horrible force” and terminate it before it has any irreversible and long-term effects. (Economics of Defense Policy, 1982). Admiral Rickover said, “I do not believe that nuclear power is worth it if it creates radiation” (Rickover). The only reason he condoned the use of nuclear power, was for the protection of the United States of America and had it been for any purpose other than that, he would not have stood for it, especially not as strongly as he did. Later, in a discussion with the President, who at that time was Jimmy Carter, he admitted that he would be willing to forgo all of his life’s

accomplishments, as well as all the advantages of nuclear power such as propelling ships, medical research, and for the purpose of generating electricity, if it were possible that we could have avoided the evolution of atomic explosives. However, if it were not for the threat of radiation, he would have found no problem with the ongoing advancement and use of nuclear power. It can be argued that one of the reasons he so vehemently insisted on the continued development of nuclear-powered ships was because of the fact that he said, “If you are going to sin, sin against God, not the bureaucracy. God will forgive you but the bureaucracy won't” (Rickover). Meaning, while he believes the continued research would be considered sinful to God, all that truly matters is whether or not it is considered legal by the United States government. Although he wished that it were not necessary, and though he was not proud of the part he played in the development of them, he never regretted the role he played in the advancing development of nuclear power. He believed that he helped to preserve the peace for America, and thus he saw no reason to regret his decision. The way he saw it, what he accomplished was approved by congress, who represent the people, and they now live without having to worry about a foreign attack, because the military is better equipped to keep the United States safe from her enemies. Nuclear technology was already under development in other countries, and his assigned responsibility was to develop the United States Nuclear Navy, which he successfully accomplished.
Though admittedly it was wrong, Admiral Rickover was aware of the necessity of the development of the Nuclear Navy to protect the sovereignty of the United States. He said “I am not proud of the part I played in it. I did it because it was necessary for the safety of this country. That's why I am such a great exponent of stopping this whole nonsense of war.” Countries such as Russia, France, and China, were in the process at the time of developing their own nuclear ships. Admiral Rickover was aware that if we were to stop our own development of such things, those countries would get far ahead of us, and would become threats to America. Especially such countries as Russia and China. He was one of the most controversial figures of his time, due to him being, “Hyperactive, political, blunt, confrontational, insulting, flamboyant, and an unexcelled workaholic, Rickover was always demanding of others — without regard for rank or position — as well as himself” (Wikipedia: Hyman G. Rickover: Controversy, 2016, para 1). He was extremely outspoken, and he had a single-minded insistence on the development of nuclear power. It was due to this attitude that he was passed over twice for promotion to Admiral. Though this behavior did him no favors in his career, or with those who had seniority to him, but it was this same attitude that made him absolutely dedicated to getting the job done, and willing to step on as many toes as needed to accomplish his goals. Admiral Rickover was consumed with developing a safe, reliable, nuclear plan. If he were not so devoted, he would not have done as well as a job as he managed to accomplish, and thus America would not be as protected today as it currently is. He said, “The lesson of history is when a war starts every nation will ultimately use whatever weapon it has available. ... Therefore, we must expect that if another war — a serious war — breaks out, we will use nuclear energy in some form” (Rickover). Nuclear ships and weaponry are the most powerful ones that the United States has in their arsenal. Rickover knew that there would come a day where the United States would require the use of Nuclear power in order to maintain the advantage in a large-scale war. To prepare for this, he unwaveringly developed our Nuclear Navy, plus took responsibility for all mistakes that happened in the production of it, something most Admirals didn’t do. He viewed nuclear ships as a necessary evil to ensure the protection of the United States. While his means of achieving them were unorthodox, these methods were what allowed him to accomplish his goal.
Admiral Rickover began work on nuclear marine propulsion in the 1940s, and he developed the first test reactor in the year 1953. The very first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus was first launched in the year 1955, two years later. Some of the main factors that allowed him to develop the Nautilus so quickly was his energy, his unorthodox methods, and his talent for being able to evoke extremely enthusiastic devotion from the members of his team of specialists. The construction of the Nautilus was only made possible by the successful development of a nuclear propulsion plant, by a group of scientists and engineers at the Naval Reactors Branch of the Bureau of Ships. Shortly after that, the United States Congress authorized construction of what would become the Nautilus. Rickover was trained as an electrical engineer, and he was the lead architect of the project. He was under the impression that was the obvious next phase for military vessels to be powered and propelled. The biggest challenge that was faced was reducing the size of the nuclear reactors so that they would be able to fit on board either a ship or a submarine, as well as to be able to properly encase it so that radiation would be properly contained, and not be a safety hazard. On top of his work with the Navy, he also was in charge of developing research on the reactor for the Atomic Energy Commission, which helped to develop the first civilian used nuclear power plant in the United States of America, located in Shippingport, Pennsylvania. While the Nautilus was the first, they were just getting started. By the year 1962, the United States Navy had 26 operational nuclear submarines, and another 30 still under construction. One of Admiral Rickover’s unorthodox methods was that he made sure that he was aware of all of the details. He said, “The man in charge must concern himself with details. If he does not consider them important, neither will his subordinates. Yet “the devil is in the details.” It is hard and monotonous to pay attention to seemingly minor matters. In my work, I probably spend about ninety-nine percent of my time on what others may call petty details. Most managers would rather focus on lofty policy matters. But when the details are ignored, the project fails. No infusion of policy or lofty ideals can then correct the situation.” (Rickover). He was able to properly regulate and control the project because he made sure to know all of the details, and thus was able to accurately provide instruction. It also allowed his subordinates to know what was expected of them, for the reason that he exhibited those requirements himself. Another thing he did was look at things as realistically as possible, and to never hope for the best happen. According to him, “It is a human inclination to hope things will work out, despite evidence or doubt to the contrary. A successful manager must resist this temptation” (Rickover). When someone hopes for the best, they are more likely to make mistakes, and neglect to fix them. But when someone is expecting something to go wrong, they are more likely to notice when something does, allowing to fix their mistakes or the mistakes of others. Another one of his methods was acting as if you were going to remain in the same job for the rest of your life. If you were to do that, you would make sure you did your best job in order to guarantee that you would be able to keep the job. All these methods of his brought together are what allowed him to effectively develop the Nuclear Navy.
Admiral Hyman George Rickover, the “Father of the Nuclear Navy,” was an electrical engineer, and he was the lead architect of the project, and in only two years managed to develop the USS Nautilus.

A controversial figure, who while was a staunch defender of the development of the Nuclear Navy, also was aware of the possible and likely detrimental effects of it. He believed that the risk of radiation was enough to not use nuclear power, and he honestly would’ve undone his entire life’s work, and all the positive outcomes of nuclear power, just so that atomic weaponry could have been avoided. However he was dedicated to the protection of the United States of America, and he saw that as the only reason strong enough to condone the use of nuclear power. He put lots of time and effort into nuclear ships and was able to quickly develop ships by using certain uncommon methods such as making sure he knew everything that he was required to know, always looking for mistakes, and acting as if he were to stay in the same job forever. He put value into getting the job done, no matter the cost, and into making sure it was completely safe for everyone as well. It is thanks to him that we have the nuclear power that we do today. If he had not put so much work into it, we would not be as protected from threats with similar technology. He was aware that each country uses the best weapons that they have, and with a number of nuclear ships going up in the world, America needs to stay at all the

top to ensure our safety.