How long does it take submariners underway to respond to emails?

Question

I emailed my guy friend - who is in US Navy, underway in a submarine - about a week ago and I haven't received a response. He left at the beginning of August. Are there certain periods when they can access the internet? How long would it be until I hear from him?

Answer 1

DH just came off of a sub rotation.  A lot depends on where the sub is and what they are doing.  There are times that they won't have e-mail up for communication due to the op cycle.  E-mail can also go down if the machines that transmit it go down.  And it can be slow if there are a lot of messages going out.  Any of that can affect the transmission time.  But then add in that sailors often have hectic schedules you might find that he just hasn't had time to communicate.  

You might write for a couple of more weeks before you start worrying.

Answer 2

not until they surface.. and that could be weeks.  and then only if they are able to send/receive.  communications blackouts are normal for the Silent Service.  

Answer 3

I served on subs for 20+ years.

Subs do not have access to the WWW.

When they are underwater, they do not have access the mail. Nor to the telephone. Nor to the WWW.

When they pull back into port, and the sailors leave the sub and go home again. then at home, they can get onto theri PC and access the internet and read their email.

God bless you.

Answer 4

You won't hear from him until he comes back.  Submarines do everything they can to remain hidden - transmitting radio signals for internet access will give away their position.

Answer 5

good question. i do believe they have email in there but there 1 st and most concern is country and the sub. he is very busy right now. hes prob getting only 5 to 6 hours of sleep alot of time. so he might be able to do  it some time but relize hes busy