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Following a long tradition of volunteerism in military communities, the
Navy relied heavily upon wives' social networks as liaisons between commands
and the families, especially during deployment. When the submariners were
away, their families helped each other to meet the problems and crises
of everyday life without husbands and fathers.
The wife
of the chief of the boat (COB), a senior or master chief, usually became
ombudsman—someone to assist in emergencies and to help resolve complaints
equitably—and the reference point for enlisted submarine wives. The wife
of the submarine's commanding officer or executive officer was usually
the information link between the command and officers' families, informing
them of missions, homecomings, and departures.
Dolphin
Scholarship Foundation Calendars
 Submarine
officer's wives in 1961 offered a $350 academic scholarship to one child
of an enlisted or officer submariner—a high school senior or college
student. By 1991 the Dolphin Scholarship Foundation had grown large enough
to provide $1,750 each for 100 students. Volunteer fund-raising activities
by the Submarine Officer's Wives Club included selling calendars like
those shown here, soliciting donations, and setting up Dolphin stores
in submarine communities.
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At Home During
a Patrol
A kitchen in base housing, this one photographed in 1965, was always the
domain of the submariner's wife.
Neighbors in base
housing socialize, Groton, Connecticut, 1965
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