In an era where celebrities and professional athletes fill the airwaves and newspaper headlines, I recently had the honor of meeting some real larger-than-life individuals. For some, Derek Jeter is a hero, for me, it’s the unnamed 20-year-old Petty Officer listening for contacts 650-feet below the water’s surface. I’m speaking about the crew of the USS Alaska (SSBN 732), an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine first put into service in 1986.
