Jimmy Carter in the Navy
But for his devotion to the family farming tradition, Jimmy Carter may have had a distinguished career as a naval officer instead of as a politician. Carter had an affinity for the navy, and had set a goal of attending the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. In 1941, at the age of 17, he began undergraduate coursework in engineering at Georgia Southwestern College in Americus, Georgia. The following year, he transferred to Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and in 1943 he attained his goal of admission to the Naval Academy.
Carter was an above average student at Annapolis. He was remembered by some of his classmates as being reserved and quiet. At the academy Carter was a sprint football player for the Navy Midshipmen. However it at the academy that Carter met the love of his life, the woman who subsequently became, and remains his wife. His sister Ruth had a friend named Rosalynn Smith that Carter began to date. The two were married shortly after his graduation in 1946.
Carter graduated 60th out of 820 midshipmen in the class of 1946. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned as an ensign. From 1946 to 1953, the Carters lived in Virginia, Hawaii, Connecticut, New York and California, during his deployments in the Atlantic and Pacific fleets.
In 1948, Ensign Carter began officers' training for submarine duty and served aboard the USS Pomfret. He was promoted to lieutenant junior grade in 1949. In 1951 he became attached to the diesel/electric USS K-1, which was also known as the USS Barracuda. In his training he became qualified for command, and served in several duties including as Executive Officer.
In 1952, Carter began an association with the US Navy's fledgling nuclear submarine program. At the time it was led by a Captain, who would later became famous as an Admiral, a man named Hyman G. Rickover. Rickover had a reputation for pushing both his men and the navy's machines to their limits, but Carter seemed to thrive in this environment. He later said that, next to his parents, Rickover was the greatest influence on his life. Many years later, President Carter would command Admiral Rickover, as the venerable Rickover remained in the navy until being forced out at 1982 at the age of 82. After his presidency, Carter told Dianne Sawyer the following story about Rickover:
"One of the most remarkable things that he ever told me was when we were together on the submarine and he said that he wished that a nuclear explosive had never been evolved. And then he said, 'I wish that nuclear power had never been discovered.' And I said, 'Admiral, this is your life.' He said, 'I would forgo all the accomplishments of my life, and I would be willing to forgo all the advantages of nuclear power to propel ships, for medical research and for every other purpose of generating electric power, if we could have avoided the evolution of atomic explosives.'"
Carter was sent to the Naval Reactors Branch of the Atomic Energy Commission in Washington, D.C. for three month temporary duty. His wife Rosalynn lived with their children in Schenectady, New York. On December 12, 1952, an accident with the experimental NRX reactor at Atomic Energy of Canada's Chalk River Laboratories caused a partial meltdown resulting in millions of liters of radioactive water flooding the reactor building's basement and leaving the reactor's core ruined. Carter was ordered to Chalk River to lead a U.S. maintenance crew that joined other American and Canadian service personnel to assist in the shutdown of the reactor. The complicated process required each team member to don protective gear and be lowered individually into the reactor for a few minutes at a time, limiting their exposure to radioactivity while they disassembled the crippled reactor. Later, during and after his presidency, Carter said that his experience at Chalk River had influenced his views on atomic energy and led him to decide to cease development of a neutron bomb.
In March 1953 Carter began attending nuclear power school, a six-month non-credit course covering nuclear power plant operation at Union College in Schenectady. His goal was to eventually work on the USS Seawolf, which was planned to be one of the first two U.S. nuclear submarines. But Carter's plans were interrupted when his father died two months before construction of the Seawolf began. Carter sought and obtained an honorable discharge to enable him to take over family peanut business. Deciding to leave Schenectady was a difficult decision, and one that Carter later said had put a stress on his marriage. Rosalynn had grown comfortable with their life in New York, and the thought of returning to small-town life in Plains was what she later called "a monumental step backward".
In the end, Carter's ties to his family were stronger than his ties to the navy. He was honorably discharged from the Navy on October 9, 1953. Carter continued to serve in the inactive Navy Reserve until 1961, and left the service with the rank of lieutenant. His awards received during his naval career included the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the China Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.
Carter was an above average student at Annapolis. He was remembered by some of his classmates as being reserved and quiet. At the academy Carter was a sprint football player for the Navy Midshipmen. However it at the academy that Carter met the love of his life, the woman who subsequently became, and remains his wife. His sister Ruth had a friend named Rosalynn Smith that Carter began to date. The two were married shortly after his graduation in 1946.
Carter graduated 60th out of 820 midshipmen in the class of 1946. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree and was commissioned as an ensign. From 1946 to 1953, the Carters lived in Virginia, Hawaii, Connecticut, New York and California, during his deployments in the Atlantic and Pacific fleets.
In 1948, Ensign Carter began officers' training for submarine duty and served aboard the USS Pomfret. He was promoted to lieutenant junior grade in 1949. In 1951 he became attached to the diesel/electric USS K-1, which was also known as the USS Barracuda. In his training he became qualified for command, and served in several duties including as Executive Officer.
In 1952, Carter began an association with the US Navy's fledgling nuclear submarine program. At the time it was led by a Captain, who would later became famous as an Admiral, a man named Hyman G. Rickover. Rickover had a reputation for pushing both his men and the navy's machines to their limits, but Carter seemed to thrive in this environment. He later said that, next to his parents, Rickover was the greatest influence on his life. Many years later, President Carter would command Admiral Rickover, as the venerable Rickover remained in the navy until being forced out at 1982 at the age of 82. After his presidency, Carter told Dianne Sawyer the following story about Rickover:
"One of the most remarkable things that he ever told me was when we were together on the submarine and he said that he wished that a nuclear explosive had never been evolved. And then he said, 'I wish that nuclear power had never been discovered.' And I said, 'Admiral, this is your life.' He said, 'I would forgo all the accomplishments of my life, and I would be willing to forgo all the advantages of nuclear power to propel ships, for medical research and for every other purpose of generating electric power, if we could have avoided the evolution of atomic explosives.'"
Carter was sent to the Naval Reactors Branch of the Atomic Energy Commission in Washington, D.C. for three month temporary duty. His wife Rosalynn lived with their children in Schenectady, New York. On December 12, 1952, an accident with the experimental NRX reactor at Atomic Energy of Canada's Chalk River Laboratories caused a partial meltdown resulting in millions of liters of radioactive water flooding the reactor building's basement and leaving the reactor's core ruined. Carter was ordered to Chalk River to lead a U.S. maintenance crew that joined other American and Canadian service personnel to assist in the shutdown of the reactor. The complicated process required each team member to don protective gear and be lowered individually into the reactor for a few minutes at a time, limiting their exposure to radioactivity while they disassembled the crippled reactor. Later, during and after his presidency, Carter said that his experience at Chalk River had influenced his views on atomic energy and led him to decide to cease development of a neutron bomb.
In March 1953 Carter began attending nuclear power school, a six-month non-credit course covering nuclear power plant operation at Union College in Schenectady. His goal was to eventually work on the USS Seawolf, which was planned to be one of the first two U.S. nuclear submarines. But Carter's plans were interrupted when his father died two months before construction of the Seawolf began. Carter sought and obtained an honorable discharge to enable him to take over family peanut business. Deciding to leave Schenectady was a difficult decision, and one that Carter later said had put a stress on his marriage. Rosalynn had grown comfortable with their life in New York, and the thought of returning to small-town life in Plains was what she later called "a monumental step backward".
In the end, Carter's ties to his family were stronger than his ties to the navy. He was honorably discharged from the Navy on October 9, 1953. Carter continued to serve in the inactive Navy Reserve until 1961, and left the service with the rank of lieutenant. His awards received during his naval career included the American Campaign Medal, the World War II Victory Medal, the China Service Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal.