Transcript
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Lieutenant Commander Jorge Garrido, ESPS Mistral
“Submarines are known as the silent service. The motto on all submarines is ‘Ad utrumque paratus’. ‘Ready for anything.’”
—SOT—(SPANISH)
“Control room from the bridge, alert, alert.
Begin the immersion process.”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Executive Officer Ignacio Lopez, ESPS Mistral
“We work in an environment which is not compatible with human life. Working here is the closest thing there is to working on a spaceship.”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
MISTRAL – LIFE ON A SPANISH SUBMARINE
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Lieutenant Commander Jorge Garrido, ESPS Mistral
“The Mistral submarine is approximately 68-70 metres long. The crew on board is currently around 70 people.
TEXT ON SCREEN:
Lt Commander Jorge Garrido
ESPS Mistral, Spanish Navy
We carry out intelligence missions for NATO.
Our main advantage is discretion. We work in areas where there might be other units but no one knows we are there. So this discretion and the fact that they don’t know we are there means that we gather intelligence other ships are unable to obtain.”
—SOT—(SPANISH)
Lieutenant Junior Grade Javier Sanchez-Tembleque
“Submerging to periscope depth. Periscope depth!”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Lieutenant Junior Grade Javier Sanchez-Tembleque, ESPS Mistral
“We’re now going down to a depth of 14 metres, periscope depth. The commander will raise the attack periscope and then continue our navigation submersed. We’re doing a watertightness check on the hull to make sure no water is entering.
TEXT ON SCREEN:
Lt Jnr Grade Javier Sanchez-Tembleque,
ESPS Mistral, Spanish Navy
When we submariners navigate at night, we wear an eyepatch. We are going to be looking through the periscope, so we need to adjust our eyesight and dilate our pupils before we can look.”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Executive Officer Ignacio Lopez, ESPS Mistral
“A submarine is always operating. It is always doing real things. From the moment it heads out to sea until it returns to port, everyone is perfectly aware of what has to be done and they do their jobs. Here, we are one big family and we are very united. Everyone has an important role to play, from the sailors to the commander.”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
Executive Officer Ignacio Lopez
ESPS Mistral, Spanish Navy
—SOT—(SPANISH)
Lieutenant Francisco Barrios
“Watch out below.”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
Lt Francisco Barrios
ESPS Mistral, Spanish Navy
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Lieutenant Francisco Barrios, ESPS Mistral
“There are 66 of us living in a tube. In the bow, there are torpedoes and the bunk beds where the crew sleep.
It’s normal to shower once every three days and the smell is unpleasant. There’s one shower for all of us. Personally, after three days, my nose stops working.
When we surface after a long time at sea, I go outside and breathe in the fresh air. I always think how awful fresh air smells!”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Executive Officer Ignacio Lopez, ESPS Mistral
“On Spanish vessels, especially submarines, we keep heads of garlic so that the machinery works and doesn’t give us trouble while we’re navigating.
It’s an important tradition. It’s what keeps us alive down here, right? The joke of having garlic hanging from the machinery and preserving the ‘submariner spirit’ just as crews on these ships have always done.”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Lieutenant Commander Jorge Garrido, ESPS Mistral
“I don’t think that just anyone can be a submariner. Sacrifice is one of our characteristics, austerity. It’s not a normal situation.”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
1st Sergeant Paula Osorio-Fernandez ESPS Mistral, Spanish Navy
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
1st Sergeant Paula Osorio-Fernandez, ESPS Mistral
“I work with underwater weaponry, so torpedoes and mines. My role while we are navigating is at the plotting desk.
My husband and I both work on the Mistral and we’ve reached an agreement. When I’m at sea, he stays at home with our children and then when he’s at sea, I stay at home with them.
The submarine is like our second home. I miss my husband and children very much.”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Lieutenant Commander Jorge Garrido, ESPS Mistral
“We always say that our life is one of minimums and maximums. On the submarine, there is minimal space, minimal privacy, minimal air and minimal comfort.
However, our life is also one of maximums. Maximum companionship, maximum vocation and maximum loyalty.”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
Medical Officer Ismael Banegas
ESPS Mistral, Spanish Navy
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Medical Officer Ismael Banegas, ESPS Mistral
“The maximum time we can be underwater for is determined by supplies, especially food. I think it’s usually around 30 days.”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
Cpl 1st Class Pablo Grandal
ESPS Mistral, Spanish Navy
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Cpl 1st Class Pablo Grandal, ESPS Mistral
“Because of the lack of sun and vitamins inside the submarine, we try to feed them lots of vegetables. Lots of greens. You have to hide them in every dish.”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
Seaman Joel Requena
ESPS Mistral, Spanish Navy
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Seaman Joel Requena, ESPS Mistral
“Pablo is a great chef. Cooking in such a small space and for so many people. He does a brilliant job.
Here, we are deprived of life’s small pleasures. We enjoy our food a lot.”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Cpl 1st Class Pablo Grandal, ESPS Mistral
“On a submarine, some topics of conversation are not allowed. No talking about politics or religion or anything like that… or money! You have to share a very small space with a lot of people, so you have to put yourself in their shoes to avoid conflict.”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Executive Officer Ignacio Lopez, ESPS Mistral
“What you’ve just heard is an ‘air pop’ because we are currently charging the batteries.
When we charge the batteries, we need to take in fresh air from outside.
We take the air in through a snorkel mast with a valve. When a wave covers the valve, it creates pressure that we feel and hear in our ears.
Of course, to avoid this we have to compensate. We do this by holding our noses like divers to avoid any problems that could damage our ears.”
--UPSOT—(Spanish)
Executive Officer Ignacio Lopez, ESPS Mistral
“Compensate please. Why are you flexing your biceps?”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Lieutenant Commander Jorge Garrido, ESPS Mistral
“We’re a family and we care about each other. On a submarine, everything is very small and we meet several times a day so we can very quickly tell if someone is having a bad time.”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Medical Officer Ismael Banegas, ESPS Mistral
“I’m the nurse in charge of the entire crew’s health. The most common ailments inside the submarine are colds, ear infections and the odd dental problem. As well as my role as a nurse, I also look after the crew’s mental well-being. So I also work as the psychologist inside the unit.”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Lieutenant Francisco Barrios, ESPS Mistral
“When you spend a very long time underwater, yes, you can feel disoriented, confused.
At times, I didn’t know what day it was, whether it was day or night. It’s easy to get disoriented.
So you create your own tricks, you know? For example, I write a letter every day. It’s a way of knowing at least what day it is. Little tricks like that.”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
Petty Officer Mario Cunquerio
ESPS Mistral, Spanish Navy
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Petty Officer Mario Cunquerio, ESPS Mistral
“Life on a submarine is very complex. I like to distract myself by writing or thinking about stories.
I finished writing this book. It’s called ‘Prisoner of Souls’.
I base a lot of my writing on things in my dreams because here on the submarine your dreams are more intense. That’s why these stories come to me and I like to write about things that are out of the ordinary.”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Executive Officer Ignacio Lopez, ESPS Mistral
“The truth is that everything here is magnified. Small things affect you much more, small things affect the entire crew. We are always doing little pranks to create a relaxed atmosphere and avoid problems.”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Lieutenant Francisco Barrios, ESPS Mistral
“Have you seen this? Hey, hey, hey, look, look, look!”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Lieutenant Commander Jorge Garrido, ESPS Mistral
“When we are underwater for a long time, 45 days or longer, people entertain themselves in their free time by making cars.
When we tilt the ship, we race the cars.”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Lieutenant Francisco Barrios, ESPS Mistral
“Six seconds to cross the whole corridor. It was spectacular, like the ball from Indiana Jones. I have no idea why we were disqualified.”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Lieutenant Commander Jorge Garrido, ESPS Mistral
“It doesn’t have any wheels!”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Lieutenant Francisco Barrios, ESPS Mistral
“You might see me as a tall, confident person, but this hurts. It was an unfair disqualification.”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Lieutenant Francisco Barrios, ESPS Mistral
“When the submarine is returning to the surface, things get a little crazy.”
--UPSOT—(Spanish)
Lieutenant Francisco Barrios, ESPS Mistral
“Telekinesis! Michael Jackson!”
—SOUNDBITE—(Spanish)
Lieutenant Francisco Barrios, ESPS Mistral
“I’m going to read a few words about life on board a submarine.
‘In the depths of the vast ocean, a select group of men and women live and work tirelessly in pursuit of peace and freedom.
We spend our days under a strict code of silence, honour, valour, friendship and camaraderie.
We are the Spanish submariners.’ ”
TEXT ON SCREEN:
THE SPANISH SUBMARINE MISTRAL WAS DECOMMISSIONED IN FEBRUARY 2021 AFTER 35 YEARS OF SERVICE
