Midn. 3/C James Compton and Mark Moeller look through the periscope while onboard the USS Annapolis (SSN 760). The Los Angeles-class nuclear powered fast attack submarine visited the U.S. Naval Academy Oct. 24-25. USNA photo by MCC(SW/SCW) Dennis J. Herring.

The submarine anchored off Annapolis in the Chesapeake Bay late Friday afternoon with plans for familiarization tours for Midshipmen on Saturday morning and tours for staff and faculty that afternoon and Sunday.

Each year, the Navy brings ships and submarines to the Academy to give Midshipmen, especially Plebes, an opportunity to observe operations and visit with crew members. For many, this is their first opportunity aboard one of these vessels.

These visits provide professional development training for Midshipmen to augment more extensive fleet orientation programs that introduce Midshipmen to the variety of career paths within the Navy and Marine Corps.

Rough weather conditions Saturday affected small boat operations and visits to the submarine that day were very limited, but on Sunday, a number of Midshipmen, some accompanied by family and friends, joined faculty and staff members to make the trip to the submarine. Once aboard, the Midshipmen were escorted around the submarine by Annapolis junior officers and submarine-qualified enlisted Sailors. They learned about life aboard submarines as well as the unique warfare capabilities of attack submarines.

‘‘I’ve never been on a modern sub before,” said Midn. 3⁄C James K. Compton. ‘‘This was a chance to go see one and see if it might be something that I’m interested in as I decide on my career path in the Fleet.”

Annapolis crew members introduced the Mids to the tight and somewhat cramped quarters of the submarine. The Mids toured areas from the control room where the crew navigates the sub underwater to the crews’ mess where around 100 Sailors have to rotate through at mealtime.

‘‘The thought of racks for sleeping in the torpedo room was a bit of a surprise,” said Midn. 3⁄C Mark D. Moeller. ‘‘But everything was very cleverly laid out to make the best use of a small amount of space and to contribute to the requirement for silence. A perfect example was the removable decks that allowed for torpedoes to be loaded directly through the main hatch into the torpedo room a deck below.”

Chief Electronics Technician (SS) Patrick Fuchs, who gave many of the tours, talked about the day-to-day living conditions and how they affect the crew.

‘‘The crew aboard a submarine is very close, very tight knit,” Fuchs said. ‘‘We learn fast because there’s no room for mistakes.

‘‘Midshipmen have a lot to offer to the submarine community,” he added. ‘‘Because of their intense engineering training, they are very valuable in our world.”

In their second year at the Academy, the two Midshipmen still have plenty of time to decide what community they will choose before commissioning, but both Midshipmen walked away with an increased interest in submarines.

‘‘The people on board all seemed rather happy to be there,” said Moeller. ‘‘I could see myself working in that environment.”

‘‘It certainly means that being a submarine officer is something I’ll have to consider,” said Compton.