This is the spot you learn more about me

Glenn Gumpman

Born in Baltimore, Maryland many moons ago. I spent, what I refer to as, my "formative years" in Plantation, Florida. Plantation is a small town just west of Fort Lauderdale. My house was only 7 miles from the beach. An easy bike ride for a 12 to 15 year old!! I attended all of the Plantation schools. It was a fairly small city in Broward County and they didn't bother with creative names for the schools. Therefore, I attended Plantation Elementary School, Plantation Middle School and (see a pattern here?) Plantation High School. Even after the city got a bit bigger and needed another High School they named it South Plantation High School.

After high school it was off to the United States Navy and all the great places that go with it.

Boot camp for me was in Orlando, Florida. That facility ceases to exist. I attended ET (Electronics Technician) Class "A" school in Great Lakes, Illinois. Nuclear Power School at the time (1979) was in Orlando. Although, like boot camp, it no longer exists either. Nuclear Prototype for me was in Idaho Falls, Idaho where I spent an additional 2 years as a staff instructor. By the way, the Prototypes in Idaho are no longer in use either. They may exist, I don't know. But,if they do, they are just waiting to be scrapped. Then it was finally off to "the Fleet". I received orders to Charleston, South Carolina where I served on the USS Sturgeon (SSN-637) as a Reactor Operator from December of 1982 until December of 1986. During the time I was on the Sturgeon we performed a major refit. Spending about a year in the drydock at Charleston Naval Shipyard. Both the shipyard and the Charleston Naval Station are no longer part of the Navy's facilities. But they, the facilities at least exist. The former Charleston Naval Station is now more famous as the home of the Confederate Submarine H.L. Hunley. See and Read more here.

I must say, that I am very proud of my time in the Navy in general. I am even more proud of my time on the USS Sturgeon (SSN-637). Being a submariner, or "Bubblehead" as they are affectionately known, is a reason to be proud. Not many folks earn the privilage of wearing the DOLPHINS badge that signifies being QUALIFIED IN SUBMARINES. It is a long journey. It took me almost 11 months to get qualified. That was probably a little bit quicker than the average. But, not by much. At the time the average was about 12 to 13 months to qualify. It is more work than most folks can ever imagine. I'll have to write more about it some day.....

The Sturgeon allowed me to see many different parts of the world. Even if I only saw them for 1 or 2 days. I visited Toulon, France; Naples, Italy; La Maddelana, Sardinia; Portsmouth, England; Faslane and Trondhiem, Norway. I was disappointed that we never went to Germany while I was on board. The ship had been there in early 1982. But, alas, I was not with it. I did manage to spend almost 3 full months of my life underneath the Artic Ice Cap. That was a unique thing to do. During my time on board, the USS Sturgeon was only 1 of 2 submarines on the east coast that were certified to lay mines. That is an evolution that most folks have not had a chane to do. It is very interesting and a bit tough on the crew.

After the Navy, I ended up taking a job in Lynchburg, Virginia and have called it "home" ever since. Although, Virginia is the place I've lived longest in my life, and I was born in Maryland, I still consider myself a Floridian!!

Between my time in the Navy and working at various Nuclear Power plants around the country, I've managed to visit a fair amount of the country. Below are the states I've had a chance to visit over the years...