Aboard a Submarine: What No One Tells You About Life After Service

About this story

On this episode of Vegas Veteran Voices, we step aboard the historic USS Pampanito in San Francisco for a powerful conversation inside the submarine’s mission control room about something a lot of Veterans know too well but do not always talk about enough: life after service.

LT. Emilio Mackie opens up about his time in the U.S. Navy, serving as a surface warfare officer, being stationed in Japan, and ultimately making the decision to leave military service. But this episode goes far beyond Navy stories. This is an honest conversation about military transition, Veteran identity, therapy, PTSD, decompression after service, finding purpose after the military, and the mental shift that happens when the structure of military life suddenly disappears.

We talk about what it really feels like to get out of the military, the loss of identity many Veterans face, why so many service members jump straight into stress instead of slowing down, and how therapy, reflection, travel, and community can help rebuild a life outside the uniform. LT. Mackie shares why he intentionally took a break after separating from the Navy, how Military OneSource helped connect him with a therapist trained in transitioning service members, and why he believes Veterans need to train their minds for civilian life just like they trained their bodies for service.

This episode also dives into Veteran mental health, isolation after service, work ethic after the military, burnout, anger, healing, and the pressure Veterans put on themselves when they no longer have a chain of command telling them what to do next. We also get into Navy culture, dark humor, life aboard ship, type two fun, sea stories, transition advice for Veterans, and why community matters so much when you are trying to move forward after military service.

Being able to have this conversation aboard USS Pampanito made it hit even harder. USS Pampanito is a World War II Balao class fleet submarine built in 1943. She completed six war patrols in the Pacific during World War II and is especially remembered for helping rescue 73 British and Australian prisoners of war after the sinking of a Japanese prison ship in September 1944. Today, she is preserved as a museum submarine and memorial at Pier 45 in San Francisco.

Special thank you to Dwight Naset, Emilio Mackie, and the rest of the team at USS Pampanito for making this happen and for helping preserve a piece of history that still has the power to teach, connect, and inspire.

If this conversation hits home, share it with a Veteran who might need it. Sometimes the hardest part is not the service itself. It is what comes after.

Vegas Veteran Voices is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit using honest Veteran storytelling to fight isolation, restore identity, and build community through real conversations that matter.

USS Pampanito official site: https://maritime.org/uss-pampanito/
Tickets and visitor info: https://maritime.org/uss-pampanito/pampanito-tickets/
San Francisco Maritime National Park Association: https://maritime.org/
Volunteer info: https://maritime.org/pampvol.php
Donate / support preservation: https://maritime.org/support-us/donate/
National Park Service overview: https://www.nps.gov/places/uss-pampanito.htm

In their words

“What I realized in the moments when I was alone was that I never truly was.”

“And man, did it hurt getting out of the military.”

“The advice that I have is take a break. You’ve earned it.”