Reported by News Specialist Dick Nourse

The USS Greenville submarine accident has thrust the Navy into an unaccustomed spotlight.

Many Americans are wondering why civilians were on board the submarine in the first place.

But I, too, had the opportunity to tour a nuclear submarine-- the USS Salt Lake City, the same class sub as the Greenville.

In fact, one of our photographers even got to take a short cruise on the Salt Lake City, like on the Greenville, a short time before that unfortunate incident.

What we saw still provides a timely perspective.

From the moment you set foot on the USS Salt Lake City it's obvious this is not going to be just another boat ride.

The 360-foot long submarine doesn't handle that well in the shallow, confined waters of the harbor, so tugboats help get her out to sea, with an audience of curious seals and dolphins.

Everett Stoops / Petty Officer Second Class: I THINK IT'S JUST THE IDEA THEY LIKE TO PLAY A LOT 'CAUSE YOU SEE THEM DO IT ALL THE TIME.

Everett Stoops / Petty Officer Second Class: THEY JUST LIKE TO PLAY. I THINK IT'S JUST THEIR NATURE.

Inside, the show really begins when the boat goes underwater.

SAILOR: AND RIGHT NOW WE'RE RIGHT HERE. AND WE'RE GONNA DIVE ... OUR DIVE POINT IS RIGHT HERE.

(alarm sounding) ... "DIVE, DIVE."

The periscope camera that has been the crew's eye to the world slowly goes underwater. And the boat descends into the depths of the sea.

Commander Hoeft: DOWN AT 120 FEET ON OUR WAY TO 150 FEET.

And there it can stay ... a self-sustaining underwater island.

YEAH. FAX MACHINE, PRINTER, LASER PRINTER.

THIS IS WHAT A TYPICAL RACK WILL LOOK LIKE.

SAILOR: WE BASICALLY LIVE OUT OF OUR RACK, UNLESS YOU'RE AN OFFICER WHO HAS A STATE ROOM OR THE CAPTAIN.

DICK NOURSE: I THOUGHT I'D TRY ONE OF THE BUNKS OUT HERE ON THE USS SALT LAKE CITY BUT IT TOOK AN F-16 FIGHTER PILOT FROM HILL AIR FORCE BASE TO SHOW ME HOW TO GET INTO ONE OF THESE THINGS. AND I'LL SEE IF IT WORKS. OK, I'M HERE. I DON'T KNOW IF I COULD LIVE SIX MONTHS LIKE THIS AT A TIME.

WELL, WE PUT OUT FOUR MEALS A DAY FOR A CREW OF ABOUT 130 PEOPLE. AND IT GETS VERY HECTIC. WE SERVE A MEAL EVERY SIX HOURS.

All that in a galley smaller than a kitchen in a small apartment.

Your family car would barely fit in the ward room.

And the crew's mess isn't much bigger.

The biggest room any of us got in was the torpedo room.

FIRE ... PUSH IT HARD ... (sound of torpedo tube firing)

It's a compact but powerful home to the men who proudly carry the name of Utah's capitol city.

Cmdr. William F. Hoeft, Jr. / Commanding Officer, USS Salt Lake City: THE SALT LAKE CITY IS A VERY, VERY CAPABLE, FAST ATTACK NUCLEAR SUBMARINE, AND IT WILL REMAIN CAPABLE FOR A LONG TIME.

Cmdr. William F. Hoeft, Jr. / Commanding Officer, USS Salt Lake City: THE MISSION IS SO REAL WORLD. SO MUCH OF WHAT WE DO IS NOT PRACTICE FOR SOME FUTURE MISSION. BUT IT REALLY IS KEEPING THE NATION SECURE ON A DAY TO DAY BASIS.

Robert Weber / Chief of the Boat: THIS IS OUR GIRL. THIS IS OUR SUBMARINE. WE'RE THE BEST. OUT OF ALL THE SUBMARINES, SALT LAKE CITY IS NUMBER ONE AND WE PLAN ON KEEPING IT THAT WAY.

We should acknowledge that an organization here in Salt Lake called the 716 Club arranged for that cruise our photographer took. The club works to foster a relationship between the submarine and the city.

And, it may interest you to know the executive officer of the USS Salt Lake City, Moises Deltoro, is a graduate of the University of Utah.