On the USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680), the Logroom was the central repository of all records and documents pertaining to the operation of the boat. Every watch-stander's operational logs made their way to the Logroom for storage and archiving. All operating procedures, equipment manuals, and drawings and diagrams were maintained by the assigned Logroom Yeoman and his trusty side-kick, the Engineering Logroom Yeoman. The small desk and rows of tighly-filled bookshelves might have given the illusion of a quiet library nook away from the hustle and bustle of the ship, but a continuous stream of procedure changes and the task of managing classified documentation took a toll on all but the hardiest sailors assigned that challenging responsibility.
Naturally, the Logroom, about the size of a small walk-in closet in a modest house, could not hold all the records and documents that were generated on the ship. As a result, each command had access to warehousing for long-term storage of records until the designated time, at which point they were triaged based on document retention requirements. Documents were either destroyed by shredding, microfilmed and destroyed, or forwarded to the appropriate command for extended storage, declassification, and archiving. Ultimately, the records and documents required to be preserved forever in history are delivered to the National Archives in Washington, DC, for indexing, filing and storage.
For those of us that served on the Bates, the National Archives is a valuable repository of command personnel assignments and the boat's deck logs, some of which have been declassified and made available to the public. Of course, being available does not mean that accessing the records is easy or inexpensive. It takes a bit of research to ask the right questions of the right people, and then either traveling to the National Archives, or paying to have the records scanned and delivered electronically.
One of the missions of the Cold War Boats Association is the acquisition and publication of these records, here on our website. If you have been looking for records, you have come to the right place.
The Logroom contains the history of the boat, including homeports, overseas deployments and port calls, and other historical documents pertaining to the history of the USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680). Newspaper clippings, press releases, and other relevant historical items will be published here, along with copies of the actual Enlisted and Officer Personnel Diaries (EPDs and OPDs), Enlisted Distribution and Verification Reports (EDVRs), and Officer Distribution Control Reports (ODCRs).
The history of the USS WILLIAM H. BATES (SSN 680) is summarized neatly in the History Overview. The SSN-680 Timeline lists known events in the life of the Bates including homeports, deployments, exercises, and port calls, and is cross-linked to specific related articles on the site.
If you are a looking for photos of the boat and crew, refer to The Boat >> Up Scope.