Jimmy Carter

== Naval career ==
[[File:Graduation of Jimmy Carter from U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, Rosalynn Carter and Lillian Carter Pinning on Ensign Bars - DPLA - e1b1f2b5b4e38fc82cfe091678fc112a.jpg|thumb|Carter with [[Rosalynn Smith]] and his mother at his graduation from the [[United States Naval Academy]] in [[Annapolis, Maryland]], June 5, 1946]]

From 1946 to 1953, the Carters lived in Virginia, Hawaii, Connecticut, New York, and California, during his deployments in [[U.S. Atlantic Fleet|the Atlantic]] and [[U.S. Pacific Fleet|Pacific fleets]].<ref name="zelizer-11">Zelizer, pp. 11–12.</ref> In 1948, he began officer training for submarine duty and served aboard {{USS|Pomfret|SS-391|6}}.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thomas |first=Sunny |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/6041403 |title=Jimmy Carter : from peanuts to presidency |date=1978 |publisher=Vesta Publications |isbn=0-919806-61-9 |location=Cornwall, Ont. |pages=18 |oclc=6041403}}</ref> He was promoted to [[Lieutenant (junior grade)|lieutenant junior grade]] in 1949, and his service aboard ''Pomfret'' included a simulated war patrol to the western Pacific and Chinese coast from January to March of that year.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nijnatten |first=Frans van |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/775137957 |title=Tussen liberalisme en conservatisme: de verkiezingscampagnes van Jimmy Carter (1962-1980) |date=2012 |publisher=Vossiuspers UvA |isbn=978-90-5629-698-8 |location=Amsterdam |pages=77 |oclc=775137957}}</ref> In 1951 he was assigned to the diesel/electric {{USS|K-1|SSK-1}}, qualified for command, and served in several positions, to include executive officer.<ref name="naval service">{{cite web |title=Jimmy Carter's Naval Service |url=http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/documents/jec/jcnavy.phtml |website=Jimmy Carter Presidential Library & Museum |access-date=November 24, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151116012607/http://www.jimmycarterlibrary.gov/documents/jec/jcnavy.phtml |archive-date=November 16, 2015}}</ref>

In 1952, he began an association with the Navy's fledgling [[nuclear submarine]] program, led then by captain [[Hyman G. Rickover]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hambley |first=Del |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/678081512 |title=Presidential footprints: inauguration of John Fitzgerald Kennedy, January 20, 1961 |date=2008 |publisher=Dog Ear Publishing |isbn=978-1-59858-815-6 |location=Indianapolis, IN |pages=202 |oclc=678081512}}</ref> Rickover had high standards and demands for his men and machines, and Carter later said that, next to his parents, Rickover had the greatest influence on his life.<ref name="bourne-72">Bourne, pp. 72–77.</ref> He was sent to the [[Naval Reactors]] Branch of the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] in Washington, D.C. for three-month temporary duty, while Rosalynn moved with their children to [[Schenectady, New York]].<ref>Bourne, p. 74.</ref>

On December 12, 1952, an accident with the experimental [[NRX]] reactor at [[Atomic Energy of Canada]]'s [[Chalk River Laboratories]] caused a partial meltdown, resulting in millions of liters of radioactive water flooding the reactor building's basement. This left the reactor's core ruined.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nN9FAAAAYAAJ&q=chalk+river+nuclear+accident+1952 |title=Great Events from History II: 1945–1966 |last=Frank |first=Northen Magill |year=1995 |page=554 |publisher=Salem Press |isbn=978-0-89356-753-8 |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=November 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231111214507/https://books.google.com/books?id=nN9FAAAAYAAJ&q=chalk+river+nuclear+accident+1952 |url-status=live }}</ref> Carter was ordered to Chalk River to lead a U.S. maintenance crew that joined other American and Canadian service personnel to assist in the shutdown of the reactor.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6YElaxt6fv4C&q=jimmy+carter+chalk+river&pg=PA64 |title=Memoirs of a Hayseed Physicist |first=Peter |last=Martel |year=2008 |page=64 |publisher=Strategic Book |isbn=978-1-60693-341-1 |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=April 10, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410050510/https://books.google.com/books?id=6YElaxt6fv4C&q=jimmy+carter+chalk+river&pg=PA64 |url-status=live }}</ref> The painstaking process required each team member to don protective gear and be lowered individually into the reactor for 90 seconds at a time, limiting their exposure to radioactivity while they disassembled the crippled reactor. When Carter was lowered in, his job was simply to turn a single screw.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Marguet |first=Serge |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1366112034 |title=A brief history of nuclear reactor accidents from Leipzig to fukushima |date=2022 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-031-10500-5 |location=Cham, Switzerland |pages=262 |oclc=1366112034}}</ref> During and after his presidency, Carter said that his experience at Chalk River had shaped his views on atomic energy and led him to cease development of a [[neutron bomb]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/news/when_jimmy_carter_faced_radioactivity_head_on/ |first=Arthur |last=Milnes |title=When Jimmy Carter faced radioactivity head-on |newspaper=[[Ottawa Citizen]] |date=January 28, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110217161647/http://ottawariverkeeper.ca/news/when_jimmy_carter_faced_radioactivity_head_on |archive-date=February 17, 2011}}</ref>

In March 1953, Carter began a six-month course in nuclear power plant operation at [[Union College]] in Schenectady.<ref name="zelizer-11" /> His intent was to eventually work aboard {{USS|Seawolf|SSN-575|6}}, which was intended to be the second U.S. nuclear submarine.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/biographies-list/bios-c/carter-james-e.html |title=James Earl Carter, Jr. |work=Naval History and Heritage Command |date=October 19, 1997 |access-date=February 20, 2023 |archive-date=February 20, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230220154017/https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/biographies-list/bios-c/carter-james-e.html |url-status=live }}</ref> His plans changed when his father died of [[pancreatic cancer]] in July, two months before construction of ''Seawolf'' began, and Carter obtained a release from active duty so he could take over the family peanut business.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jimmy Carter |url=http://www.presidentialtimeline.org/html/timeline.php?id=39 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015021641/http://www.presidentialtimeline.org/html/timeline.php?id=39 |archive-date=October 15, 2008 |work=Presidential Timeline of the 20th Century}}</ref><ref name="Panton-2022" />{{Rp|page=100}} Deciding to leave Schenectady proved difficult, as Rosalynn had grown comfortable with their life there.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wooten |first=James T. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/3481251 |title=Dasher: the roots and the rising of Jimmy Carter |date=1978 |publisher=Summit Books |isbn=0-671-40004-5 |location=New York |pages=270 |oclc=3481251 |access-date=February 19, 2023 |archive-date=December 7, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231207103945/https://search.worldcat.org/title/3481251 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Schneider |first=Dorothy |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/234178582 |title=First ladies : a biographical dictionary |date=2005 |publisher=Facts on File |others=Carl J. Schneider |isbn=978-1-4381-0815-5 |edition=2 |location=New York |pages=310 |oclc=234178582}}</ref> She said later that returning to small-town life in Plains seemed "a monumental step backward."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bourne |first=Peter G. |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/35955194 |title=Jimmy Carter: a comprehensive biography from Plains to post-presidency |date=1997 |publisher=Scribner |isbn=0-684-19543-7 |location=New York |pages=79 |oclc=35955194 |access-date=February 19, 2023 |archive-date=May 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520034707/http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/35955194 |url-status=live }}</ref> Carter left active duty on October 9, 1953.<ref>Bourne, pp. 77–81.</ref><ref>Hayward, p. 23.</ref> He served in the inactive [[United States Navy Reserve|Navy Reserve]] until 1961, and left the service with the rank [[Lieutenant (navy)|of lieutenant]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.usni.org/2015/03/09/from-ensign-to-commander-in-chief-a-look-at-the-presidents-who-served-in-the-u-s-navy-reserve |title=From Ensign to Commander-in-Chief: A Look at the Presidents Who Served in the U.S. Navy Reserve |last=Eckstein |first=Megan |date=March 9, 2015 |access-date=August 30, 2021 |website=USNI News |publisher=United States Navy Institute |location=Annapolis, MD |archive-date=August 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816164136/https://news.usni.org/2015/03/09/from-ensign-to-commander-in-chief-a-look-at-the-presidents-who-served-in-the-u-s-navy-reserve |url-status=live }}</ref> His awards include the [[American Campaign Medal]], [[World War II Victory Medal]], [[China Service Medal]], and [[National Defense Service Medal]].<ref>{{cite book |date=1976 |title=Ocean Science News |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A5cTAAAAYAAJ&q=%22american+campaign+medal%22 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Nautilus Press |page=109 |quote=The Naval Record of James Earl Carter Jr.: Medals and awards: American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal, China Service Medal, and Natl. Defense Service Medal |access-date=March 21, 2022 |archive-date=November 11, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231111221057/https://books.google.com/books?id=A5cTAAAAYAAJ&q=%22american+campaign+medal%22 |url-status=live }}</ref> As a submarine officer he also earned the [[Submarine Warfare insignia|"dolphin" badge]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/people/presidents/carter.html|title=Lieutenant James Earl Carter Jr., USN|access-date=August 30, 2021|website=Naval History and Heritage Command|archive-date=August 16, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210816204427/https://www.history.navy.mil/browse-by-topic/people/presidents/carter.html|url-status=live}}</ref>