NORFOLK, VIRGINIA (WENY) -- Last month, WENY's Renata Stiehl and Nick Quattrini participated in a special program with the United States Navy Fleet Forces Command.

Called "Sailor for a Day", they spent the better part of a week at Naval Station Norfolk, learning about the roles of the Navy, and meeting the sailors who stand ready to answer the call when America needs them. We heard from sailors of all parts of the country, who all have their own reasons to serve.

More than 70% of the Earth's surface is covered in water, and the U.S. Navy is tasked with the protection and defense of America at sea. For the Navy, this also means working far below the water's surface. 

At the Submarine Learning Facility Norfolk at Naval Station Norfolk, naval officers and enlisted personnel train for service in the maritime domain. Before any sailor steps foot on a submarine, there is intense training for every possible scenario under water. 

Submariners go through hands-on training at the SLF, learning everything on from navigation, to on-board emergencies, to wartime combat. 

"So when a junior sailor reports to the submarine, they're actually going to be in qualifications to earn this Submarine Warfare pin [Insignia]," explained Petty Officer Joshua Updegrove. "And that qualification process is brutal. I mean, it takes about a year for a sailor to finish that, and that sailor is really proving to the rest of their crew that in the event of an emergency, this guy can save my life. And there's a lot of pride in that. This was actually the very first warfare pin in U.S. military history, so it means a lot to us to earn your dolphins."

Petty Officer Updegrove has served in the Navy for eight years. He said while he was going to college for accounting, he decided to make a life change and join the service - the first in his family. He's turned into a career, as a submariner.

"I'm an information systems technician on board submarines, where I do all of the network security on board, as well as the external communications, communicating with operational commanders, as well as work with electronic warfare," he explained.

While on deployment, the submariners may be out to sea and under water for months at a time. With more than 100 crew members on board, they work in tight quarters, working on whatever situation lies ahead. 

"It depends on the mission set you are assigned to. So some submarines are deterrent patrols, which means they roll around which nuclear weapons, and they are strictly there to strike if need be. There's also different types of strike operations, where we can launch sea to land tomahawk missiles, we can do Navy SEAL insertion, we can do mine-laying operations, we can do peace-time exercises with other countries, which is very important. We can do intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance missions, any mission that the navy needs done, the submarine is one of the few platforms that can actually accomplish it all, short of launching an airplane," said Updegrove.

The naval submarines accomplish their objectives while moving below the surface, unseen. 

"Stealth is your greatest friend. I mean, an aircraft carrier, these surface ships - it's a projection power, there's no hiding that big thing, it's there. However, a submarine under the sea, you can't see that thing coming so you can really see what your adversaries are up to, and they don't know anyone's watching," 

While naval submarines patrol the seas from below, one of the most visible symbols of the Navy's power is the aircraft carrier. That's where we're headed in part 3 - to USS George Washington, getting an inside look at what life is like on a Navy ship.

PART ONE: Valor at Sea: Sailor for a Day Part 1 - USS Gettysburg (CG 64)