After graduating from New Iberia Senior High in 1990 and enlisting in the U.S. Navy, New Iberia native Jake Foret said his goal was to one day command a submarine.

Foret has accomplished that goal and then some, having recently returned from deployment in the western Pacific on Aug. 15 on the USS Santa Fe, a Los Angeles-class submarine that oversees a crew of 162.

During the deployment, the Santa Fe executed two port calls to Yokosuka, Japan and hosted submariners from the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force out of Sasebo, Japan for underway training, according to a prepared statement from Submarine Force Pacific.

“We deployed in the western pacific, but with submarines, I don’t tell you where.” Foret said with a laugh. “In my squadron there are nine subs, so when we deploy that’s how we keep sealines open by keeping a contingency of submarines always forward deployed so we can respond.”

Foret was appointed commanding officer of the Santa Fe October of 2015. After his enlistment 27 years ago, Foret enrolled in the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis three years later, and has served on board submarines ever since. The Santa Fe is his fourth vessel that he’s served, with the others including the USS Honolulu and USS Ohio.

Now that he’s groundside, Foret said it’s still an adjustment going from the small confines of a submarine to everyday life.

“It’s weird, your rack is 72 inches by 26, so you don’t take space for granted. When you’re constantly around a bunch of people,” he said. “You don’t take space for granted.”

Foret said the military moves him around every two to three years, but he along with his wife and three children currently live in Hawaii. The Sante Fe is stationed in Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam.

Once the vessel returned from deployment, the crew was split into two week leave periods. Foret is currently in town visiting family while his XO has command of the submarine.

When asked to describe his time at sea, Foret said there are several transitions new recruits have to deal with. One of the most notable is not having use of your phone during deployment.

“That’s the biggest culture of shock of submarines, you get these new guys on board and the minute you close the hatchet there’s no phones,” he said. “Your life of constant connectivity, Snapchat, you’re constantly connected to all your people, you go from that to nothing. Our guys kind of go through withdrawals.”

The life of a commanding officer also doesn’t allow much time for visits back home. Foret’s father Jim Foret said the life of a Navy man doesn’t allow much time for home visits. However, Foret makes every effort to come back for major events.

“His grandmother died two years ago and he came alone to be with the family during that time,” Jim Foret said.  When his brother Joe  joe graduated from LSU fire school he made the trip for that.”

When out at sea, Foret said a popular pastime is cribbage, which crews on most submarine vessels play. Crew members also play chess, checkers and video games on a regular basis.

There are also more stressful days. Foret recalled one particular instance where a crew member contracted appendicitis when the submarine was on a mission and four days out from proper medical assistance.

“It was crazy, for the captain it was scary because that guy’s life is in our hands. I didn’t have any way, there wasn’t a helicopter so I had to drive to the nearest port.”

As far as future goals, Foret said he wants to wants to be the best CO as he can before thinking about the future.

“If this is your career goal in life you have to finish this well first before you can start to see what’s next,” Foret said. “This was my goal in the Navy, to be a commanding of a boat with 150 to 162 men.”