Crimson Tide Quotes

Capt. Ramsey: Speaking of horses did you ever see those Lipizzaner stallions.
Hunter: What?
Capt. Ramsey: From Portugal. The Lipizzaner stallions. The most highly trained horses in the world. They're all white?
Hunter: Yes, sir.
Capt. Ramsey: "Yes, sir" you're aware they're all white or "Yes, sir" you've seen them?
Hunter: Yes, sir I've seen them. Yes, sir I was aware that they're are all white. They are not from Portugal; they're from Spain and at birth, they're not white; they're black. Sir.
Capt. Ramsey: I didn't know that. But they are from Portugal. [Chuckling]
Capt. Ramsey: Some of the things they do, uh, defy belief. Their training program is simplicity itself. You just stick a cattle prod up their ass and you can get a horse to deal cards. [Chuckles]
Capt. Ramsey: Simple matter of voltage.

Movie: Crimson Tide
Capt. Ramsey: Mr. COB!
Chief of the Boat: Yes, sir?
Capt. Ramsey: You're aware of the name of this ship, aren't you Mr. COB?
Chief of the Boat: Very aware, sir!
Capt. Ramsey: It bears a proud name, doesn't it, Mr. COB?
Chief of the Boat: Very proud, sir!
Capt. Ramsey: It represents fine people.
Chief of the Boat: Very fine people, sir!
Capt. Ramsey: Who live in a fine, outstanding state.
Chief of the Boat: Outstanding, sir!
Capt. Ramsey: In the greatest country in the entire world.
Chief of the Boat: In the entire world, sir!
Capt. Ramsey: And what is that name, Mr. COB?
Chief of the Boat: Alabama, sir!
Capt. Ramsey: And what do we say?
Capt. Ramsey, Chief of the Boat: Go Bama!
All: Roll Tide!

Movie: Crimson Tide
Capt. Ramsey: At the Naval War College it was metallurgy and nulear reactors, not 19th-century philosophy. [Stifled laugh]
Capt. Ramsey: War is a continuation of politics by other means. Von Clausewitz.
Hunter: I think, sir, that what he was actually trying to say was a little more ...
Capt. Ramsey: Complicated? [Men Laughing]
Hunter: Yes the purpose of war is to serve a political end but hte true nature of war is to serve itself.
Capt. Ramsey: [Laughing] I'm very impressed. In other words, the sailor most likely to win the war is the one most willing to part company with the politicians and ignore everything except the destruction of the enemy. You'd agree with that.
Hunter: I'd agree that, um, that's what Clausewitz was trying to say.
Capt. Ramsey: But you wouldn't agree with it?
Hunter: No, sir, I do not. No, I just think that in the nuclear world the true enemy can't be destroyed.
Capt. Ramsey: [Chuckling, Tapping Glass] Attention on deck. Von Clausewitz will now tell us exactly who the real enemy is. [Laughing]
Capt. Ramsey: Von? [Men Laughing]
Hunter: In my humble opinion, in the nuclear world, the true enemy is war itself

Movie: Crimson Tide
Capt. Ramsey: We have orders in hand. Those orders are to make a pre-emptive launch. Every second that we lose increases the chances that by the time our missiles arrive, their silos could be empty because they've flown their birds and struck us first.
Hunter: Yes sir.
Capt. Ramsey: You know as well as I do that any launch order received without authentication, is no order at all.
Hunter: Yes sir.
Capt. Ramsey: That's our number one rule.
Hunter: [Tries to get a word in] National mil...
Capt. Ramsey: And that rule is the basis for the scenario we've trained on, time and time again. It's a rule we follow without exception.
Hunter: Captain, National Military Command Center knows what sector we're in. They have satellites looking down on us to see if our birds are aloft and if they're *not*, then they give our orders to somebody else. That's why we maintain more than one sub, it's what they call 'redundancy'!
Capt. Ramsey: I know about redundancy, Mr Hunter.
Hunter: All I'm saying... [Ramsey walks off]
Hunter: [Follows Ramsey, lowers his voice] All I'm saying Captain, is that we have backup. Now it's our duty, *not* to launch until we can confirm.
Hunter: You're presuming we have other submarines out there, ready to launch. Well as Captain, I must assume our submarines could've been taken out by other Akulas. We can play these games all night Mr Hunter but uh, I don't have the luxury of your presumptions.
Hunter: Sir...
Capt. Ramsey: Mr Hunter, we have rules that are not open to interpretation, personal intuition, gut feelings, hairs on the bac

Movie: Crimson Tide
Hunter: Chief of the Boat.
Chief of the Boat: Sir?
Hunter: Thank you, COB.
Chief of the Boat: Thank you? ****** you! Get it straight Mr Hunter, I'm not on your side. Now you could be wrong! But wrong or right, the Captain can't just replace you at will. That was completely improper! And that's why I did what I did. By the book.
Hunter: I thank you anyway.

Movie: Crimson Tide