PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- USS Columbus (SSN 762) departed Pearl Harbor Naval Station for her first Western Pacific deployment in four years, March 11.
Cmdr. James Doody, Columbus' commanding officer, said his crew is eager to deploy after their overhaul period. Columbus returned to Pearl Harbor in December 2006 after spending two years at Submarine Base Bangor, Wash.
"The mood is pretty upbeat and everybody's pretty excited to get out there and do what we have to do," said Doody. "Especially since a lot of people have done a lot of work not only to maintain the ship while it was in the shipyard, but to do all the operational preparation that it's going to take for us to be successful."
Machinist Mate Fireman Robert Bresley, a recent check-in on board Columbus, agreed with his captain.
"I just got here last week," he said. "I'm very excited and I'm all packed up and ready to go on my first deployment."
Columbus is heading to the Western Pacific, where according to Doody, they will be conducting the "traditional" intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations and also will be ready to participate in any operation called upon by commander, 7th Fleet operational commander.
Columbus is the 51st of the Los Angeles attack submarines and the 12th "improved" version of this class, which includes a Tomahawk cruise missile vertical launch system and an improved hull design for under-ice operations. Columbus has been homeported in Pearl Harbor since 1994.
