USS North Carolina Departs Groton for New Homeport at Pearl Harbor

GROTON, Conn. (NNS) -- Virginia-class attack submarine USS North Carolina (SSN 777) departed Submarine Base New London July 22, ultimately heading for her new homeport at Naval Station Pearl Harbor.

North Carolina, commanded by Cmdr. Wallace Schlauder, will be the third Virginia-class submarine homeported at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, joining USS Hawaii (SSN 776) and USS Texas (SSN 775).

The submarine's keel was laid on May 22, 2004 and the submarine's official commissioning ceremony was held May 3, 2008.

Measuring 377 feet long, weighing 7,800 tons when submerged and with a complement of more than 130 crew members, it is the fifth ship to be named in honor of the Tar Heel State. North Carolina's crew is excited to represent its namesake state both at home and abroad. She is one of the Navy's newest and most technologically sophisticated submarines.

This state-of-the-art submarine is capable of supporting a multitude of missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike, naval special warfare involving special operations forces, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, irregular warfare, and mine warfare.

Recognizing the importance of the Asia-Pacific region and the increased threat posed by the proliferation of submarines in the Pacific, the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review mandated that 60 percent of the U.S. Navy's submarines be home ported in the Pacific by the end of 2010.

USS North Carolina to Homeport in Pearl Harbor

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ronald Gutridg, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet announced Jan. 6 that USS North Carolina (SSN 777) will be the third Virginia-class submarine homeported at Naval Station Pearl Harbor.

Rear Adm. Douglas McAneny announced that North Carolina will join fellow Virginia-class submarines USS Hawaii (SSN 776) and USS Texas (SSN 775) at Submarine Squadron 1 in summer 2010.

North Carolina's keel was laid May 22, 2004, and the submarine's official commissioning ceremony was held May 3, 2008.

Measuring 377 feet long, weighing 7,800 tons when submerged and with a complement of more than 130 crew members, she is the fifth ship to be named in honor of the Tar Heel State. North Carolina's crew is excited to represent the namesake state both at home and abroad.

The state-of-the-art submarine is capable of supporting a multitude of missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, strike, naval special warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, irregular warfare and mine warfare.

Recognizing the importance of the Pacific region and the increased threat posed by the proliferation of submarines in the western Pacific, the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review mandated that 60 percent of the U.S. Navy's submarines be homeported in the Pacific by the end of 2010.

USS Jacksonville Changing Homeports

The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Jacksonville (SSN 699) heads out into the Elizabeth River for her final voyage from Naval Station Norfolk. Jacksonville is changing homeports from Norfolk to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, as part of the 60/40 split of submarine force assets between the Pacific and Atlantic Fleets as designated in the 2006 Quadrennial Defense Review. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Dean Lohmeyer/Released)

USS O’Kane Returns Home from Deployment

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (SW/AW) Joseph R. Vincent, USS John C. Stennis Public Affairs

Guided-missile destroyer USS O'Kane (DDG 77) passes by decommissioned battleship USS Missouri (BB 63) as she returns to her homeport at Naval Station Pearl Harbor after a seven-month deployment. O'Kane deployed as part of the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group on a scheduled deployment to promote peace, regional cooperation and stability. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Eric J. Cutright.)

After completing a seven-month deployment, Sailors aboard USS O’Kane (DDG 77) returned home to pearl Harbor on Aug. 20.

While deployed, O'Kane participated in a wide variety of exercises and operations, such as maritime and approach operations and expeditionary strike force training in the Persian Gulf and Exercise Valiant Shield 2007 off the coast of Guam.

“O’Kane deployed at a high rate of speed to the Middle East and contributed to stability and security of that region and set a one-day record for having the most approach and assist visits in the Arabian Gulf,” said Commander, Carrier Strike Group 3, Rear Adm. Kevin Quinn. “She also interacted with the navies of that region, which helped build the capability and capacity of those forces to deal with maritime threats in their own waters. O’Kane’s performance was outstanding.”

Arabian Gulf is a body of water more commonly known as the Persian Gulf.

Cmdr. Tom Druggan, O’Kane’s commanding officer, elaborated on her accomplishments during the deployment.

“The ship exercised every capability of surface warfare,” said Druggan. “We’ve done approaches and boardings for visit, board, search and seizure operations. We escorted a lot of high-value vessels through the Straight of Hormuz and conducted safety of navigation through the Straight of Malacca. We conducted a tremendous amount of anti-submarine and air warfare exercises during Valiant Shield 2007. Overall, it was a very successful deployment.”

During port visits, O’Kane’s Sailors were ambassadors to a variety of nations throughout the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Sailors also used these opportunities to relax and learn about local culture and customs.

“The crew did a great job on liberty,” said Lt. Cmdr. Erik Eslich, O’Kane’s executive officer. “They took care of each other, and they were good ambassadors for the ship, strike group and their country. I couldn’t have asked for a better performance from the crew.”

For O’Kane’s crew, returning home is filled with excitement and good memories from the deployment.

“This cruise has been an unforgettable learning experience,” said Cryptologic Technician Technical 2nd Class (SW) Jason Welch, who finished his first deployment. “There were many good times over this long deployment, but I’m ready to go home and relax a bit.”

Druggan said O’Kane will soon commence its post overseas movement standdown to give the crew some well deserved time off, especially after an extensive work-up cycle.

“O’Kane hasn’t been operational just for the last seven months; we’ve only been in port two or three months of the last 15 months,” said Druggan. “That’s a lot of underway time, and they really deserve their upcoming shore leave.”

O’Kane departed her homeport of Pearl Harbor Jan. 26 as part of the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group.

Paul Hamilton’s Crew Completes Unique Deployment

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Davis Anderson, USS John C. Stennis Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR (NNS) -- USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60) pulled into its homeport of Pearl Harbor, Aug. 20, after completing a seven-month deployment.

Paul Hamilton left its homeport Jan. 26 and was originally scheduled to depart with the John C. Stennis Carrier Strike Group (JCSCSG). After two days at sea, the ship received different orders for their deployment.

“The president wanted a two-carrier presence in the Persian Gulf,” said Paul Hamilton’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Christopher Bushnell. “Stennis went right to the Persian Gulf. Kitty Hawk was in the yards, so the Ronald Reagan Strike Group (RRCSG) surged out of her national deployment schedule. [Reagan's] destroyer escorts were going through maintenance periods, so they put together other ships to make [Reagan's] strike group: Paul Hamilton, USS Russell (DDG 59) and USS Lake Champlain (CG 57).”

The training Paul Hamilton underwent with JCSSG helped them to integrate effectively with this new strike group in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility (AOR).

“We exercised every mission capability--plane guard, small boats--we did multinational exercises with the Japanese,” said Bushnell.

Paul Hamilton also performed a different type of mission in the 7th Fleet AOR--theater engagement. Ships involved in this mission make port calls to various countries on diplomatic missions.

“It has always been a traditional mission to go present the flag and the best of what America has to offer,” said Paul Hamilton’s Operations Officer, Lt. Justin Harts. “A major part of our mission was theater engagement, to go out and actually work hand-in-hand with the state department on diplomatic missions. The ship performed above and beyond the call of duty.”

When it was time for RRSG to return home, Paul Hamilton joined the Kitty Hawk Carrier Strike Group and performed theater engagement missions in Japan and Korea. Afterward, they augmented the Essex Expeditionary Strike Group for operations near Australia.

“We were working with USS Tortuga (LSD 46), USS Essex (LHD 2) and royal Australian ships,” said Bushnell. “We got to work in a very challenging environment, conducting operations right around the Great Barrier Reef. There were a lot of environmental concerns, and you have to be very sensitive to that because of the really unique marine life of the Great Barrier Reef.”

Paul Hamilton rejoined JCSCSG to participate in Exercise Valiant Shield 2007, Aug. 7-14, the largest joint exercise in recent history. The exercise included 30 ships, 280 aircraft and more than 20,000 service members from the Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

After finishing Valiant Shield and their operational requirement in the 7th Fleet AOR, Paul Hamilton’s crew returns home, knowing they completed a very unique and successful deployment.

“They supported major exercises, such as Foal Eagle and Talisman Sabre,” said Rear Adm. Kevin M. Quinn, commander, Carrier Strike Group 3. “They contributed to security and peace throughout the Pacific during their operations. They were tasked to work with two different carrier strike groups, and every report I received was that their performance was outstanding.”

Bushnell had nothing but praise for his crew, who, for seven months, had to remain flexible and be ready for the next mission.

“They were awesome,” said Bushnell. “They really answered the call on everything. I am very proud. We were able to knock the ball out of the park on every task we were given here, regardless of who we were working with or what we were asked to do.”