Missile Launches

I was never assigned to a boomer, and got underway on one only once -- as a rider on Alpha Trials for USS Louisiana (SSBN 743). However, a lot of TSSBP readers are boomer guys, so I figure I should have a post for them to tell some of their favorite boomer-centric stories.

The obvious difference between boomers and attack boats is that the SSBNs launch ballistic missiles. Here's a video of a 4 missile salvo:



Of course, some launches don't work exactly as expected:



What are your favorite missile launch stories? For the non-MT/Boomer Weps crowd, what do you think of the new military policy regarding religious exemptions for beards and whatnot?

Beginning Of Year News And Videos

-- To send off 2013, here's the official SUBFOR propaganda video looking back at the last year:



-- And here's a link to a fairly long (33 minute) video that seems to be mostly raw interviews from the sea trials of USS Minnesota (SSN 783) that took place last May. It's interesting if you haven't seen a lot of footage from the inside of a Virginia-class boat. The boat just shifted her homeport to Groton.

-- ADM Kinnaird McKee, who took over Naval Reactors from ADM Rickover (and was the Admiral I interviewed with), passed away on December 30th. Sailor, Rest Your Oar.

-- Here's a link to the results of the FY15 Major Command selection board that I neglected to post back in November.

-- We're going to start capping four tubes on each of our 14 operational SSBNs next year to meet the requirements of the New START treaty. It's expected to be done by 2018.

-- Lastly, if you find yourself in Charleston next month, there will be a four day event marking the 150th anniversary of the first successful submarine attack, by CSS H. L. Hunley against USS Housatonic.

Battle "E" Time!

It's that time of year where SUBLANT and SUBPAC send out their "010001Z JAN" messages with the winners of the previous year's Battle Efficiency competition; here are the 2013 results:

First, SUBPAC:

Commander, Submarine Squadron 1 (Pearl Harbor) - USS Greeneville (SSN 772)
SUBDEVRON 5 (Bangor, Wash.) - USS Jimmy Carter (SSN 23)
SUBRON 7 (Pearl Harbor) - USS Cheyenne (SSN 773)
SUBRON 11 (San Diego) - USS Albuquerque (SSN 706)
SUBRON 15 (Guam) - USS Chicago (SSN 721)
SUBRON 17 (Bangor) - USS Nebraska (SSBN 741 739) (Blue and Gold)
SUBRON 19 (Bangor) - USS Ohio (SSGN 726) (Blue)
Submarine Tender USS Emory S. Land (AS 39)
Special Category was awarded to floating dry dock Arco (ADRM-5), Undersea Rescue Command, and the torpedo weapons retriever Devil Ray (TWR 6), all in San Diego.

Next, SUBLANT:

SUBRON 4 (Groton) - USS Missouri (SSN 780)
SUBRON 6 (Norfolk) - USS Norfolk (SSN 714)
SUBDESRON 12 (Groton) - USS Dallas (SSN 700)
SUBRON 16 (Kings Bay) - USS Georgia (SSGN 729) (Blue and Gold)
SUBRON 20 (Kings Bay) - USS Wyoming (SSBN 742) (Blue and Gold)

USS Georgia is the only repeat winner in the Atlantic, while my old boat USS Jimmy Carter joined Ohio (Blue), Emory S. Land, and Arco as repeat winners in the Pac. I was especially happy to see Dallas win as a last hurrah before her decomm. I was also happy to see that my successors as Eng on USS Connecticut (SSN 22) won the Engineering Red "E" for SUBDEVRON 5.

As always, BZ to all the winners!

Update 12 Jan 0411: Added links to the official Navy stories.