The U.S. Navy announced on Thursday that the Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Jefferson City (SSN 759) arrived at Naval Base Guam following a change of homeport from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
“The officers and crew of Jefferson City are excited for the opportunity to join the Forward Deployed Naval Force at the tip of the spear in Guam,” said Cmdr. Robert McDowell, commanding officer, Jefferson City.
In 2014, Jefferson City arrived in Hawaii from its previous homeport at Naval Base Point Loma, California. Shortly after arriving in Hawaii, the submarine conducted a regularly-scheduled maintenance availability for upgrades and repairs and deployed to the Indo-Pacific area of operations.
“We are honored to welcome Jefferson City to Guam and the 7th Fleet area of operations,” said Capt. Bret Grabbe, commodore, Submarine Squadron 15. “This homeport change continues our focus to bring our most capable submarines to theater with the greatest amount of striking power and operational capability to bear in the timeliest manner. Jefferson City served with distinction while homeported in Hawaii since 2014 and now joins Submarine Squadron 15 in order to achieve rapid response times for maritime and joint forces while serving INDOPACOM objectives. We look forward to Jefferson City supporting national and Pacific Fleet objectives as part of the Forward Deployed Naval Forces stationed in Guam.”
The security environment in the Indo -Pacific requires that the U.S. Navy station the most capable ships forward. This posture allows the most rapid response possible for maritime and joint forces, and brings our most capable ships and submarines with the greatest amount of striking power and operational capability to bear in the timeliest manner.
“The supporting cast that enabled us to change homeports cannot be thanked enough, but in particular, the continued support of our families through this transition has enabled our submarine to stay focused on the mission and remain ready for tasking when any exigence calls,” said McDowell.
The submarine’s ability to support a multitude of missions, to include ant-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, surveillance and reconnaissance, and strike warfare, makes Jefferson City one of the most capable submarines in the world.
Jefferson City was commissioned Feb. 29, 1992 and is the only ship of her name in the United States Navy. Measuring 360 feet long and displacing more than 6,900 tons, Jefferson City has a crew of approximately 140 Sailors. Jefferson City is capable of supporting various missions, including anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface ship warfare, strike warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance.