USS James Monroe SSBN 622 – Watchful Waiting

The James Monroe was built in the early days of the Polaris program and typified the boats that were launched during that time. With each successive weapons upgrade, she would be retrofitted with more powerful weapons and equipment to support her primary mission: deterrence. A little over ten years after she was commissioned, Admiral Rickover […]

Polaris A3 Deploys in Atlantic and Pacific (ALL HANDS 1965)

I have to be honest and admit that I never looked inside the missile tubes on either of my FBM submarines. I know there was something inside all of the tubes because of the great deal of work required to keep them ready for use if the President called on us. But as an A-Ganger, […]

“Go forth and conquer” USS Kamehameha SSBN 642

USS KAMEHAMEHA (SSBN 642) The very first thing that hit me when I got off the plane in Hawaii is the humidity. Back in the day, we were told to wear dress blues for travel when we traveled (or at least that is what I remember the Chief saying as I left my last school […]

Freedom’s Defender – USS John Marshall SSBN 611 (SSN 611)

My history is a little rusty sometimes and I will readily admit that I was not as familiar with John Marshall as I should have been before I started this installment of the 41 for Freedom series. Yet, of all the men a boat of this class could have been named for, this one is […]

“Ocean in view! Oh Joy!” USS LEWIS AND CLARK (SSBN 644)

I can almost hear the conversation on that morning when President Thomas Jefferson called Merriweather Lewis into his office and explained to him what he needed done. “I need you to make your way from St. Louis to Oregon in the shortest possible time and distance.” “What’s an “Oregon”, Thomas?” “I’m not sure but I […]

The Blue and the Gold – Sixty Years of Sharing the Sea

The Blue and the Gold As I sit here writing the 41 for Freedom story for tonight, it is Easter Weekend. 45 years ago, the USS George Washington Gold Crew had taken over the boat from the Blue crew in Guam and I was enjoying my first taste of freedom in months. That first patrol […]

“The Happiest Among Mortals” – USS Daniel Boone SSBN 629

Did you have a hero growing up? I had quite a few but one of my favorites was certainly Daniel Boone. Living in Western Pennsylvania, we still had a lot of “woods” near where I lived and as kids we would spend a lot of time hiking and exploring. This was in the days before […]

Surrender “in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress.” USS Ethan Allen SSBN 608

Surrender “in the name of the Great Jehovah and the Continental Congress.” There are very few heroes from America’s early history that have as much color as Ethan Allen. Growing up, I remember reading stories about his exploits in the public school that I attended, but frankly, his actual story is so much more interesting […]

A faraway land that still calls me back – Holy Loch and Polaris

I remember the day that the announcement came that Holy Loch was closing. February 1991 was a typical cold Scottish month. I had already completed my initial qualifications as Docking Officer and would be certified in the next docking of a nuclear submarine on March 15th. But before I could even think about the achievement, […]

The Hero of the Two Worlds (Le Héros des Deux Mondes) USS Lafayette SSBN 616

When the Polaris program was first conceived, the technology to make it all work did not exist. Neither did the submarine platforms that would need to carry the new weapons. In fact, the George Washington was a strange creature that evolved from the world of Fast Attacks that in and of themselves were revolutionary. Gone […]