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Pacific Fleet Submariners: Ready for 2004

COMSUBPAC Release

Release Date: 1/15/2004 (actually released on 1/20/2004)

By JO3 Corwin Colbert COMSUBPAC Public Affairs

Pearl Harbor, HI --Almost a year has gone by since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) began in March 2003. The silent service wasn't so silent when the undersea warriors began the first strikes into Iraq.

Submariners train all year preparing for any contingency, however few actually execute a mission as unique as shooting Tomahawks.

Four U.S. Pacific Fleet submarines, USS Key West (SSN 722), USS Columbia (SSN 771) USS Louisville (SSN 724) and USS Cheyenne (SSN 773) participated in strike missions during the initial phase of OIF.

USS Key West also participated in the strike mission of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF).

According to the commodore of Submarine Squadron Three, Capt. William Toti, the Navy has improved the effectiveness and accuracy of training since submarine operations in OEF.

"OEF was a 'come as you are' type of fight. It was a month after the September 11 attacks and whoever was there near Afghanistan fought with what they had. We learned a lot from OEF so when OIF came around we were able to improve our war-fighting capabilities and strategies," said Toti. "When we went into Operation Iraqi Freedom, we were more prepared for fighting the kind of war we knew we were going to fight."

Toti said the success of the four submarines' missions contributed to training, learning and strategy. "There is a process for launching or firing missiles when the time comes. There isn't just a push button solution. When the command to strike arises there are many steps and actions that take place. These steps are important and vital to effective and successful strikes."

According to Chief Fire Control Technician Henry Eldred of USS Key West, "When the message to strike came in, the captain called over the 1MC 'Strike One, Strike One'. The first to respond was the strike party. The strike party includes the Fire Control Technicians in the attack center, the Torpedoman's Mates and a few other personnel. "Everyone goes to their designated battle stations. Then we have to figure out what we are tasked with. We have to go over the message, verify it and make sure there are no errors. Then we let the TMs know the load plan," said Eldred.

Eldred said the FTs do the planning along with the Weapons Officer. "We plan using our different fire control systems," said Eldred. "Everything runs smoothly because we practice the drills everyday," he said.

While the planning is being developed above, the TMs are preparing the weapons for launch below in the torpedo room.

"As soon as we know what type of weapons we need to load, we start making arrangements. We make sure are systems are operational and ready to load and be reloaded," said Torpedoman's Mate 3rd Class Christopher Costa, "We use hydraulics to load the Tomahawks into the torpedo tubes. Then we spin the tubes. According to Chief Torpedoman's Mate Lorne Miller, Weapons Department Chief, USS Key West, spinning the tubes means aligning the gyrocompass inside the weapon.

Once everything is working properly, the countdown begins. "Normally the countdown starts at 15 minutes," said Miller. "Then the order to shoot is given. We have 25 seconds to get the Tomahawk fired. Then we get ready for the next shoot if we have to," he said.

Just like they practice in their constant training, there was a great deal of teamwork and responsibility needed to perform these tasks correctly. Though the challenges were obvious, the crews of the four shooters were proud to be a part of history.

"The morale of these Sailors were high, showing their true professionalism and patriotism," Toti noted.

Toti said even though the shooters were the ones in the spotlight, it was the effort of many other U.S. Pacific Fleet submarines that were apart of OEF and OIF. Scouting the areas of operations and executing the tasks the four shooters weren't able to do helped in the overall success. "The flawlessness of the missions during OIF is testament to the hard work of the crews of the submarines and the staff of the squadrons," said Toti.

As for the term "silent service", Toti concluded, "You may not see us, but we are there."