• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

USS Chicago Returns From Western Pacific Deployment

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS060601-19
Release Date: 6/1/2006 10:56:00 PM

By Journalist 2nd Class Corwin Colbert, Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs

PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (NNS) -- The nuclear-powered attack submarine USS Chicago (SSN 721) returned to her homeport of Pearl Harbor May 30, after steaming 30,514 nautical miles during a six-month deployment to the Western Pacific.

Chief of the Boat, Master Chief Machinist's Mate J. J. Amador, said the crew’s morale was high and they are the reason for the successful deployment.

“I couldn’t ask for a better crew. They were willing and able to take on the many tasks that were asked of them,” said Amador. “During this deployment, they completed 800 maintenance jobs in a three-week period while in Guam with the assistance of USS Frank Cable (AS 40). We also completed successful missions that were vital to national security.”

During the deployment, the submarine’s crew visited Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and Guam. Despite the challenging time at sea, the crew was able to participate in community service projects while in port.

While in Hong Kong, along with the Guam-based USS Houston (SSN 713) and Frank Cable, crew members from Chicago spent a day cleaning and painting at the Hong Kong Society for the Protection of Children, located in the heart of Hong Kong. The facility is a pre-school with approximately 300 students.

The American Club of Hong Kong hosted a party for the three visiting ships. They exchanged plaques and gifts with the ships’ commanding officers, as well as with the Commander of Submarine Squadron 15, Capt. Brad Gehrke.

Machinist's Mate 1st Class William Lewis, who reported aboard the submarine from shore duty one week before leaving for deployment, said he enjoyed Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan.

“The liberty was excellent and it gave the crew a chance to wind down a little and continue our mission,” said Lewis. “These guys are great and although it was hard work, it was an easy transition.”

Chicago is the Navy's 34th Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered attack submarine. The Pearl Harbor-based submarine’s previous deployment was from November 2002 to May 2003.