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USS Hyman G. Rickover Returns From Final Deployment

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS061012-16
Release Date: 10/12/2006 4:56:00 PM

By Lt j.g. Karlos Kirby, Commander, Naval Submarine Force, U.S. Atlantic Fleet Public Affairs

NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- Amid the cheers of joy there was sadness as members of USS Hyman G. Rickover (SSN 709) returned home to Norfolk Naval Station, after completing the ship’s final deployment, Oct. 11.

Scheduled to be inactivated in a ceremony Dec. 14, the end of this deployment marks the last homecoming after 22 years of successful service.

The ship’s sponsor, and widow of Adm. Rickover (for whom the submarine is named), retired Cmdr. Eleonore Rickover, was on hand to welcome the ship home for the last time.

“This homecoming is happy and sad. I’m sure Hyman would have liked to see the submarine stay in service
longer,” said Mrs. Rickover.

However, even after the submarine which carries Adm. Rickover’s name is inactivated, the name Hyman G. Rickover will carry on within the navy’s nuclear propulsion program.

“Once the ship’s decommissioned, the Rickover name will remain with us. Adm. Rickover will always be considered the father of the nuclear navy and be a part of every nuclear-powered submarine,” said Rickover’s Commanding Officer, Cmdr. Robert Cosgriff.

Submarines like Hyman G. Rickover, and other Los Angeles-class submarines, have comprised the front line of defense for the United States for decades, and Cosgriff is proud of the crew’s final deployment.

“We were out for a long time, from Norway…to Spain and the crew did a great job,” said Cosgriff. “I would like to think Adm. Rickover would be proud.”

Surpassing the underwater capabilities of any class of ship before her commissioning, the Rickover crew demonstrated the flexibility of the fast-attack submarine, by conducting stealth, endurance and agility operations for the last six months in support of the global war on terrorism and maritime security operations.

During the North Atlantic deployment, Rickover made port visits to Haakonsvern, Norway; Faslane, Scotland; and Rota, Spain. Rickover is 360 feet long, displaces 6,900 tons of water, and can travel in excess of 25 knots.