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USS Henry M. Jackson Gold Completes First Patrol in Four Years

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS080506-17
Release Date: 5/6/2008 3:25:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class (AW/NAC) Eric J. Rowley, Fleet Public Affairs Center Det. Northwest

SILVERDALE, Wash. (NNS) -- USS Henry M. Jackson (HMJ) (SSBN 730) (Gold) returned to Naval Base Kitsap, Bangor, after a five-week patrol, completing their first patrol in nearly four-and-a-half years, April 13.

HMJ was in the shipyard for a D-5 Missile conversion from the older C-4 missile system, along with completing extensive maintenance at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard.

Prior to their patrol, both crews, Blue and Gold, had to complete a variety of qualifications and inspections to become certified for their patrol.

"This was a huge milestone in the life of the ship," said Cmdr. Dan Arensmeyer, HMJ commanding officer. "It took a lot of work and enthusiasm by both crews over the last year to get the ship to this point. It's really a testament to their teamwork. One thing I think the whole crew enjoyed was our halfway festivities, but the most rewarding to me was the return to port."

Some of HMJ's qualifications included phases one, two and three crew certifications, Demonstration and Shakedown Operations (DASO), Refresher Training (REFTRA), Operational Reactor Safeguards Exam (ORSE) and Supply Management Inspection (SMI).

"This patrol was much better than I anticipated," said Command Master Chief (SS) Joe Fahrney, HMJ chief of the boat. "It was nice to take the ship to sea with my crew and get to operate on whatever schedule the captain wanted. It's really rewarding to get the crew to sea and do the simple things like the halfway night, which pays big dividends in crew morale."

During their patrol, HMJ (Gold) Sailors completed warfare and personal qualifications including submarine dolphins, officer of the watch, diving officer of the watch, officer of the deck, navigation supervisor, quartermaster, radio supervisor.

"This patrol was a very good learning experience," said Chief Missile Technician (SS) Barry Young. "When we came out of the shipyard, most of us hadn't done any patrol type of things in three years or more. I know we did an outstanding job in qualifying people and again getting proficient in all of our watchstanding and firefighting."

In total, there were three officers who received their submarine pin along with nearly 10 enlisted Sailors. There were also more than 40 commanding officer and executive officer qualifications completed by HMJ Sailors.

"We went out, did our job and made it happen," said Electronics Technician 2nd Class (SS) Shawne Staples. "Now the country knows we are capable of doing our job any time."

Even though the patrol was shorter than normal, the crew managed to get everything done and meet every requirement.

"The patrol was very compact," said Missile Technician 1st Class (SS) Andy Wooster. "We had a very short amount of time to do things we would normally do in a full patrol."

HMJ (Blue) crew will take the boat on a two-and-a-half month patrol after a refit, followed by another two-month dry dock period later this year.

For more news from Commander, Submarine Group 9, visit www.navy.mil/local/csg9/.