Submarine Crew Accomplishes Mission, Earns Quals During Extended Patrol
Navy NewsStand
Story Number: NNS081116-01
Release Date: 11/16/2008 7:59:00 AM
By Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Chantel M. Clayton, Fleet Public Affairs Center, Det. Northwest
SILVERDALE, Wash. , (NNS) -- The crew of the USS Maine (SSBN 741) (Blue) reached several milestones during its 40th strategic patrol, which ended in October.
The crew recently completed an unusually long patrol, according to Cmdr. John Tolliver, Maine Blue commanding officer.
"This patrol was 98 days long, which is pretty long as far as most patrols go. We also had to figure out, with ten-days notice, how to leave two-and-a-half weeks early. This was unusual and fairly strenuous on the crew, particularly on the family side," said Tolliver. "The crew pulled through very well, and they got it done perfectly, which is really wonderful."
Because of the long deployment, the crew was able to earn a sea service deployment ribbon.
"For a sea service deployment ribbon, the minimum requirement is 90 days, or if you do two 80 day patrols in a 12-month period that also counts," said Tolliver. "Maine Blue's second, third, fourth and fifth patrol in the Pacific have all been in excess of 80 days, and much of the crew has earned two sea service ribbons. It's not that common for us to earn this ribbon."
The crew took advantage of this long patrol to work on qualifications and other personal goals.
"When we set out for an over 90-day patrol, most of the crew took this as an opportunity to get things done for themselves," said Tolliver. "Most of the crew lost weight, and most of the crew set out to get advanced qualifications they weren't able to achieve before. When we finished the patrol, every officer was qualified in submarines, and we had very high numbers of advanced qualifications among the crew."
For some crew members, this was an opportunity to be qualified as a submariner and becoming part of the crew.
"It took 11 months for me to become qualified," said Lt.j.g. Robert Szeligowski, chemical radiological assistant. "It feels good. I feel like I'm more part of the wardroom. Now it's like we're all able to complete all tasks on board, stand all of the watches, and when a new guy comes, we will be able to train him, and he'll be able to see that we're fully qualified."
Crew members found ways to keep themselves busy while keeping morale up and Sailors motivated.
"During a long patrol, we keep ourselves busy by doing drills, training, and with work, we get so busy that we really don't have time to think about it," said Electronics Technician 2nd Class (SS) Gerrit Oakes, reactor operator. "You're always doing something, and when you're not doing something you get some time to work out or go to sleep. We have a special night halfway through the patrol, where we don't do any training that day. We get to use that day to do whatever we want, such as have card tournaments or find other fun things to do."
Tolliver credits the hard work of his crew and its can-do attitude for the success of this long underway period.
"I cannot be more proud of the crew and the families for getting done what we had to get done," said Tolliver. "We've had the hardest SSBN schedule in the Pacific this year. No one has spent as much time on the boat or as much time at sea as we have. They did it without complaint, and they've done it very well. We are here to get the job done and do it right."
For more news from Commander Submarine Group 9, visit www.navy.mil/local/csg9/.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
