|
For Immediate Release
February 27, 2006
NAVY TO HOMEPORT 2 SUBS AT NAVAL BASE KITSAP
WASHINGTON, D.C. – As part of a major shift of ships from the Atlantic to the Pacific theater, the Navy will base two additional attack submarines in Kitsap County, U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks said Monday.
The two subs, the USS Seawolf (SSN-21) and the USS Connecticut (SSN-22) will arrive at Naval Base Kitsap in July-August, 2007, each bringing a crew of 140 (15 officers, 125 enlisted), the congressman said. They were designed to operate autonomously against the world's most capable submarine and surface threats and they have the highest tactical speed of any U.S. submarine, he said.
“The Navy is appropriately shifting its fleet to address the more serious threats in the Pacific and it represents another indication of the growing importance of Puget Sound as a strategically-critical west coast homeport,” Rep. Dicks said.
The additional ships will have an obvious economic impact for the area, Rep. Dicks said, with families, crew and supplies boosting the local economy. “But the additional opportunity for overhaul and repair of these ships at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard will be significant also, helping to sustain the current workforce of 8,500 in the next decades,” he added.
The two Seawolf class submarines will join the aircraft carrier USS John Stennis, homeported in Bremerton, and eight Trident ballistic missile submarines homeported at Submarine Base Bangor. In addition, Bangor is home to two of the new SSGN converted Trident submarines and the only other Seawolf class sub, the USS Jimmy Carter, which conducts classified missions.
Rep. Dicks, a member of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, said he spoke with Navy Secretary Donald C. Winter this morning about the move, and that the Secretary stressed the strategic importance of this shift in naval assets as well as the capabilities of Naval Base Kitsap.
Home >> Newsroom >> Press Releases
|
