A Naval Base Kitsap (NBK) Bangor based fleet ballistic missile submarine was recognized as the U.S. Navy’s best Trident on July 25 when it was presented the 2004 U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) Omaha Trophy. Gen. James Cartwright, Commander, USSTRATCOM, made the trip from Omaha, Neb., to the NBK Bangor waterfront to publicly acknowledge the efforts of all of the officers and Sailors of USS Pennsylvania (SSBN 735).
“It’s a real privilege for me to be with you today to present the Omaha Trophy to truly deserving military professionals…the best of the best,” said Gen. Cartwright. “In today’s world of asymmetric threats, our sea-based ballistic missions remain our nation’s vital insurance policy to deter our adversaries and safeguard our freedoms. In that light, I’m proud to present this award to the crews of USS Pennsylvania. The Omaha Trophy recognizes your excellence. Your efforts are often behind the scenes. Yet, our nation benefits from your professional expertise, and devotion to duty. You are truly deserving of the Omaha Trophy. I look forward to our future teamwork and commend you on a job well done,” he added.
According to the citation presented by USSTRATCOM, the USS Pennsylvania distinguished herself in 2004 by demonstrating sustained excellence while supporting its primary mission of strategic deterrence over three patrol cycles, according to USSTRATCOM. The ship achieved 100 percent Strategic Weapons Systems readiness while covering 33 percent more of the strategic commitment than the average Pacific Fleet SSBN. USSTRATCOM also recognized the ship for displaying superlative engineering readiness during the two most recent Operational Reactor Safeguards Examinations and received evaluations Above Average on both Tactical Readiness Evaluations concluded in 2004. Demonstrating tactical acumen, both crews combined to achieve eight hits out of nine evaluated exercise torpedo firings in very challenging scenarios. In recognition of these accomplishments, the two crews of USS Pennsylvania combined to receive the Commander Submarine Squadron 17 (CSS-17) Battle Efficiency “E”, Strategic Weapons White “S”. Tactical Operations White “T”, Navigation Red and Green “N”, Communications Green “C”, and Damage Control Red “DC” Awards for 2004.
The trophy was accepted by Cmdr. Dave Knapp, Commanding Officer, USS Pennsylvania (SSBN 735) (Gold), who acknowledged the crews’ work to earn the trophy as being, “the best of the best.”
The Sailors of the sub said the award is a great recognition for their hard work the past year.
Yeoman 2nd Class (SS) James Sweeney of the Blue crew said, “Me and my crew are really excited. We set winning this trophy as one of our goals, and we reached it. We worked really hard to earn this, and we intend to keep it by keeping up to date and excelling at what we do.”
Among its other accomplishments, the Gold crew of the Pennsylvania received the Commander, Submarine Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet retention excellence award for 2004 and flew the gold and silver dolphin flags throughout 2004 signifying that all officer and enlisted crewmembers were completing Submarine Warfare qualifications within the time allotted.
The Blue crew developed an electronic tool to track maintenance work control deficiencies. This tool has been adopted as a “best practice” by other submarines at NBK Bangor.
Both crews hosted numerous American and foreign guests. The ship was also selected as the subject of a feature documentary for Japanese television.
The annual award is given to three operational units recognizing their outstanding contributions to USSTRATCOM’s diverse mission of strategic deterrence. The three competitive categories are Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Command, a Submarine Ballistic Missile Command, and the original Strategic Aircraft Command.
