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Los Angeles to be decommissioned Saturday

The fast attack submarine Los Angeles, the first in the class that bears its name, will be decommissioned Saturday after 33 years of service and 18 deployments — the last 17 of which were in the Pacific.

The boat departed Naval Station Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on Jan. 14 and arrived in its namesake city Wednesday. The invitation-only decommissioning will include past and current crew members and commanders.

“Los Angeles has been on the Pearl Harbor waterfront for 32 years, and it is with some sadness that we are now making our final voyage,” Cmdr. Steven Harrison, the sub’s skipper, said in a news release. “I am very proud of each and every sailor onboard. We all have worked very hard to keep this warship at the forefront of submarine operations and the crew has done a fantastic job meeting every operational requirement.”

A total of 62 Los Angeles-class submarines, commonly called 688s, entered service between 1976 and 1996. They will retire at the rate of three or four per year, according to Navy officials. The replacement Virginia class is scheduled to produce two subs a year beginning in fiscal 2011.

Under the current 30-year procurement plan, the number of attack subs will fall below the required 48 boats in 2022 and will bottom out six years later at 41 boats. The shortfall will continue until 2034.

Longer deployments, older boats

The Navy plans to meet typical requirements with longer deployments and older boats. The service lives of 16 Los Angeles-class subs will be lengthened by as much as 24 months, and at least one month will be added to 40 deployments — about 25 percent of total deployments — over an eight-year period to provide the roughly 10 subs combatant commanders need on any given day. The typical attack sub deployment is six months; it was unclear when the longer deployments are expected to begin.

Los Angeles was commissioned Nov. 13, 1976. The sub and its crew earned nine Meritorious Unit Citations, eight Battle Efficiency “E” awards, a Navy Unit Citation and the coveted Marjorie Sterrett Battleship Award given to the Pacific Fleet’s top warship.

After its decommissioning, Los Angeles will head to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Wash., where its nuclear reactor will be recycled.