NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, Va. — The Navy welcomed the newest submarine to the fleet Saturday as the fast-attack submarine John Warner was commissioned here before a crowd of 2,500.

The 12th Virginia-class attack submarine, the Warner is the first in this class to be named for a person, as the previous 11 boats of the class have all honored states with their names.

It will also be the first Virginia-class submarine to call the state of Virginia home, too, though officials say many more will be homeported in Norfolk as more of the Los Angeles-class boats leave the service.

"It's the most lethal weapon we have in our inventory," said Chief of Naval Operations Jon Greenert in his keynote address. "This is an asset that affords us access and you can't bring capabilities to bear if you can't get there."

The submarine honors former Navy Secretary John Warner, who served for five terms as a U.S. senator from Virginia, from 1979 to 2006. He served as Navy secretary from May 4, 1972, to April 8, 1974.

But what many don't know is that the 88-year-old Warner was also an enlisted sailor during World War II and a Marine captain during the Korean War.

The Warner, Greenert said, is the essence of operating forward, one of his tenets during his time as CNO.

"Black and ominous and all about war fighting," Greenert said of the Warner and her fellow submarines in the U.S. inventory. He finished his remarks by urging the Warner's crew to live up to the legacy of service laid down by the ship's namesake.

"Having this ship in the fleet ensures that John Warner will continue to serve our nation for many more years," Greenert said.

Greenert was introduced by Warner himself, whose own remarks spoke to the importance of keeping national defense strong.

Partisan politics in Warner's warner's day took a back seat to national defense, Warner said.

And that kind of cross the aisle agreement is needed today to keep submarines rolling off shipyard ways.

"The Russian Bear is swimming again," he said, speaking of Russia's recent efforts to improve its submarine fleet and presence in the world's oceans again. "They're coming back quickly — and it's the Virginia class that must fend them off."

The ceremony was attended by many current and former submarine sailors and officers.

Standing next to the ship's brow, bedecked red, white and blue bunting, stood former Machinery Repairman 2nd Class Byron Lewis, from Clark Fork, Idaho.

Lewis last saw Norfolk in 1955 when he left the Navy after five years working on diesel attack boats while stationed on board the submarine tender Orion, then homeported in Norfolk.

He and his wife Myra were and brought by their son-in-law George King an engineer who works in Idaho for the Navy.

Though never assigned to a submarine crew, Lewis spent his career repairing submarines and often rode them to sea to complete repairs. He'd hoped to qualify to be a member of the crew of the Nautilus, the Navy's first nuclear-powered submarine in 1955, until it was discovered he was color blind.

"Ugly," Lewis said as he peered into the water at the stern of the Warner as he waited for the ceremony to start.

"I suppose the sailors on the boat today would would take exception to me saying that, but we got quite attached to those boats, though they didn't have much in the way of comforts for the sailors.

"On the Orion, used to be we could tell which boats were pulling alongside us by their smell — but those old Guppy boats in the '50's were real sleek looking and had class and personality to them."

Lewis then looked up and peered off down the Naval Station piers and got a glint in his eye.

"But you know," he said, "this boat, too, will develop her own class and personality — she just needs some time in the fleet."

About Mark D. Faram

Mark D. Faram is a former reporter for Navy Times. He was a senior writer covering personnel, cultural and historical issues. A nine-year active duty Navy veteran, Faram served from 1978 to 1987 as a Navy Diver and photographer.

Share:
In Other News
Load More