After five months tied up in Guam, the fastattack submarine Jefferson City departed Nov. 15, bound for repairs in Pearl Harbor, its new home port, Navy officials confirmed.
"Though it was early Saturday morning on the Nov. 15th, Guam time, but that was still Friday [the] 14th in the continental United States," said Cmdr. Brook DeWalt, spokesman for Naval Submarine Force Pacific.
The sub left April 9 on a scheduled six-month Western Pacific cruise that has been anything but routine. was sidelined after a microleak in the reactor's coolant system forced the crew to spend months in Guam, trying to find and seal the leak.
The submarine left April 9, from Naval Base Point Loma in San Diego and was expected to be back at the Southern California base in late October. But that month the families were told that the sub wouldn't return as planned and that, instead, their 2015 home port switch would be moved up immediately.
Fate and a reactor coolant valve leak that proved to very tough to locate kept them pierside in Guam, awaiting a decision on her repairs, which resulted in a home-port change to Pearl Harbor that will result in an extended overhaul.
after a scheduled six-month Western Pacific" cruise.
DeWalt didn't specify when the Jefferson City would arrive in Pearl Harbor to keep the ship's movements confidential. Some had speculated that the sub might have needed a tow to Hawaii, but it is transiting on its own power. as ship's movements, especially submarines, are usually close hold. DeWalt only said he expected the arrival to be soon.
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.
